Just like that, another year of rural reporting comes to a close here at the Yonder. As is our custom, we’ve gathered the most popular stories of 2023 to share with all of you.

These are the top original stories written and published by our staff and contributors, but it’s worth noting that, just like we offer our stories to other outlets for republication free of charge, we uplift excellent rural reporting from other outlets by republishing it on our own website. This year, a story about what happens when a college town loses its college, first published in the Mile Markers newsletter from Open Campus Media, and a story about the fate of National Parks and the small towns that surround them, from Corner Post, were very popular among readers.

This list of stories is always fascinating to peruse. What resonated? What kinds of stories are folks most hungry for? It’s also interesting to reflect on whether the most popular stories were also the ones we found most important and meaningful?

Additionally, we’re an entrepreneurial bunch, and this list only covers the stories we published, not the podcast we launched in partnership with the Rural Assembly (go subscribe to Rural Remix!) or our new foray into TikTok.

It’s been quite a year.

15. Demographic Shifts in Rural America

Rural America, like the rest of the world, is changing. But prevailing narratives might tell you otherwise. Our reporting, backed by new data and research, often complicates these sorts of assumptions.

14. Turmoil in Tennessee

You might remember that in April, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on the expulsion of three members accused of breaching decorum in their support of debating gun regulations after a school shooting in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead. Democrats Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis, were expelled and then reinstated two days later in a special election. The third representative, Democrat Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, retained her seat by one vote. Jones and Pearson are Black men. Johnson is a white woman.

Whitney Kimball Coe, Tennessean and vice president of national programs at our publishing organization, the Center for Rural Strategies, wrote about being someone who doesn’t fit the stereotype of a rural voter, telling others like her “you are not alone.”

13. An Appalachian Social Media Breakout Star

It’s been a mess of a year for social media (Thoughts on the current state of Twitter, er, X?). But in some instances, rural voices rose above the noise.

12. Rural Broadband

11. Historic Cemeteries

10. Telling Rural Stories With Video

This year, Jared Ewy’s videos appeared frequently among our offerings, giving folks a chance to watch rural news rather than just read it. The piece about ranch dogs who protect livestock from wolves in Colorado captivated the most Yonder fans, but others, like the inspiring story of Carlos Valdez, or the origin of the Mullen guitar, weren’t far behind.

9. Why Are Eggs so Expensive?

According to Axios, the most popular “why are ___ so expensive?” search term in every single state in 2023 was “eggs.” Claire Carlson did what we do best by looking at the topic through a rural lens.

8. Spooky Season

Spooky content has proven to be a perennial favorite among Yonder fans, and this year we delivered. Many people wanted to read about “dark tourism” in Kentucky, and audiophiles got an extra treat: the first series of our Rural Remix podcast focused on the way horror movies have reinforced rural stereotypes.

The Rural Horror Picture Show – Ep. 1: Urbanoia – Rural Remix

Where do horror movies happen? Small towns, dark forests, cornfields, and farmhouses have each been the locations for iconic scary films. But why are rural settings so popular, and how do these choices affect the areas represented? In the first episode of our 5-part series exploring the often-flawed, but always interesting, depiction of rural people and places in horror movies, we look at urban fears about the country, and rural fears about the city. Which is scarier, and should we take more issue with the tropes, or the inversions of them? Films discussed include "Jennifer's Body" (2009), "Pearl" (2022), "Frankenstein" (1931), and "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" (2010).

7. Changes Afoot

6. Rural On-Screen

Rural arts and culture coverage continued strong this year, with these three pieces, about a made-for-TV movie, a rural reality show, and a stand-up comedian rising to the top. For more like this, be sure to check out our newsletter that examines pop culture through a rural lens, “The Good, the Bad, and Elegy.”

5. Flooding in East Kentucky

In the summer of 2022, floods devastated rural communities in Eastern Kentucky. We began reporting on the disaster in its immediate aftermath, but as other outlets turned away, we stuck with the story — producing a film, contributing to radio programming and photography projects, and publishing stories that detailed recovery efforts and remarkable resilience. Explore our full suite of coverage:

East Kentucky Flood

On July 27, 2022, a flood swept through 14 counties in East Kentucky, killing 45 people and displacing thousands more. The affected communities remain on a long road to recovery.

4. Rural Churches and Religion

In August, Sarah Melotte wrote about fracturing within the United Methodist Church. Last week, the New York Times took a page out of our book and did the same.

3. Country Music Misses the Mark

Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” created a lot of controversy this year. In a Yonder commentary, Skylar Baker-Jordan examines what Aldean got wrong about rural values. But, as Claire Carlson wrote later in the year, it wasn’t all bad for country music in 2023.

2. Rural Voters

As we head into an election year, rural voters are once again a source of intense speculation. Our coverage of rural voting trends and attitudes was among the most-read content on the Daily Yonder website this year. Polling conducted by our parent organization, the Center for Rural Strategies, contributed to the Yonder’s unmatched analysis.

Can Rural Voters Be Swayed at the Ballot Box?

While partisanship remains strong among rural voters, certain messages resonated with voters across the political spectrum. They included battling inflation, bringing good-paying jobs to local communities, and battling corporate greed.

1. The Keep It Rural Newsletter and Columns

Topping the charts for 2023 was a column by Claire Carlson about the environmental factors contributing to this year’s shortage of the popular hot sauce Sriracha. Not far behind were her pieces on misplaced “rural rage” in the New York Times, and why the Burning Man music festival, held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, was such a disaster this year.

These three pieces all come from the Yonder’s Keep It Rural newsletter, which hits inboxes every Tuesday and is published on our website the next day.

A World Without Sriracha

Drought-tolerant peppers used for Sriracha are in short supply as climate change makes it hard for even these heat-loving plants to survive. It tastes like bad news for everyone.
by Claire Carlson

Happy New Year

This list doesn’t even scratch the surface on all the hard work we’ve done this year — the news keeps coming, and we roll up our sleeves. It’s rewarding stuff, and we’re grateful to our readers and contributors for making this work possible. Here’s a to a safe, healthy, and happy new year, from all of us to all of you.

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