Benjamin Hamm to become director of IRJCI Aug. 16 as founding director Al Cross enters semi-retirement
The University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which is dedicated to helping sustain local journalism in…
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Rural Blog: Booker says candidates must ‘show up and listen’ to rural voters, find commonality
First-term state Rep. Charles Booker of Louisville, an African American who nearly won the nomination to face Senate Majority Leader…
School for luthiers in tiny Kentucky town is starting nonprofit to make stringed instuments; set to hire 60
By Al Cross The Rural Blog A small Appalachian county seat that has never had a factory is getting a…
Rural Blog: Ky’s broadband boondoggle a cautionary tale; Bevin’s aide undercutting him siding with AT&T
Five years ago, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, who couldn’t run for re-election, and a powerful Republican congressman struck a…
The Rural Blog: Eight reasons most livestock industries booming; new records for pork production
The Rural Blog While the dairy industry is struggling, overall, livestock industries are booming. “Across the country, meat production is…
Rural Blog: How a journalist’s murder by Saudis may have doomed new manufacturing plant in Eastern KY
The Rural Blog The October 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist and Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi may have dashed hopes for a high-tech…
Rural Blog: ‘Farmers for America’ documentary addresses the aging of the country’s farmers
A new documentary, “Farmers for America,” addresses big changes coming to the nation’s systems for growing, distributing and consuming food,…
Rural Blog: Plan to put huge array of solar panels on a mined mountaintop could depend on more mining
Plans by EDF Renewables to put the largest solar farm ever built in Kentucky on a mined mountaintop are in…
The Rural Blog: China has apparently stopped buying U.S. soybeans, a move that will hurt U.S. farmers
“Chinese importers have canceled purchases of corn and cut orders for pork,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Chinese importers’ new orders of…
Rural Blog: Ryan and Larry Craig share Al Smith Award for public service through journalism
Ryan Craig was majoring in history and public relations at Western Kentucky University when his uncle Larry, a rural journalist…
Rural Blog: Rural areas, small towns bracing for major influx of solar-eclipse viewers in three weeks
As the historic Aug. 21 solar eclipse draws near, towns along the path of totality are bracing for tens of…
Rural Blog: Minimum wage isn’t enough to cover two-bedroom apartment anywhere in U.S., report says
On average, how much income does someone in your state need to rent a two-bedroom apartment? The National Low Income…
Rural Blog: Eastern Kentucky lawyer convicted in disability-fraud case may have fled the U.S.
The Eastern Kentucky lawyer who pleaded guilty to defrauding taxpayers out of $550 million in Social Security disability benefits has…
Rural Blog: Trump’s budget proposal contains major Medicaid cuts; passage in House doubtful
President Trump’s budget proposal, which was released Tuesday and will cut Medicaid by more than $800 billion over 10 years,…
Rural Blog: Trump maintains silence on expiring benefits for retired miners; deadline is April 28
President Trump has been vocal on his promise to “put our miners back to work” but has remained mum on…
Is medical marijuana the answer to nation’s opioid epidemic, a major concern in Appalachia?
From the Rural Blog Could medical marijuana be the answer to the nation’s opioid epidemic, which is a major concern…
Rural Blog: Small counties overcome opposition to start successful syringe exchange programs
Small, rural counties are leading the way in establishing syringe exchanges to prevent outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C among…
Rural Blog: Newspaper reports National Park Service officials could have stopped Gatlinburg fire
Former U.S. Forest Service firefighters say National Park Service officials could have stopped wildfires that devastated homes and businesses near…
Rural Blog: Cheap natural gas, not air pollution regulation, is main reason for coal’s decline
From the Rural Blog Cheaper natural gas, not regulation of air pollution by President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency, is the…
Rural Blog: Student-led study examines conditions of county animal shelters in Ky.; 82% in violation of laws
Nearly half of Kentucky’s animal shelters are in violation of three or more laws and 82 percent are in violation…
Rural Blog: Rise in rural opiate addiction leading to increase in babies born addicted to drugs
The number of babies born suffering from opioid withdrawal, or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), has increased from 1.2 per every…
Rural Blog: Report shows some of nation’s most conservative states lead in federal assistance
While red states have traditionally called for less government, some of the nation’s most conservative states rely the most on…
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