News from around the nation.

Kerr County struggled to fund flood warnings NPR reports Under Trump, it's getting even harder; Policy expert: New budget law could reshape life in Michigan; Rural organizers hope to inspire more non-political establishment candidates.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

First from our colleagues at National Public Radio.

Years before flooding took more than 90 lives in Kerr County, Texas, local officials knew residents faced threats from rapidly rising water.

They started planning a flood warning system, one that could alert residents when a flash flood was imminent.

NPR reports like many other communities around the country, Kerr County struggled to find a way to pay for it.

They turned to the largest source available, funding from FEMA.

NPR reports Kerr County's funding application was turned down by Texas officials in charge of administering those federal funds.

Meantime, a new Pew Research Center poll shows more than 75 percent of Americans say it's a good idea for the government to set stricter building standards in high-risk areas, places vulnerable to floods, wildfires, and drought.

Brian Kennedy with Pew says support crosses party lines.

Large shares of Democrats and Republicans say that it's a good idea to set stricter building standards in these communities.

And similarly, majority say it's a good idea for the government to provide financial assistance for people in high -risk areas to rebuild.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, there were 27 climate-related disasters in the US that caused at least $1 billion in damages last year, making it the fourth costliest year on record.

And some policy experts warn the newly signed federal budget law could leave more than 700,000 Michiganders without health coverage and strip food assistance from more than 120,000 residents.

Backers of the new law say it slashes government spending, delivers major tax relief, and strengthens immigration enforcement.

Others are concerned that it shifts heavy financial burdens onto states and vulnerable communities.

Monique Stanton heads up the Michigan League for Public Policy, and she says with billions of dollars going away over a 10-year period, healthcare is going to take a big hit under the new law.

And what that means is that healthcare systems will have less ability to plan, to expand, to even provide the same types of services that they're providing right now.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Next is South Dakota and its neighbors to the West.

Grassroots groups are recruiting rural residents and other underrepresented people to seek elective office, including at the local level.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils, which has member groups in the Dakotas, is hosting training sessions this summer curious about running for seats on their local city council or school board or even a statewide office.

Gwen Lackolt is with the WORC and she says the working class in these states could bring a deep understanding of community needs to government decision-making.

Winning an election is the hard part.

We have a lot of seats where people have served in these elected positions for for many years, some decades, and it's really hard to break in.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Public News Service.

Planned Parenthood and its member organizations throughout New England are asking state lawmakers to help ensure that clinics stay open and patients get the care they need.

A provision within the recently passed federal budget bill prohibits any providers that offer abortion care from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for any other healthcare services.

Lisa Margulies with the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund says with one in four patients on Medicaid, the state will need to fill that funding gap.

Our elected leaders must ensure Mainers can continue to access the care that is protected under Maine law.

Maine lawmakers have already approved $6 million in one-time funding for the state's family planning network, which includes Planned Parenthood.

More than 150 anti-abortion groups urged Congress to cut Medicaid access to the organization, despite federal law already restricting funding for most abortions.

I'm Catherine Carley.

And despite last-minute concessions in the Trump administration's budget, rural Alaska power providers face huge obstacles to distributing power to the most rural and isolated parts of the state.

Alaska's extreme weather and challenging geography already make power generation difficult and expensive.

Now, with fewer incentives to diversify, the state's most isolated places will be forced to continue relying on fossil fuels for their electricity.

The Kotzebue Electric Association's Pierre Lonewolf says the loss of tax incentives means critical alternative energy programs are dead in the water.

That has put the kibosh on our wind project, which we are partnering with the local tribe to install two more one megawatt wind turbines and another megawatt or so of solar.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski voted for the budget bill, but only after she worked to secure some alternative energy tax incentives and funding for native whale hunters back into the measure

I'm Mark Moran.

Finally, don't go into the water is a warning Illinois folks may want to heed.

A 2024 study released this week found that all state border beaches on Lake Michigan last year had evidence of contamination.

Findings from the Safe and Swimming Report indicate these conditions could cause serious gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments.

And the data shows bacteria levels were well above the EPA's beach action value water quality standards.

Emily Kowalski with the Environment Illinois Research and Education Center explains the odds of exposure.

A hundred percent of those beaches had potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria at least one day in 2024, meaning that swimmers were potentially at risk.

Weneca Lloyd Park had the highest at 21.

Glencoe Park and Montrose Beaches had 14 days each.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

You can find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.