Over 450 cyclists set out on a farm-to-table bicycle ride through Central Vermont, stopping at nine local farms to refuel with chef-prepared food made with ingredients from the farms. The event, Farm to Fork Fondo – Vermont, is a recreational ride that draws athletes of all abilities. [node:read-more:link]
Rancher Jim Cenarrusa says he sold 9,000 acres of his central Idaho ranch to the Nature Conservancy because he knows the conservation group will take care of it. The land is at the base of the Pioneer Mountains, and is home to sage grouse and pronghorn. The family will keep a small parcel for their next generation to farm, but Cenarussa says his kids aren’t interested in carrying on the family ranch. [node:read-more:link]
One hundred eighty-three miles. That’s how far Stephanie Rickels will travel one way from her rural Cascade, Iowa, home to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Des Moines, Iowa, where she is applying for U.S. citizenship. In the course of the three trips required to complete the naturalization process, she will travel more than 1,000 miles. For rural residents eligible for citizenship, Rickels’ situation is far from unusual. There is only one immigration office in Iowa, as there is in many states. [node:read-more:link]
The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association Jsaid it continues to work on restoring payments for breeder and stallion awards after corrective language failed to win approval before the state General Assembly adjourned. At issue is language in an omnibus horseracing reform bill signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf in late February. [node:read-more:link]
Like many rural towns, Brookfield’s top moneymakers in decades past were agriculture, transportation and manufacturing. While those businesses still exist today, each of those industries has taken a hit. The town lost an auto plant. The railroad is less vibrant. And farming just isn’t bringing as much to the town as it used to. “We in rural areas have had to try to reinvent ourselves to stay viable and sustainable,” Cleveland says. Brookfield’s story is a familiar one for thousands of towns across rural America where farmers were once an economic force. [node:read-more:link]
A bipartisan group of five U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Like many schools across Mississippi, Morton is scrambling to adjust to an influx of Spanish-speaking students for which it was completely unprepared. In a state that ranks at or near the bottom in education spending nationwide, it can be a challenge just to maintain buildings and stock classrooms with basic supplies. It’s hard to find money to pay for teachers who specialize in helping kids who are learning English, known in academic circles as English Language Learners — ELLs for short. [node:read-more:link]
The story of outmigration from the Midwest to other parts of the country is as old as the advent and widespread use of home air conditioning. So the most recent federal data on trends in domestic migration among states is not surprising: net gains for the South and West at the expense of the nation’s two other regions. In the U.S. Census Bureau data showing population trends between 2010 and 2015, only two states in the Midwest — South Dakota and North Dakota — had net gains in domestic migration. [node:read-more:link]
The Dog Lover is a suspenseful and provocative drama based on true events. Sara Gold is a rising star at the United Animal Protection Agency (UAPA), a major animal rights organization that conducts animal rescues and lobbies for better animal welfare laws. Handpicked for a major assignment, Sara goes undercover as a college intern to infiltrate a suspected “puppy mill” run by the enigmatic Daniel Holloway. [node:read-more:link]
Potentially toxic algae is expected to form again this summer in western Lake Erie but should be considerably less severe than the blooms that blanketed the lake and threatened drinking water supplies the previous two years, scientists said. After three wet springs, the region's rainfall was more normal this year, said Richard Stumpf of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. [node:read-more:link]
