Rural News Clips, Oct. 14, 2024
Rural News Clips, Oct. 14, 2024
Proposed Postal Changes Could Slow Down Rural Mail; Democrats blame rural school closures on private school funding; Maine’s Jared Golden is ready to make things awkward for his fellow Democrats
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
The New York Times
In Heated House Race, a Moderate Republican Goes Full Trump
Oct. 14, 2024
“Representative Marc Molinaro has spent his decades of public service building a reputation as a” moderate Republican, “but that reputation is being tested as Mr. Molinaro, a first-term congressman, seeks re-election against Josh Riley, a Democrat, in a rematch from 2022 that has turned into one of the most hostile, and consequential, House races in the country this year.”
“In a blistering debate last week during which the candidates traded charges of lying and corruption, Mr. Molinaro sought to tie Mr. Riley to Democrats’ border policies, blaming them for violent crimes including a rape in Albany and the murder of a family in Rochester.”
Molinaro represents New York’s 19th Congressional District, which is just over 64% rural and which is split nearly evenly politically.
“The race is in many ways a microcosm of the ideological battles playing out between Democrats and Republicans across the country this year. Both parties agree that the U.S. economy today does not work for working people. But their solutions to the problem, and whom they blame for it, diverge sharply.”
The Progressive Farmer
16 Close House Ag Committee Races We're Watching
Oct. 14, 2024
“The House Ag Committee may have more competitive races among its membership than any other committee in Congress. Political analysts who track congressional elections show nine House Aggies — five Republicans and four Democrats — are in races scored by analysts as ‘toss-ups’ because of tight polling.
“Another seven House Ag members -- six Democrats and one Republican -- are in races in which polling and history may lean in their direction, but the races are by no means safe.”
Georgia Recorder
Former President Clinton stops by Columbus to spur Georgia voter turnout for Harris
Oct. 14, 2024
“Former President Bill Clinton just wrapped up a two-day swing through southwest Georgia that featured a fish fry, a visit to the state fair, a church service and a McDonald’s pitstop, all in the name of trying to rally Democrats in this corner of the state to the polls as early voting starts Tuesday.”
“It was once familiar turf for Clinton, who was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia until President Joe Biden’s upset victory in 2020. He concluded Monday in Columbus, where he long ago kicked off his ‘Bubbas for Bill’ bus tour in the early 1990s.”
“He attributed the recent close elections in Georgia – and the Democratic victories in 2020 – to Democrats putting up a fight throughout the state.”
Votebeat Texas
Judge strikes down strict voter assistance rules in Texas’ 2021 rewrite of election laws
Oct. 11, 2024
“Certain provisions of Texas’ sweeping 2021 voting law that restrict voter assistance violate the federal Voting Rights Act and cannot be enforced, a federal judge in Texas ruled Friday.”
“Among the rules struck down by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez was a ban on compensation for anyone who assists a voter and a requirement for anyone who assists a voter to sign an oath under penalty of perjury that the voter qualifies to receive help.”
“Rodriguez also blocked provisions that require assisters to make certain disclosures about their relationship to the voter they are helping and a provision that restricts voter assistance given during door-to-door voter outreach operations.”
Politico
Maine’s Jared Golden is ready to make things awkward for his fellow Democrats
Oct. 14, 2024
“Rep. Jared Golden may be the heir apparent to West Virginia’s Joe Manchin in trying to claw Democrats away from the left on issues like energy and the environment.”
“The combat veteran is running for a fourth term in Maine’s largely rural, sprawling and deeply purple 2nd District as an outsider unbeholden to his party.”
“He faces Republican Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver turned state legislator in one of the country’s most expensive battleground races.”
“A victorious Golden could see his power swell. That’s because he’s helping lead an independent-minded group of young lawmakers willing to use their leverage and buck leadership in order to get what they want. They are rebuilding the Blue Dog Coalition, a once-venerable centrist bloc that has more recently been viewed as an outdated relic.”
“If Democrats win a small majority in November led by Blue Dog candidates, it would give Golden and his group power to dictate the outcome of legislation on top priorities from climate change to immigration.”
NBC News
Jon Tester pushes for ticket-splitters in a Montana Senate race that appears to be slipping away
Oct. 11, 2024
“Trump voters look set to decide the Senate majority. The main fight in Montana is all about how many of them longtime Democratic Sen. Jon Tester can entice to split their tickets.”
Kentucky Lantern
More Kentucky Republicans ‘decline’ to answer Right to Life’s endorsement survey
Oct. 14, 2024
“Kentucky Right to Life is endorsing in fewer legislative races this year — 45 candidates for the General Assembly received an endorsement from the anti-abortion group, down from 86 in 2022 and 88 in 2020.”
“About 50 Republican candidates ‘declined’ to answer the survey,” including the top Republicans in both chambers of the legislature. However, “all of them were still recommended by Right to Life based on their voting records.”
“Planned Parenthood’s Tamarra Wieder said the decrease in endorsements is a sign that Kentucky politicians no longer want to take the unpopular stands required to win a Right to Life endorsement.”
“In November 2022, Kentuckians … defeated an anti-abortion constitutional amendment that Republicans put on the ballot before Roe v. Wade was overturned.”
The Texas Tribune
South Texas congressional races remain the most competitive — but this time Democrats are playing offense
Oct. 14, 2024
“Texas’ two most competitive congressional races will feature rematches from 2022, when Republicans spent millions to make inroads in the majority Hispanic, historically Democratic stronghold. It’s the same cast of candidates facing off against each other as last election cycle in both the 15th and 34th Congressional Districts, but several factors may shake things up this November.”
“Democrats largely blamed redistricting for costing them the 15th district by including more rural Republican voters. But even within the district’s Hispanic urban core in Hidalgo County, Republicans shrunk their margin of loss against Democrats. While De La Cruz lost the county by over 20 points in 2020, she lost the county by just under 13 points in 2022.”
Nevada Current
Commentary: Proponents of Question 7 don’t want my people – or yours – to vote
Oct. 14, 2024
In Nevada, Question 7, the voter ID initiative on the ballot this November, “allows for Tribal photo ID cards, but here’s the problem: Nevada’s 28 federally recognized Tribes don’t have a uniform ID,” writes Mathilda Guerrero Miller, the government relations director at Native Voters Alliance Nevada.
“Each Tribe is sovereign, and the forms of identification they issue vary. Who can guarantee that Tribal members will have the kinds of ID the law demands—IDs that cost money and take time to obtain? Voters living in rural or Tribal communities will be forced to travel long distances to a DMV just to get a state-approved ID. Imagine asking an elder to drive hours just to get the ‘right’ piece of plastic to exercise a right they’ve had their entire adult life.”
LA Times
A 'Locally hated/Dyslexic Hairstylist' battles the Christian right in a Texas town
Oct. 13, 2024
“One might wonder how Adrienne Quinn Martin, a hairdresser, former belly dancer, mother of two and long-ago brand girl for a liquor distributor, a woman who celebrated her husband's birthday on TikTok by swaying against him while listening to Al Green, became the lone-elected Democrat in one of the reddest towns in Texas.”
“Fluent in social media, she is an array of personas: a hard to quantify free-spirit, who in one instant can offer fashion tips ("I'm having a Britney moment") and, in another, analyze voter registration data. She is a fierce political operative, a guileless influencer and a relentless voice against the far right in this Christian, white, cattle-talking town of about 12,600.”
“Once underestimated by her enemies, Martin, a self-appointed watchdog tuned into the plots and players in a small, gossipy community, has found that her message is radiating beyond the fields and steeples of Hood County.”
South Dakota Searchlight
‘Mom for Congress’ pins bid to unseat Dusty Johnson on message of pragmatism, public service
Oct. 14, 2024
“Sheryl Johnson has never held political office. What she has done is raise her four daughters, manage retail operations and work in a public school … She’s running as the Democratic nominee in a bid to unseat Republican Dusty Johnson for South Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.” She has touted her rural bona fides, having been raised on a farm.
“The 61-year-old former Republican, who lives in Sioux Falls, has pinned her hopes for victory on her status as a mother with a range of real-world experiences … Her campaign materials use the tagline ‘SD Mom for Congress.’”
“I said, ‘they’re behaving like a bunch of children. They just need a mom there,’” Johnson said. “That attitude, she said, resonates with the voters she’s met since signing on back in February to become the Democrats’ first U.S. House candidate since 2018.”
DISASTERS
The Associated Press
FEMA workers change some hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina after receiving threats
Oct. 14, 2024
“Federal disaster workers paused and then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats that they could be targeted by a militia, officials said, as the government response to Helene is targeted by runaway disinformation.”
“Former President Donald Trump and his allies have seized on the storm’s aftermath to spread false information about the Biden administration’s response in the final weeks before the election.”
“Meanwhile, confusion has arisen about what the agency does and doesn’t do when disaster strikes.”
The Washington Post
IV fluid shortage due to hurricane prompts hospitals to postpone surgeries
Oct. 14, 2024
“Hospitals across the United States are reeling from a shortage of IV fluids after Hurricane Helene struck a major manufacturing plant in [rural] North Carolina, prompting some to postpone elective surgeries and others to conserve supply by restricting use.”
VT Digger
Does Vermont need regional government? Flooding brings new urgency to a perennial question.
Oct. 13, 2024
“In the wake of two consecutive summers during which Vermont towns were hammered by flooding, state policymakers are confronting a longstanding question: Is Vermont’s tradition of hyper-local municipal government the most effective and cost-efficient way to organize services for residents?”
“The question that we’re asking is, would it be better if we created regions that had some power, responsibility, governance to take on some of the duties that maybe the state is too big for and towns are not big enough for,” said the co-chair of a new legislative study committee.
EDUCATION
Iowa Capital Dispatch
Democrats blame rural school closures on private school funding
Oct. 11, 2024
“Iowa Democrats argued Friday that the state’s Education Savings Account program is linked with 16 public school closures in the past two years. But the governor’s office disputed the claims, saying they are inaccurate.”
“The program was signed into law in January 2023 by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who made it a top priority during the 2022 election season.”
“However, Democratic leaders and education professionals said Iowa’s public school system is worse off because of the ESA program, stating that the measure takes away taxpayer funding from the state’s public schools.”
“During a news conference Friday, Democratic legislative leaders said new data from the Iowa Department of Education shows that 16 public schools have closed since the program began, while 36 new private schools have opened. Many of the public school closures are in rural areas, while many new private schools are in urban and suburban communities.”
ProPublica
In a State With School Vouchers For All, Low-Income Families Aren’t Choosing to Use Them
Oct. 12, 2024
“Working-class parents often express interest in vouchers. But in Arizona, the nation’s school choice capital, these families aren’t using them due to the inaccessibility of private schools and the costs of transportation, meals and uniforms.”
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The Wall Street Journal
Kamala Harris Got $5 Billion for Electric School Buses. They Are Slowly Hitting the Road.
Oct. 13, 2024
A $5 billion grant program to electrify the nation’s school buses, “an effort championed by Kamala Harris as senator and then as vice president,” is now getting off the ground as buses start hitting the roads.
“School districts now face challenges familiar to the electric-car industry, with fleet managers scrambling to figure out where to install charging stations and calculating whether buses have the range to take sports teams out of town—while sometimes confronting culture-war politics as well.”
This article has in-depth information about rural electric vehicle distribution.
HEALTH CARE
Kaiser Health News
Patients Are Relying on Lyft, Uber To Travel Far Distances to Medical Care
Oct. 14, 2024
“Uber and Lyft have become a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure for transporting ailing people from their homes — even in rural areas — to medical care sites in major cities such as Atlanta.”
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Washington State Standard
In rural WA, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing posse provoke controversy
Oct. 12, 2024
“Where some see a ‘rural neighborhood watch’ that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.”
NATIVE AMERICANS
High Country News and Grist
States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes have to pay.
Oct. 13, 2024
“State trust lands, on and off Indian reservations, make up millions of acres across the Western United States and generate revenue for public schools, universities, jails, hospitals and other public institutions by leasing them for oil and gas extraction, grazing, rights of way, timber and more.”
“States received many of these trust lands upon achieving statehood, but more were taken from tribal nations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through a federal policy of allotment, in which reservations were forcibly cut up into small parcels in an effort to make Indigenous peoples farmers and landowners.”
HCN and Grist “used publicly available data to identify which reservations have been impacted by state trust land laws and policies; researched the state institutions benefiting from these lands; and compiled data on many of the companies and individuals leasing the land on those reservations.”
“In at least four states, five tribal nations themselves are the lessees—paying the state for access to, collectively, more than 57,700 acres of land within their own reservation borders.”
POSTAL SERVICE
The Daily Yonder
Proposed Postal Changes Could Slow Down Rural Mail
Oct. 14, 2024
“In August, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy put Congress and others on notice that the United States Postal Service was weighing plans to eliminate some pickup times as a way to cut costs. But those plans, some said, would have a larger impact on rural residents.”
“The plan would eliminate evening mail pickup in rural and remote areas, which could affect delivery times for areas that are more than 50 miles from a large USPS regional processing facility.”
“Part of the USPS 10-year strategic plan to address long-standing financial, operational and service performance issues, the change would eliminate transportation costs and centralize delivery, officials said.”
WILDFIRES
WyoFile
When electric utilities spark wildfires, how much should they have to pay victims?
Oct. 14, 2024
“Lawmakers are scrambling to draft a bill that would restrict what wildfire victims can claim damages for when electric utilities spark blazes.”
“Insurance premiums for utilities are exploding due to class action lawsuits stemming from utility-caused wildfires that have resulted in death and property damage — particularly in the West.”
“Some utilities fear they may lose insurance coverage while increasing insurance rates threaten to raise costs for electric customers and bankrupt some power providers, advocates of the liability cap say.”
“The idea is to limit power companies’ liability for “non-economic losses” suffered from utility-caused wildfires. Utilities would still be on the hook for bodily harm and property damage.”