Alaska
Some states hope to move climate-threatened species, but others say no way
This story is part two of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. See part one: Federal wildlife managers and ecologists weigh the risks of action — and inaction — to rescue species from climate change. North Carolina might need to move a snail. A tiny mollusk […]
Energy-Producing States Lag in Latest Economic Numbers
Amid worries about a possible recession, energy-producing states had the biggest drops in GDP during the first quarter of this year, despite skyrocketing oil and gas prices, new government figures show. The main reason: Energy companies are still struggling to bring back workers and rigs that were idled early in the pandemic. GDP, or gross […]
More States Want Power to Approve Wetlands Development
In 2020, Florida became just the third state—and the first in decades—to take over management of a key federal Clean Water Act program. Now, state rather than federal officials decide whether companies can dredge and fill wetlands and waterways for projects ranging from mining to housing developments to roads and bridges. Several other states are […]
No Permit, No Problem: More States Allow Residents to Carry a Hidden Gun
Six more states no longer require residents to hold a permit to carry a concealed firearm. Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah this year enacted what gun rights advocates often refer to as “constitutional carry” measures. A legislative priority for groups such as the National Rifle Association, 21 states now have such measures in […]
Rural States with Early Vaccine Success Hit a Wall
When COVID-19 vaccines rolled out earlier this year, Alaska, West Virginia and several other rural states quickly jumped ahead of the pack, vaccinating residents at rates that outpaced other states. Those less populous states outhustled bigger ones using innovative distribution schemes such as flying vaccines on small airplanes to remote areas, tapping into existing rural […]
More Governors End Pandemic Unemployment Benefits
At least four more states have announced they will opt out of federal COVID-19 unemployment assistance programs before the official Labor Day expiration date, Sept. 6. Louisiana, the first Democratic-led state to end benefits, and the Republican-led Florida, Maryland and Nebraska, became the latest states to end the additional -a-week federal unemployment assistance and other […]
Pandemic Prompts Some States to Pass Struggling Third Graders
At least 29 states and Washington, D.C., allow or require schools to hold back struggling third graders who don’t pass state standardized reading tests, the result of ongoing attempts to close the nation’s achievement gap. But as families wrestle with online learning, a pandemic economy and mental health difficulties, some states are revisiting that approach. […]
GOP Governors’ Cutoff of COVID Benefits Hits Hard in Rural America
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to include the full name of Arkansas Senator Ron Caldwell. After Lisa Wilkinson, 54, got laid off from her factory job in December 2019, she knew it would be difficult to replace it. She’s older and lives in rural Tennessee, where work is scarce. She immediately began her […]
Oil-Friendly States Fight Back Against Sustainable Investment Trend
Climate and shareholder activists are leading a growing movement for investors to put their money only in companies with sustainable business practices, a standard that considers how a company is run, the working conditions in its supply chain and its effect on climate change. But lawmakers in some energy-producing states are not only pushing back—they’re […]
Roadkill Moose Fed Alaska Families for Years. Then Came COVID-19.
It always broke Laurie Speakman’s heart to hear that another moose was struck and killed on the rural highway near her home in Soldotna, Alaska, on the western end of the Kenai Peninsula. But it also warmed her to know that several local families were about to get fed. For the past eight years, Speakman, […]
Reopening Means Contact Tracing. Many States Aren’t Ready.
Read Stateline coverage of the latest state action on coronavirus. In mid-March, Jenine Clements’ boss asked her to set aside at least 24 hours out of her work week to call people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19. The goal was to locate people who had been in close contact with an infected patient and make […]
Many Health Providers on Brink of Insolvency
Read Stateline coverage of the latest state action on coronavirus. While hospitals strain to treat the surge of acutely ill COVID-19 patients, the crisis threatens the stability of the rest of the health care system. Elective surgeries and routine medical care are on hold. As a result, medical providers of all kinds are seeing drastic […]