Migration to rural America results in the 4th year of population growth
Migration to rural America saw a major jump for the 4th year in a row. It marks a notable turn from a nearly decade-long trend of population declines in rural areas.
Not Just a Blue Dot in a Sea of Red: April 5th Protests Across Rural America, The Daily Yonder
On April 5th, 2025, people took to the streets across the country to protest the Trump administration’s broad actions aimed at reducing, defunding, and – in specific cases – closing entirely various federal agencies. While there were large protests in cities like New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and more, rural communities also showed up, sometimes with significant percentages of the local population.
Inside the Newest National Park Community
We take a trip to New River Gorge National Park, the newest national park in the national park system, with Daily Yonder reporter Sarah Melotte, to learn about what Fayetteville, West Virginia is dealing with around the park designation.
GOP Cuts to Medicaid Could Threaten Rural Hospitals
On April 5th, 2025, people took to the streets across the country to protest the Trump administration’s broad actions aimed at reducing, defunding, and – in specific cases – closing entirely various federal agencies. While there were large protests in cities like New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and more, rural communities also showed up, sometimes with significant percentages of the local population.
Commentary: The Trump Administration’s Attempt to Wipe Public Data Is Censorship. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous
On the first night of February, I tossed and turned until dawn worrying about my job. I had just seen a Reddit post warning members of a geography subreddit that the federal government was shutting down data portals in 90 minutes.
‘America’s Serengeti’: Oil, Gas, and the Fight for Native Inclusion in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge, The Daily Yonder
On January 9th, the United States Department of the Interior will hold the second of two scheduled auctions for oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a 19-million-acre expanse in Alaska’s North Slope Borough, an equivalent to a county in Alaska’s jurisdictions, that has been a focal point of drilling controversy for over six decades.
‘Churn Kills’: Eviction Threats Strain Already Limited Supply of Rural Rental Property
by Jaime Adame, The Daily Yonder
Reporting on Contentious Issues
In a presidential election year, media attention is often focused on contentious issues as they play out on the national stage. This can lead to sweeping generalizations around the way rural communities feel about issues such as abortion access, natural resource management, school choice, even the programming at their public libraries.
The Country Vote with the Daily Yonder
In the newest episode of the Backroad Ballots podcast, we asked our staff what they are paying close attention to between now and the election.
Rural Data: Telling Stories with Numbers
Rural datasets can be difficult to find and even more difficult to analyze. But utilizing data in telling rural stories is a great way to interrogate, and disprove, widespread misconceptions about rural America.
A rural Western North Carolina county will keep its public library in the regional system, but not without debate
The high elevation usually keeps things cool here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, but temperatures were sweltering by mountain standards on July 10, when hundreds of people gathered in a hot courtroom to show support for their regional library system.
WNCW: Is Rural America Struggling? It Depends On How You Define Rural
Sarah talks with WNCW’s Paul Foster about the definition of “rural” and how those definitions may obscure the truth about rural America.
‘We are not thought of’: The true impact of Western North Carolina’s maternal desert on rural women
In Western North Carolina, many of the region’s 153,000 childbearing-aged women often must travel long distances for prenatal care and delivery at the area’s eight hospitals. Maternal health experts and mothers discuss the causes, impact and potential solutions to addressing WNC’s “maternal care desert.”
‘Land Rich, Cash Poor’ – How Black Americans Lost Some of the Most Desirable Land in the U.S., Successful Farming
Developers and others have used the complexities of heirs’ property ownership to force the sale of family-owned land, generating wealth for some and a paucity for others.
The Straining of North Carolina’s Chattooga River and the Indigenous Artform that Could Save It, 100 Days in Appalachia
I climb a boulder that juts out into rapids. The rushing water is so loud it drowns out my breath. I’ve come to the banks of the Chattooga River for solitude, for the way water carries away inner noise. I’m here early enough that I get a few moments of peace all to myself. The river works on me like it works on rock. Under the force of a little pressure I am smoothed out.