Rural News Grant Recipients Produce More Than 50 Stories

Journalists across the country published important reporting on topics including disaster recovery, education, and broadband access.

Grist and the Center for Rural Strategies are excited to share the stories produced from the $100,000 in grants that were awarded last year to newsrooms and freelance reporters. The effort was part of the Rural Newswire project, a content-sharing service to support the rural U.S. news ecosystem, which both organizations launched in 2023. As part of the grant, these stories now live on the Rural Newswire website.

“These reporting grants showcase the power and potential of rural journalism,” said Tim Marema, vice president at the Center for Rural Strategies and editor of the Daily Yonder, the rural news platform published by the center. “The impressive work of these organizations can drive continued investment in news and media that support a healthy democracy.”

“We’re so pleased by the quality of stories and the incredible breadth of topics the grantees were able to cover,” said Katherine Bagley, Grist’s executive editor. “This was an amazing opportunity for us to be able to partner with the Center for Rural Strategies to support reporting on and in rural communities, areas that have often experienced an exodus in news coverage.”

Note: The Center for Rural Strategies is the nonprofit parent organization and publisher of the Daily Yonder. Its collaborator on this project, Grist, is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to highlighting climate solutions and uncovering environmental injustices.

Atmos Magazine (Cameron Oglesby and Tatum Larsen)

Nourishing Roots in the Birthplace of Environmental Justice

Ancestral wisdom is guiding communities in eastern North Carolina as they eye new funding from President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.

by Cameron Oglesby / Atmos

Capital B (Aallyah Wright)

Digital Redlining and the Black Rural South

Across the region, about 38% of Black households don’t have home internet, a higher percentage than white people in the same area and the national average.

by Aallyah Wright / Capital B

How Black Rural Americans Navigate Internet Issues

Black rural Americans use community resources to stream funerals and order groceries due to the digital divide.

by Aallyah Wright / Capital B

Flatwater Free Press (Yanqi Xu, Evelyn Mejia, and Destiny Herbers)

Who’s Buying Nebraska? Corporations, investors grabbing giant chunks of Nebraska farmland

Seven out-of-state buyers, including a Utah church, a Philadelphia corporate farm and a California investment fund, spent nearly $250 million in the past five years on pricey Nebraska farmland, FFP analysis shows.

by Yanqi Xu and Destiny Herbers / Flatwater Free Press

Who’s Buying Nebraska? After Shopping Spree, Mormon Church Is Top Land Purchaser

In the past five years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought twice as much Nebraska land as the second biggest buyer. If they keep it up, they’ll soon own more than anyone.

by Destiny Herbers / Flatwater Free Press

Who’s buying Nebraska? Foreign companies deeply involved in farmland — but not how you think

Foreign companies have serious ties to Nebraska agriculture, but those ties don’t often lead to ownership of Nebraska farmland – thanks partly to a 19th century law.

by Destiny Herbers / Flatwater Free Press

Water’s worth: It sits beneath Nebraska’s farmland and has serious value. But who owns it?

Out-of-state investors are buying up Nebraska land in part because of the groundwater that can be placed on crops. But there are restrictions on what they can do with that water.

by Yanqi Xu / Flatwater Free Press

Spilling Bill’s beans: Tech billionaire spent $113 million on Nebraska farmland

Bill Gates’ Nebraska neighbors don’t know he owns the soybean field down the road. Here’s the story of his spending spree, including the massive loan he took out against his land.

by Destiny Herbers / Flatwater Free Press

Three Nebraska tribes are done losing land. Now they’re buying.

Three Native tribes are rebuying back land that was once theirs, before the U.S. government took some and then desperation stole more. Getting it back isn’t cheap.

by Destiny Herbers / Flatwater Free Press

Ted Turner, longtime Nebraska land baron, still buying as next chapter nears

The billionaire founder of CNN has long owned more Nebraska land than anyone. What becomes of it when he’s gone?

by Evelyn Mejia / Flatwater Free Press

Facebook, Google data centers among latest developments transforming Nebraska farmland

Meta and Google have paid a premium for Nebraska farmland in recent years.

by Yanqi Xu / Flatwater Free Press

KYUK (Emily Schwing)

A year after Typhoon Merbok, some coastal Alaskans struggle to find subsistence foods

This area has flooded before, but previous floods haven’t had nearly the impact on local foods, and it’s not just the plants that haven’t returned this year.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Hooper Bay’s dunes, home to the community’s cultural history, are slipping into the sea

When Typhoon Merbok slammed into Western Alaska, it claimed one of the community’s last defenses: a long row of sand dunes that protect the village from the waves of the Bering Sea — and preserve the stories of this place and its people.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Hooper Bay families displaced by Merbok could be without housing by the end of October

Storm surge lifted one house from the foundation, spun it around, and dropped it along the side of one of Hooper Bay’s main roads. It has been sitting there, wedged up against a power pole, ever since.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Coastal communities look to the future one year after Typhoon Merbok

Following the devastation wrought by Typhoon Merbok in September 2022, Western Alaska coastal communities face a future that is more uncertain than ever.

by Emily Schwing and Evan Erickson / KYUK

A year later, Hooper Bay families displaced by Typhoon Merbok still don’t have a permanent solution

KYUK first reported on families’ lack of housing options in September 2023. Since then a statewide nonprofit organization tried to help but wasn’t able to find a permanent solution either.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

A year after Typhoon Merbok, Newtok’s infrastructure continues to decline as residents push forward on relocation

In the year since the storm, critical infrastructure in Newtok has continued to deteriorate rapidly.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Kids find ways to ‘play out’ in coastal communities recovering from Typhoon Merbok

The most dramatic storm in Alaska’s living memory slammed into the Bering Sea coast in September 2022. More than a year later, some of the most resilient residents, children, are simply doing what they know best: “playing out,” though they say that they have concerns about storms in the future.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Subsistence gear lost during Typhoon Merbok still litters the tundra in Western Alaska

From the top of a hill on the north side of the village, you can see for miles across the land. There are dozens of boats littered across the area. Future cleanup plans are unclear.

by Emily Schwing / KYUK

Minnesota Reformer (Madison McVan)

Sugarland: Inside Minnesota’s massive, powerful sugar industry

The sugar beets are scattered like gray, misshapen rocks on the shoulders of the roads leading to East Grand Forks. That’s the first sign that the October harvest is underway.

by Madison McVan / Minnesota Reformer

The Moab Times-Independent (Doug McMurdo and Sophia Fisher)

The nexus of housing, local policy and the state

Local officials are wary of a disturbing, and worsening, trend of state officials intervening in local housing policy. The interventions sometimes peel back existing laws and sometimes preclude municipalities from pursuing new ones.

by Sophia Fisher / The Moab-Times Independent

‘Being on the defensive’: Cities, counties see constraints on housing efforts

Over the past few years, officials at both the City of Moab and Grand County have seen efforts to expand or safeguard its housing stock repealed, pre-empted or fettered by state bills.

by Sophia Fisher / The Moab-Times Independent

The state of Moab’s housing in 2023

The local housing market has cooled since the pandemic. But by some measures, it’s even less affordable.

by Sophia Fisher / The Moab-Times Independent

To build housing, build rapport — and focus on the region

What could it take to align state, local governments around housing policy?

by Sophia Fisher / The Moab-Times Independent

Nashua Digital and the Granite State News Collaborative (Anthony Payton)

Opioids in New Hampshire – Ms. Jane Brewer

Jaye Brewer, a recovering user, shows the power of connectivity. She tells a story that goes beyond metrics and statistics.

by Anthony Tone Payton / Nashua Digital

Opioids in New Hampshire – Ms. Jodi Newell

A survivor’s story. Jodi Newell watched her partner struggle with substance use while dealing with her own demons.

by Anthony Tone Payton / Nashua Digital

Opioids in New Hampshire – Frontline view

The view from the frontlines. Health professionals and first responders provide answers, advice, and perspective on the crisis

by Anthony Tone Payton / Nashua Digital

NCPR (Emily Russell and Zach Hirsch)

Far-right extremism is thriving in rural areas. Here’s what it looks like in Upstate NY

In the rural North Country of Upstate NY, there hasn’t been much violent extremism that we know of. Incidents around the region seem scattered and hard to define. But far-right groups have rallied and posted propaganda around the North Country.

by Zach Hirsch and Emily Russell / NCPR

How one Upstate NY sheriff’s oath led him down a far-right path

Constitutional sheriffs believe that local authorities — not the federal government — have the final say in deciding what is and isn’t constitutional. But legal scholars say that’s inaccurate and they do not have the final say.

by Emily Russell and Zach Hirsch / NCPR

A sheriff was recruited to a far-right group. Now he’s reconsidering

The constitutional sheriffs are still recruiting in New York and across the country, pushing conspiracy theories about election security, and a far-right interpretation of the constitution.

by Zach Hirsch and Emily Russell / NCPR

This NY man went to prison for Jan. 6. Today he’s even more convinced he’s right

“New York State — this is not where you wanna be in the top — but New York State ranks in the top five of online extremist activity almost every month.”

by Emily Russell and Zach Hirsch / NCPR

We investigated the far-right in the North Country. Here’s what we found.

“This reporting was really focused on ideologies that threaten violence or push the country towards authoritarianism.“

by Zach Hirsch, Emily Russell, and David Sommerstein / NCPR

New York’s top security official on the threat of domestic extremism

New York State is seeing an “incredible rise” in hate-filled violence and intimidation, according to Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

by Emily Russell and Zach Hirsch / NCPR

The NewsLab at Kent State with Ideastream

Norfolk Southern deploys high-speed inspection portal near East Palestine. Some say more is needed

Immediately after the 2023 East Palestine train derailment conversations around rail industry safety came to the forefront of public discussion.

by Mariah Alanskas / Collaborative NewsLab at Kent State University

Crews removed tons of contaminated soil from the East Palestine derailment. Here’s where it went

The contaminated soil in East Palestine has been shipped to incinerators and landfills designated to dispose of hazardous waste with minimal impact on humans or the environment.

by Grace Springer / Collaborative NewsLab at Kent State University

East Palestine, neighboring communities still bear the psychological weight of the derailment

Shortly after the East Palestine train derailment, a survey of more than 700 affected community members found that 70% reported experiencing new or worsening mental health symptoms.

by Sophie Young / Collaborative NewsLab at Kent State University

East Palestine train derailment reveals need for more first responder training

When a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, the village’s volunteer fire department was the first to respond.

by Sophia Lucente / Collaborative NewsLab at Kent State University

After East Palestine derailment, efforts to improve railroad safety regulations creep along

It has been 15 years since Congress passed the Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008. No additional legislation regulating railroads has been passed since then, even though new technologies used by the railroads are changing the industry in significant ways.

by Sophie Young and Mariah Alanskas / Collaborative NewsLab at Kent State University

palabra with Northwest Public Broadcasting (Lygia Navarro and Johanna Bejarano)

A Pandemic Ignored

A Pandemic Ignored is an occasional series uncovering the life-altering impacts of the coronavirus and the untold stories of Latinos living with long COVID.

by Lygia Navarro and Johanna Bejarano / palabra and Northwest Public Broadcasting

Una pandemia ignorada

Una Pandemia Ignorada es una serie ocasional que ilumina sobre los cambios radicales que el coronavirus ha tenido en la vida de las personas y las historias no contadas de los latinos que viven con COVID persistente.

by Lygia Navarro y Johanna Bejarano / palabra and Northwest Public Broadcasting

Public Health Watch, The Texas Observer, and The Daily Yonder (Jordan Gasse-Poore)

Uninsured Country: Affordable Health Care Eludes Many Family Farmers and Ranchers

Americans who operate small family farms and ranches often cannot get adequate health care and insurance. A journalist who spent her summers on her family’s Texas ranch writes about family members’ struggles and the challenges rural residents face today.

by Jordan Gass-Pooré / Public Health Watch

The Spokesman-Review (James Hanlon and Orion Donovan Smith)

Even after the pandemic, broadband is critical for rural education. $1 billion won’t be enough to reach everyone in Washington.

Nearly every public school building in Washington has broadband ethernet through program. The network includes K-12 schools, public libraries and colleges, but the challenge is to bring that same level of access to students’ homes.

by James Hanlon / The Spokesman-Review

With internet subsidies drying up, Eastern Washington broadband users call on Congress to replenish funds

In Spokane County, about 20,000 households were enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program last year. Local internet providers are now preparing customers for the possibility that they could lose the subsidy in the coming months.

by James Hanlon and Orion Donovan Smith / The Spokesman-Review

Pomeroy School District hasn’t had a music teacher for nearly four years

Despite the absent music program, teachers say students are still getting a top-notch education. Just this school year, Pomeroy Elementary was recognized as a National Distinguished School.

by James Hanlon / The Spokesman-Review

The Standard-Journal (Matt Jones)

Eyes in the sky: Area fire departments operate drone task force

One department was looking for a drone with thermal capabilities that could be used to respond to residential structure fires, wildfires and search and rescues throughout the tri-county area.

by Matt Jones / The Standard-Journal

Strength in numbers: How the Warrior Run Area Fire Department was born

Motivating factors for pursuing consolidation included avoiding the transition to a paid fire service and combining the purchasing power of disparate organizations. With increased financial stability, personnel could also spend more time focusing on training, rather than on fundraising efforts.

by Matt Jones / The Standard-Journal