Check out the latest news, features, opinions, and more from Appalachia, the Midwest, and other Postindustrial Communities.
ASHEVILLE
Two years after Helene, a mill town works to find a way forward
Blue Ridge Public Radio: In 2023, the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill closed, leaving more than a thousand people without jobs and leaving the town without the industry that had sustained it for over a century.
ATLANTA
Chinese pandas arrive at Zoo Atlanta
Atlanta News First: The pandas will now set up shop at Zoo Atlanta, where they’ll be on a 10-year loan as part of a conservation cooperation agreement and China’s tradition of “panda diplomacy.” Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, were both born in 2020.
BALTIMORE
How does trade war with Canada hit Maryland, hon? Pretty hard, eh?
Maryland Matters: Canada is Maryland’s top export market and one of its largest import partners as well, according to data from the International Trade Administration.
Obama Presidential Center’s price tag: almost $1 billion
Chicago Sun-Times: The exact price tag clocks in at $909 million, which is $59 million more than the center’s previously released figure of $850 million. Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said the increase is due to “additional amenities” added to the campus.
CINCINNATI
As food insecurity rises, Ohio schools hope to cultivate help in the classroom
Cincinnati Public Radio: More than half of families surveyed by Ohio Association of Foodbanks said they had to choose between paying utilities or buying groceries over the course of a year, according to a recent report.
CLEVELAND
Political groups are paying Ohioans to influence friends and family. Research suggests it works
Cleveland.com: The tactic, known as paid relational organizing, blends two familiar political strategies: paying campaign workers to contact voters and encouraging people to mobilize those they know personally.
COLUMBUS
Ohio State University researchers will study effects of menopause in women veterans
Ohio State Public Media: The OSU Wexner Medical Center and the Soder Women’s Health Research Program received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for the study.
DETROIT
Detroit nonprofit uses community garden project to teach young men life skills
CBS Detroit: A local nonprofit organization is doing its part to beautify a neighborhood on Detroit’s east side while teaching young men important life skills.
INDIANAPOLIS
Inside Indiana’s new downtown archives, where state history gets a new home
Indiana Capital Chronicle: The long-awaited building brings historic records back downtown, with improved storage, a public reading room, and a Constitution exhibit.
LOUISVILLE
Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care ordered to pay $18.4 million to creditors
Louisville Public Media: A federal judge in New York issued judgments in two lawsuits against Kentucky treatment provider Addiction Recovery Care this week, ordering the belleaguered company to pay more than $18 million to creditors.
MILWAUKEE
Federal immigration policy may be worsening Wisconsin’s caregiver shortage, leaders say
Wisconsin Public Radio: Some home health agencies and nursing homes in Wisconsin have had to give up on plans started years ago to hire overseas workers after President Donald Trump’s administration suspended nearly all refugee programs.
MORGANTOWN
ACLU-WV files lawsuit over West Virginia school aid formula
West Virginia Watch: The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia on Friday filed a lawsuit with the state’s highest court in an attempt to require state lawmakers to “correct the school funding formula,” the organization said.
NASHVILLE
Fired for not moving LGBTQ books, a former Tennessee librarian sues
Nashville Public Radio: Former library director Luanne James is suing the Rutherford County Library System six months after she was fired for refusing to relocate LGBTQ-related books.
PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia’s first mobile methadone van brings addiction treatment directly to Kensington
Philadelphia Public Radio: Philadelphia leaders and addiction treatment providers hope that a new clinic on wheels will expand access to medication for opioid use disorder among the city’s most vulnerable residents.
PITTSBURGH
Black lung disease remains a threat in Pennsylvania, but efforts to address it are delayed
WESA Pittsburgh: Each day at New River Health in Oak Hill, Lisa Emery finds disheartening signs of what she describes as a slow-motion repeat of the Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster.
WHEELING
Ohio Valley veteran celebrates 100th birthday with parade, party
WTRF.com: Ted Glaser was born on September 26, 1926, in Midland, Pennsylvania, later moving to Glen Dale, West Virginia. He continues to be active in many organizations.
YOUNGSTOWN
Dinosaurs take over the Canfield Fairgrounds
WKBN 27 Youngstown: Prehistoric giants took over the Canfield Fairgrounds this weekend. Dinosaur Adventure brought tons of fun events for kids and their families to enjoy, including life-sized moving and roaring dinosaurs, fossil digs, dino rides, live velociraptor performers and more.
