Check out the latest news, features, opinions, and more from Appalachia, the Midwest, and other Postindustrial Communities.
ASHEVILLE
Measles exposure reported in Asheville and Hendersonville
Blue Ridge Public Radio: North Carolina health officials are warning that people in Asheville and Hendersonville may have been exposed to measles after a person from another state traveled through the area while infectious.
ATLANTA
Georgia officials say Trump mail-in voting restrictions face legal challenges
Georgia Public Broadcasting: Trump’s executive order impacting mail-in voting is back in litigation — and back on hold. But elections experts in Georgia say many of the proposed changes will face legal limitations.
BALTIMORE
Maryland man charged after Facebook threats to kill Trump
WBAL-TV Baltimore: The man, 53-year-old Donald Swope, is accused of making multiple Facebook posts between May 12 to July 27 threatening to harm
Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s critique of Chicago’s “unchecked” levels of violence — instead blaming the president for gutting anti-violence programs.
CINCINNATI
Whitewater, Great Miami River warnings lifted following sewage leak
Cincinnati Public Radio: Hamilton County health officials say people no longer need to avoid the Whitewater River and portions of the Great Miami River. Hamilton County Public Health says a wastewater treatment plant in Connersville, Indiana is back online and the immediate impact from a sewage discharge has passed.
CLEVELAND
Great Lakes initiative diverts 24 million pounds of fish waste from landfills
Cleveland.com: The byproducts kept out of landfills— including fish skin, scales, viscera, heads and tails — are generating about $3.4 million in economic value and avoiding about 9.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, the report found.
COLUMBUS
Haitian immigrant, Wright State student subjected to ankle monitor dies by apparent suicide
Ohio State Public Media: Many Haitian immigrants in the Springfield area and beyond have been required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to wear ankle monitors after the expiration of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.
DETROIT
Muslim civil rights group launches safety guide for Michigan mosques and Islamic schools
Michigan Public: The organization said it’s publishing the resource as Muslim communities across the country face safety concerns including physical attacks, violent threats, and vandalism at mosques.
INDIANAPOLIS
Indiana hospitals will no longer divert patients for hospital overcrowding
Indianapolis Public Media: Hospital diversions have been used for decades, sending patients to a different emergency room when hospitals are at capacity because of patient overcrowding. That practice became particularly common during the COVID pandemic.
LOUISVILLE
Kentucky leaders, writers mourn death of Wendell Berry: A “great light gone out”
Kentucky Lantern: Kentucky leaders and writers, in a chorus of grief over the death of Wendell Berry, called the writer and farmer a “literary giant,” “revolutionary” and a “Kentuckian of the highest order.”
MILWAUKEE
Report: Feds launching voter fraud investigation in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio: The Department of Homeland Security is launching a criminal investigation focused on alleged voter fraud in multiple states, including Wisconsin, according to a report from CNN.
MORGANTOWN
West Virginia education leaders, community members call for action on school funding
West Virginia Public Broadcasting: The group “Together for Public Schools WV” is sounding the alarm that schools are being considered for closure next year, not because they are no longer needed, but because school districts don’t have enough money to keep them open. The nonpartisan statewide coalition says the next legislative session isn’t soon enough.
NASHVILLE
Voices: Tennessee’s Angry Grandmother pays tribute to Dolly Parton
Saralee Terry Woods writes for Tennessee Lookout: “She was loved and there has been an outpouring of tributes about her from all over the world. I do not remember anyone being more beloved. The world is a better place because Dolly was alive: let’s work together to pay her kindness forward.”
PHILADELPHIA
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries
Philadelphia Inquirer: The closure does not affect the rest of the institution, which builds and maintains the collections and conducts research through departments such as the Patrick Center for Environmental Research.
Attorney of suspected Penn State coke ringleader challenges bail denial
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The attorney representing the accused ringleader of a suspected cocaine trafficking ring operating out of two Penn State University fraternity houses is requesting the immediate release of his client, Agostino Abbatiello, and claiming that prosecutors have engaged in underhanded dealings, according to a new court filing.
WHEELING
Two unbanded peregrine falcons confirmed at New River Gorge Bridge
West Virginia Explorer: Two unbanded peregrine falcons have been confirmed at the New River Gorge Bridge, an encouraging development nearly two decades after conservationists began an ambitious effort to restore the species to the central Appalachians.
YOUNGSTOWN
Record-breaking pumpkin weighs in at Canfield Fair
WKBN 27 Youngstown: Kali McMillin was named grand champion for the third year in a row, breaking the fair record. This year, after months of work, her pumpkin weighed in at 1,914 pounds.
