Check out the latest news, features, opinions, and more from Appalachia, the Midwest, and other Postindustrial Communities.
ASHEVILLE
Emergency rule targets bear feeding in Buncombe County
WLOS Asheville: The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission approved an emergency rule to prevent black bear interactions in Buncombe County.
ATLANTA
Race to replace Georgia’s voting system by 2028 sparks high-stakes vendor battle
Atlanta News First: The push comes just years after Georgia spent $108 million in 2019 to roll out its current Dominion touchscreen ballot-marking devices.
BALTIMORE
Trump administration challenges Maryland’s ban on police using masks
Maryland Matters: The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging a new Maryland state law that prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks to conceal their faces while on duty.
Why losing industrial jobs hit differently in Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago
WBEZ Chicago: In Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, built on a graveyard of old industry, you’ll find the University of Illinois Chicago’s Cuppa Hall and the Great Cities Institute.
CINCINNATI
Analysis of Ohio’s US Senate race
Cincinnati Public Radio: Ohio’s U.S. Senate race has become one of the must-watch contests in the midterms, with former Senator Sherrod Brown challenging current Senator Jon Husted.
CLEVELAND
Ideastream Public Media: The race for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, which covers Medina and Wayne Counties, and parts of Cuyahoga and Holmes Counties, has become one of the most watched in the county with the incumbent facing accusations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife.
COLUMBUS
Weeks after severe storms, southeast Ohio communities are recovering from floods
Ohio State Public Media: It’s been a particularly rainy summer in southern Ohio. In August, severe storms destroyed at least 50 homes and businesses and caused major damage to 800 more across 23 central and southern Ohio counties, according to the governor’s office.
DETROIT
Detroit officer charged after toddler found with loaded gun at daycare
CBS Detroit: Brandon Ely, a 28-year-old Detroit police officer, and Rabab Al Zayad, 27, both of Wayne County, were charged after their child had a loaded handgun at his daycare center in Canton Township
INDIANAPOLIS
Indiana Latino Expo Resource Fair returns this weekend
Indianapolis Public Media: Chair Charles Garcia said security and safety remain top of mind after recent ICE activity in the state. He said the change of venue to the State Fairgrounds and Event Center was made to address some of those fears.
LOUISVILLE
Appalachian coal miners ask lawmakers in DC for better disability benefits and worker protections
Louisville Public Media: Retired miners, their families and policy groups are lobbying Congress to uphold worker protections and pass legislation that updates black lung disability programs.
MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin among states suing Trump administration over rollback of power plant rules
Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin is among a coalition of 25 states, cities and counties suing the Trump administration for rolling back rules that limit heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.
MORGANTOWN
West Virginia exits nuclear campus initiative over spent fuel handling concerns
WCHS: West Virginia has withdrawn from a federal nuclear energy initiative after concerns about the potential handling of spent nuclear fuel at a proposed site in Boone County.
NASHVILLE
Christa Pike is in critical condition after Tennessee’s failed execution attempt, her lawyers say
Associated Press: Christa Pike was in critical condition and receiving “lifesaving care” at a hospital, her lawyers said, a day after a failed attempt to execute her pushed Tennessee’s governor to halt further executions this year and order an independent review.
PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia Public Radio: Microplastics are persistent across the Delaware River watershed, including in the Philadelphia region, according to a new report by the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center.
PITTSBURGH
Five Pennsylvania hospitals join West Virginia University Health System
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The new hospital acquisitions have a combined bed count of 925, more than 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, and nearly 7,000 employees. The hospitals serve 750,000 people in more than 10 counties in Pennsylvania.
WHEELING
When Fall Foliage will reach its peak in the Ohio Valley
WTRF.com: Right now, much of the Ohio Valley remains predominantly green. However, some locations are beginning to see the first signs of fall color, including areas around Cameron in Marshall County.
YOUNGSTOWN
Business owners unite to discuss issues downtown
WKBN 27 Youngstown: “We have great streets now. We have great optics now. I don’t want some isolated incident to, like, ruin people’s perception of all the work that we’ve done and all the hardships each and every one of us have gone through in the last eight years,” owner of Casa Di Canzonetta, Mark Canzonetta, said.
