Fresh, local meals are disappearing from North Carolina schools after federal funding cuts. Rural districts are struggling to fill the gap and students are the most affected. Enlace Latino NC & #RuralNewsNetwork Read more here👇 enlacelatinonc.org/en/north-car...

Called 287(g) agreements after their section in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1991, they allow local police to interrogate and arrest people for federal immigration violations, then hold them for deportation processing. @oklahomawatch.bsky.social + @kosuradio.bsky.social reports

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” said Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, House Dem Caucus chair. via @texastribune.org

For people who live hundreds of miles from clinics, in small towns where the pharmacist might be your uncle—or cousin—losing access to mifepristone through the mail isn’t just inconvenient. It can be dangerous and stigmatizing. New from @civilbeat.bsky.social – #localnews #ruralnews #nonprofitnews

Canadians and Americans are working together to stop the construction of two new mega-dairies in North Dakota. At the core of the fight? Clean water. @jesslsr.bsky.social shares how advocates and residents are fighting against factory farms.

In this spotlight on @capitalb.bsky.social –– one of 90+ newsrooms in @inn.org's Rural News Network –– health care professionals, advocates tell @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social their biggest fear is that Black communities will be the hardest hit and the lack of access could worsen economic disparities.

In this unincorporated Florida community, farmworkers often struggle to put fresh fruit and vegetables on their own tables, @sentientmedia.org reports. Since ICE raids have increased, a group of Quakers have started attending distribution, making sure their phones are always charged and accessible.

NEW TO RNN: @thewarhorsenews.bsky.social is among the newest @inn.org-member newsrooms to join the Rural News Network. The award-winning nonprofit newsroom holds power to account and is a trusted source for bulletproof reporting on the human impact of military service.

NEW atop ruralnewsnetwork.org, this immigration story from @spotlightdelaware.bsky.social: "The first thought for many immigrants at the sight of an abandoned car, residents say, is now that ICE took the passengers. Not car trouble or a busted tire, but federal agents." #ruralnews #nonprofitnews

The move follows Maxwell's two-day meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in Tallahassee, where her attorney said the two discussed "about 100 names" associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Bureau of Prisons declined to give any explanation for Maxwell’s move.

200 employees at a JBS plant in Iowa were informed that their visas had been revoked. Now, their employment is over, and they may have to leave the U.S. immediately. Watch the whole story with our investigative reporter @ninaelkadi.com.

MUST READ from @inn.org member newsroom @sentientmedia.org – "Although a U.S. firm owned by JBS made the single biggest donation to Trump’s inaugural campaign, the corporation is not immune to the effects of his policies." #ruralnews #nonprofitnews #climate #politics #immigration #factoryfarms

Via @shastascout.bsky.social: New California State (NCS)––a political movement whose leaders say they have support from the federal admin to propose the creation of the 51st state––hopes to present the results to Congress in an attempt to leave behind the “tyranny and corruption” of CA's gov.

I got permission to share this, and I'm extremely grateful for that. The Onion got this letter from one of our subscribers in Alaska. She works with dementia patients and decided to leave a copy in the car for each one. This email made my year. Read it and you'll see what I mean. People are good.

As Trump administration cuts off the 988 Lifeline’s Option 3 for focused LGBTQ+ support, Hopelab and Born This Way Foundation release report showing great needs for LGBTQ+ youth in rural areas and their heavy use of digital tools to connect for support. #ruralnews #localnews

The retail giant is looking to expand its rural delivery reach by investing $4 billion across the country to speed up local delivery times. via @mendovoice.bsky.social #ruralnews #localnews #nonprofitnews

👀 A revealing look at the GOP fault lines, from Ted Cruz’s home state: @texastribune.org reports on how Texas Republicans are reacting to his Iran war talk — and how it ties into Trump. www.texastribune.org/2025/06/19/t...

⭐ INN's Collaborations Project Manager Paulina Velasco has been named one of @current.org's 2025 Rising Stars — and we couldn't agree more! A former colleague said that Paulina is a "highly critical thinker" and "showed tenacity and perseverance in her reporting." current.org/our-2025-ris...

A new 5-part series from @inn.org's Rural News Network, w/ support from Ascendium Edu Group, explores how industry, state governments and education systems are training a growing clean energy workforce. @canarymedia.com kicks us off in Decatur, IL. #nonprofitnews #localnews #cleanenergy #ruralnews

“This is short-term thinking at its absolute worst,” said Walt Gasson, a fourth-generation Wyoming hunter and outdoorsman. “We are standing by letting people make decisions for us that don’t reflect our own legacy, what we want to leave for our grandkids.” Eye-opening read via @highcountrynews.org

Powerful new story from @kosuradio.bsky.social looks at how Oklahoma tribes are preserving and reviving Native languages despite generations of forced assimilation policies. It explores the deep ties between language and both personal and community well-being. #mustread #localnews #nonprofitnews

Looking for vetted newsrooms you can trust to deliver independent coverage? Start here. The INN Network consists of about 475 nonpartisan news organizations that provide high quality journalism as a public service. Learn more at findyournews.org. bsky.app/starter-pack/thexylom.com/3layrbgln4a2o

Important read from @barnraiser.bsky.social about #schoolvouchers; that knocking out rural legislators in states like Iowa, Texas and Wyoming, is not the same as eliminating long-standing rural opposition to vouchers. #education #ruralnews #localnews #nonprofitnews

Wyoming’s lone congressional Rep. Harriet Hageman will no longer appear at town halls set for later this week in Cheyenne and Torrington. Wyoming Democrats tell @wyofile.com she is attempting to distract from widespread frustration sparked by Trump administration’s cuts and firings.

"It troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views. Diversity is our strength.” writes Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a Trump appointee. #DEIrony

When Pres. Trump issued a temporary freeze on federal grants and loans last month, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s office offered a calm public-facing reax. But emails and texts show many state agencies—like orgs across the US—were simmering with questions and concern. via @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social

Rural communities have begun to attract tech companies for data centers due to their low population densities, ample open space, and relatively lower energy and land costs, @capitalb.bsky.social reports.

MUST READ from @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social: Nebraska immigration detentions appear to be up slightly. But advocates for immigrants and law enforcement officials alike say the rumors are far outpacing the reality. #immigration #localnews #ruralnews #nonprofitnews

The # of measles cases in Texas has grown to 90 with two more West Texas counties reporting infections, according to state officials – via @texastribune.org. Since the measles vaccine was not a requirement to attend school until 1980, some older adults are questioning whether they have immunity.

Thousands of rural Americans are employed by the federal government in a variety of jobs across the nation. @dailyyonder.bsky.social looks at how Trump’s employment purge will affect rural communities. #ruralnews #localnews #nonprofitnews

A Nebraska congressman tells @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social he’s proud of his nephew, Luke Farritor - a young computer engineer working for Elon Musk's #DOGE. His uncle says Farritor will make the right decisions. A Nebraska tech mentor says Farritor’s involvement is “a dagger to the heart.”

North Carolina churches join lawsuit against policy allowing ICE into places of worship. Several denominations are uniting against the policy that allows ICE in “sensitive locations.” @enlacelatinonc.bsky.social reports –

The American Indian Movement activist was released from federal prison after gaining clemency from President Joe Biden. He spent 49 years behind bars in what he has long maintained was a wrongful conviction in the deaths of two federal agents. @ictnews.bsky.social reports

Right now on RuralNewsNetwork.org, a cross-country look at how recent federal cuts are affecting #rural communities, via coverage from @inn.org members: @wyofile.com, @nchealthnews.bsky.social, @cardinalnews.org, @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social, @montanafreepress.org + @ictnews.bsky.social. #localnews

The need to explore the effects of federal budget cuts on Virginians crystallized for House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott when a neighbor – an employee at the VA – saw him outside of his house in early February, stopped him and asked, “What are you doing to protect us?” via @cardinalnews.org.

The estimated 1.7M undocumented people in Texas are now targets of the Trump administration’s nationwide #immigration crackdown. Many have been here for decades, own homes and small businesses and have U.S. citizen children in Texas schools. Here’s what we know about them from @texastribune.org.

A wave of federal-employee layoffs swept the nation Fri, leaving an undisclosed # of Wyoming workers from multiple agencies suddenly jobless and bereft of explanations in its wake, via @wyofile.com. Amid the confusion, patterns emerged through interviews with an array of fresh-out-of-work staffers.

In the latest Mile Markers newsletter from @opencampus.org, planned cuts to the Dept of Ed could be bad news for #rural #education researchers who had started to make significant progress in recent yrs. #ruralnews #nonprofitnews #localnews #DEI #highered

KyCIR reporters @lpm.org dug in to find out how Trump’s plan to deport thousands of people could play out in Kentucky, calling more than 40 local law enforcement operations — the sheriff’s and police agencies that could be tapped to assist federal immigration agents. #localnews #nonprofitnews

From @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social – a report on how the West Virginia governor says he would close a $400M state budget gap, cut taxes and regulation, work closely with the Trump administration and power new tech industries with fossil fuels. #nonprofitnews #ruralnews #localnews

Fascinating read from @washingtonpost.com – Many Americans still imagine rural areas as bastions of traditional families. But new research shows that over the past 30yrs, among women ages 15 to 44, marriage rates have fallen much faster for rural women than for their urban counterparts. #ruralnews

NEW from @capitalb.bsky.social's @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social – one Georgia family's fight to prevent a railroad company from seizing their land. "Not only has it been used to feed generations, but to pay for some family members’ education as well." #localnews #nonprofitnews #ruralnews #RNN

Right now, 'above the fold' of RuralNewsNetwork.org, this story from @us.theconversation.com examining key reasons rural Americans don't tend to live as long as those in more urban areas. #ruralnews #localnews #nonprofitnews

ICYMI: Paulina Velasco is the new Collaborations Project Manager at @inn.org! Paulina brings a wealth of experience in cross-newsroom reporting, having led and contributed to powerful collaborations that center diverse voices and drive impact. Please join me in welcoming her! 🎉

Eyeopening read out today from @dailyyonder.bsky.social that looks at how people are moving to rural areas that experience wildfires at a faster rate than other rural areas. More at RuralNewsNetwork.org #ruralnews #nonprofitnews #localnews #wildfires

The deadline to apply for the Society's Investigative Reporting Internship Program is Sunday, Jan. 12. While we hope you’ve submitted your application already, we understand that some students and recent graduates will need an extra push and some advice. Read more for tips:

My latest INNsights on the exciting expansion of a paid internship program from @inn.org, @ewscrippsco.bsky.social and @idabwellssociety.bsky.social that both empowers emerging journalists and builds capacity in rural newsrooms. 🚨Student journos🚨 Applications are open through 1/31. (via link)

Student Journalists: Applications are open to be a PAID summer intern in one of 13 #RuralNewsNetwork newsrooms! Gain hands-on experience. Build your portfolio. scripps.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Scripps-Howard-Fund-and-Institute-for-Nonprofit-News-offer-paid-journalism-internships_Dec.9.pdf

Looking for vetted newsrooms you can trust to deliver independent coverage? Start here. The INN Network consists of about 475 nonpartisan news organizations that provide high quality journalism as a public service. Learn more at findyournews.org. bsky.app/starter-pack/thexylom.com/3layrbgln4a2o