Rural America
The mission of Rural America In These Times is to make the issues faced by rural America part of national discourse and to overcome the rural-urban divide.
We seek to build bridges, facilitate communication and foster cooperation between urban people who understand the value of a healthy and sustainable agricultural system, and the farmers in our rural communities that provide food that we all eat.
Latest Stories
Donald Trump Makes a Mockery of Populism
To call Trump a “populist” is to desecrate the memory of the 19th century movement that took on robber barons like him.
Tim Brinkhof
Don't Pave Paradise
A West Virginia community rallied to stave off the destruction of Cacapon Resort State Park by private developers. Will it last?
Ellie Heffernan
In Small Town Appalachia, Locals Battle a Weapons-Grade Uranium Plant
The company Nuclear Fuel Services wants to process weapons-grade uranium for the U.S. government at a facility in Erwin, Tennessee. Some locals aren’t having it.
Taylor Sisk
A Rural New Deal Could Help Progressives Win Rural America
Championing rural and working-class communities is how progressives can build the trust needed to defuse culture war weapons wielded by the Right.
Anthony Flaccavento
Construction Companies Are Exploiting Agricultural Visas to Underpay Workers. The Supreme Court Could Change That.
By bringing in H-2A visa workers to construct hog confinement facilities, companies can dodge overtime pay and undercut local construction workers. One company has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in.
Sky Chadde and Ryan Murphy
It’s Too Hot to Keep Using Pesticides
Farm workers are being sickened by agrochemicals—and, due to extreme heat, by the PPE they wear to protect themselves.
Harrison Watson
Despite Heat Deaths, Many States Don’t Require Water Breaks
As temperatures break records, lawmakers in state after state have declined to require that companies give their outdoor workers shade and water breaks.
Barbara Barrett
Fighting Industrial Development and Defending Black History in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”
In Wallace, descendants of enslaved people live on one of the last preserved stretches of Louisiana’s Mississippi River. Now, a massive grain export facility threatens the community’s history and future.
Daja E. Henry