News from around the nation.

Two children, aged eight and 10, killed in shooting during Minneapolis Catholic school Mass; After NYC primaries, outreach for young Latino voters gets a nod; Medicaid cuts threaten access to Black mental health services in TN; Report: Kentucky economy could improve with child care changes.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Two children aged 8 and 10 have been killed, 17 other people injured following a school shooting in Minneapolis.

That's from the BBC.

The attack happened during morning mass at Annunciation Catholic School.

The gunman armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, he shot through the church windows, police say, adding that he then turned the gun on himself.

Chief Brian O'Hara called it a deliberate act of violence against children and worshippers.

The mayor said during an emotional news conference, "Don't say this is about thoughts and prayers. These kids were literally praying."

Meantime, election analysts are still unpacking voting trends from the mayoral primary in New York City.

Groups serving Latino populations highlight the connections their teams have made.

The June primary saw voter participation levels not seen in decades with strong turnout from the 18- to 40-year-old age group.

Experts cite record-breaking activity from first-time voters, including first-generation U.S. citizens.

Yesenia Mata of the community-based group La Colmena in Stanton Island says through their outreach, a common motivating factor in getting people to register was fears about immigration enforcement.

"They just wanted their parents to stay here. They're like, 'I don't want my mother to get deported. I don't want my wife to get deported.'"

Mata says they also talked with immigrants, namely parents, who aren't eligible to vote live with family members who are citizens.

I'm Mike Moen.

And next to Tennessee, where a nonprofit says Medicaid cuts to Trump's Big Bill Act will affect what is already a mental health crisis in the state, particularly for black and underserved communities.

The law was projected to leave more than 110,000 Tennesseans without health coverage, many of whom rely on Medicaid for addiction treatment and behavioral health services.

Benias Isaias, who leads the black mental health village, says demand for care is already outpacing their capacity.

He says in the past few months, requests for services have tripled and Medicaid cuts will mean even more uninsured people needing care.

So we know that these kinds of cuts are gonna lead to immediate loss of access to life saving addiction and behavioral health services.

But more than that, what it really does is it pushes more people into being uninsured.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And a new report claims if child care were more available and affordable in Kentucky, around 60 to 28,000 people could join or rejoin the state's workforce, adding up to 600 million dollars to the economy.

Jennifer Washburn, who has been running a child care center in western Kentucky for more than two decades, says interstate pay continues to be a barrier.

"You can make more as a dog walker. My direct competition is Walmart, where they can not only pay more, but they can offer some benefits."

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce came up with the based on survey data and academic research.

This story produced with original reporting by Sarah Ladd with the Kentucky Lantern.

This is public news service.

And corporate ownership of Illinois farmland has risen nearly 170 percent since 2005, now accounting for more than one in five acres.

Nearly one fourth of Illinois farmland is owned by business entities with out of state addresses, and about three percent is foreign held a Chicago Tribune analysis found.

Illinois is among the only Corn Belt state that doesn't place restrictions on corporate purchases of farmland.

Local farmers like Hans Bishop, who used to grow and sell organic vegetables, faced pressure from landlords to grow conventional corn and soybeans instead of organic or sustainable crops.

I don't like the fact that there's so much corn and soybeans in the Midwest, but I guess the government makes it easy to do that.

And to some degree, I was just like, why make it harder on myself?

Land rental prices, which have more than doubled since 2005, make it harder for small farmers to compete, while short-term leases discourage soil conservation practices.

Without ownership security, many tenants avoid costly methods like cover crops, which accelerates soil erosion, fertilizer runoff, and dependence on chemicals.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch Reporting.

This story was originally reported by Corrina Atkins with the Chicago Tribune.

And as folks in Wyoming prepare to celebrate Labor Day, a new report shows just how far workers have fallen behind bosses when it comes to their share of company earnings.

CEOs at the largest 100 low-wage corporations listed in the S&P 500, businesses like Home Depot, Starbucks, Walmart, and others, earn 632 times more than their lowest-paid workers on average.

Sarah Anderson, with the Institute for Policy Studies, is lead author of the report.

She says CEO pay has soared since 2019, while worker pay has lagged behind U.S. inflation.

At a time when many American workers are struggling with high costs for things like groceries and housing, what we found is that the nation's 100 largest low-wage employers are focused on making their overpaid CEOs even richer.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Next to Indiana, where Democrats are focused on the state's Civil Rights Commission after Governor Mike Braun appointed Philip Clay as the agency's new director.

Joey La Rue has our story.

Indiana Democratic Party Vice Chair, Alex Narenda, criticizes the decision, saying Clay lacks the legal expertise and civil rights experience needed for the post.

Narenda points to Clay's career in real estate and investor relations as evidence he is unqualified to lead an agency that enforces anti-discrimination laws.

Outside of just being a party guy, this guy has openly stepped out and talked negatively about communities racist policing and just calling it race baiting.

The governor's office defends the choice saying Clay brings strong management experience and community involvement.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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