Fact-based reporting of politics, history, culture, religion, environment, agriculture, and Native people of rural and small town America

Dec 9, 2022 · Inside the 19th century barn, people escaped the sun and caught up with each other. Politics ran the gamut, Bernie folks and Trumpsters and everything in between. A band stood on a flatbed trailer and played familiar songs. In the back of the family barn, beneath hand-hewn beams and to the clucks of chickens, the […]

18 hours ago · Rural America’s decades-long shift to the right has been targeted by coastal critics as the reason Donald Trump is now President. But in August 2024, the Harris campaign’s decision to choose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the vice presidential nominee and to hire Matt Hildreth as its rural outreach director, signaled an engagement with rural voters to reverse this trend. The effort fell short ...

Dec 29, 2024 · Explore a selection of rural stories in 2024 from Barn Raiser that made an impact, from the 2024 election to Wendell Berry.

Jan 20, 2025 · Here’s How We Can Break the GOP’s Grip on Rural America Democrats need a new organizing strategy, not just better messaging

Barn Raiser publishes independent news and analysis to support civically engaged and dynamically connected rural and small town communities.

Dec 15, 2024 · In Rural News Deserts, Trump Won Big The election results show “that some of the most common victims of the collapse of local news” are the same people who support Trump, says Steven Waldman, the president and founder of Rebuild Local News.

Nov 18, 2024 · The Right Wants to Divide Rural People and the Working Class. Here’s How We Unite. The director of the Appalachia People’s Union on why the South is ready to stand up to Trump

Oct 23, 2024 · Local races for public office often go uncontested in rural America. That’s changing in 2024, thanks to a new rural grassroots movement.

Nov 4, 2024 · Project 2025’s plans for the Department of Agriculture call for eliminating many conservation programs that have broad support among farmers.