Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in 2023 that lets children under 16 work without official permission from their parents.
AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo
Bills barring transgender teens from girls’ sports and moves to investigate parents of trans children for potential crimes provide an uncertain and dangerous future for many.
In Ames, Iowa, a creek previously named after an offensive term for Native American women is now called Ioway Creek.
Sarah Dees
The US has a long history of forced sterilization campaigns that were driven by the bogus ‘science’ of eugenics, racism and sexism.
Seth Barnes, a staffer for Democratic presidential hopeful Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, makes calls to potential voters, Jan. 29, 2020.
KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images
What will happen to campaign workers after the Feb. 3 caucuses? It’s a question that’s in the cold Iowa air, carrying with it a subtle message about the state of democratic politics.
Like the other Democratic candidates for president, Elizabeth Warren has spent months canvassing Iowa to meet voters while spending little time in other states.
CJ Gunther/EPA
Americans didn’t always have primaries and caucuses to choose presidential candidates. The system was meant to be more democratic, but it places too much attention on largely white, small states.
At the Jan. 14 debate, held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, six candidates clashed on jobs, Iran and more.
Strips of native prairie grasses planted on Larry and Margaret Stone’s Iowa farm protect soil, water and wildlife.
Iowa State University/Omar de Kok-Mercado
Investing in farming methods that improve lands and water, and in rural infrastructure and markets, could bring new prosperity to agricultural communities.
Sunset over an Iowa farm.
BJontzPhoto/shutterstock.com
Since the Great Recession, most of the nation’s rural counties have struggled to recover lost jobs and retain their people.
Three-year-old Ailianie Hernandez waits with her mother, Julianna Ageljo, to apply for Puerto Rico’s nutritional assistance program.
(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti
In Iowa, almost 40 percent of residents can’t afford the basic cost of living. That was the setting for the 2018 midterm elections, where rural voters are suffering along with their communities.
A farm in LaSalle County, Illinois.
Eddie J. Rodriquez/shutterstock.com
Conservative skeptics of climate change may support projects focused on ‘resilience’ – for example, preparing a community for future major weather events.
Energy Secretary and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry checks out a wind turbine.
AP Photo/LM Otero
There are some good explanations for the mismatch between regional support for climate action and the areas where renewable energy is making the biggest inroads.
A barn that can hold up to 4,800 hogs outside Berwick, Pa. The state says the farm is in compliance with regulations, but residents have gone to court seeking relief from odors.
AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam
Many people who live near large-scale livestock farms complain about noxious smells, air and water pollution and health risks. With little help from regulators, they are turning to lawsuits.
Students at an Atlanta elementary school prep for upcoming state standardized tests.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Standardized test scores drive many of our decisions about students, teachers and school districts. But research shows that the results are highly predictable, in a bad way.
The share of fireworks being used for professional displays like this one at the Capitol last year is falling.
Reuters/Carlos Barria