More states are moving to scrap sales tax at the grocery store
With high prices at the grocery store, legislators across the middle of the country have moved away from sales taxes on food purchases.
Tag: midwest
Got your Real ID? Millions of Midwesterners still don’t have the new, more secure cards
After May 7, people age 18 and older who want to travel domestically by air and enter certain federal buildings will need to present a Real ID or a valid passport.
USDA ended its local food programs. A look at how farmers, schools and food banks are coping
Thousands of schools, farmers and food pantries in the Midwest and Great Plains planned on federal dollars over the next year to support local food purchases. And then the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut the programs.
Homeless residents in Midwest cities are increasingly hard to track — and to help
HUD requires designated organizations throughout the country to perform a count once a year on a single night in January to tally the number of people without safe, stable housing.
Drought delivers a big blow to wildlife already grappling with disease and habitat loss
Drought has scorched much of the Midwest and Great Plains for the last four years. Wildlife is also reckoning with the dry conditions – which can change animal behavior and even push species out of some regions.
It tastes like chicken, but ‘cultivated’ meat sees growing opposition from U.S. lawmakers
Cultivated meat – meat grown from animal cells – is touted as a way to meet growing global demand with far fewer climate impacts. Yet two states banned the sale of cultivated meat earlier this year, and there are proposals in several Midwestern states to do the same. The meat sizzling in the pan at
It’s warmer and drier than usual in the Midwest this fall. Here’s what that means for producers
Fall is typically a drier time of the year for the Great Plains and Midwest. But drought is once again rearing its head in much of the region, and experts are not seeing relief anytime soon. As Ralph Lents harvests corn and soybeans on his farm in southwest Iowa, he said some precipitation would be
Low Mississippi River levels are again making it more expensive to transport crops in the Midwest
River barges are an efficient way to move crops — 15 barges can hold about as much grain as 1,000 semi-trucks. But low river levels are driving up transportation costs for Midwest farmers. The Mississippi River is experiencing low water levels this fall, driving up grain transportation prices for farmers in the Midwest.
Prairie home companions: Why more farmers are planting native landscapes in their crop fields
While corn and soybeans dominate the Midwestern landscape today, some farmers are integrating strips of native prairie back into their fields. This conservation practice has expanded to more than a dozen states. Between two corn fields in central Iowa, Lee Tesdell walks through a corridor of native prairie grasses and wildflowers. Crickets trill as dickcissels,
Immigrant farmers often can’t get federal grants to start businesses. These nonprofits are helping
Documentation status, language barriers and lack of information can all create barriers for immigrants to access federal grants. Now a number of organizations are stepping in to provide direct support.
‘Midwestern Nice’ and ‘Fun Dad’ posts abound after Tim Walz is named VP pick
Walz’s Midwestern-dad humor has endeared Harris supporters to the Minnesota governor and father of two, whose national visibility has been on the rise since Harris took over the Democratic ticket.
Elderberries are a successful niche crop at a crossroads: go big or stay small
Elderberries are native to the Midwest, but the commercial cultivation of the crop is relatively recent, and saw a big increase during the coronavirus pandemic. That has the burgeoning industry wondering if its future is as a small, niche crop or something bigger.
Buffalo are being restored to tribal lands throughout the Midwest
Hundreds of buffalo raised in preserves throughout the Midwest will soon begin their journey to tribal lands across the country. It’s part of an effort led by the InterTribal Buffalo Council, a network of 79 tribal nations that work together to distribute buffalo. This year the group plans to relocate some 1,500 buffalo to member