Politics and views in the United States

The Florida legislature passes new congressional maps. The Supreme Court further weakens the Voting Rights Act and Senate Democrats create an election protection task force.

Transcript

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, this is the news from rural America.

Ten states saw record high temperatures in March, even ahead of peak fire season.

AccuWeather says high heat and drought could spark 80,000 wildfires this year, with the greatest risk in the southwest, western Montana, Idaho, and parts of the northwest.

Dr. Jeremy Hess at the University of Washington says folks should make preparations now. because wildfire smoke can damage the heart and lungs.

Smoke is an irritant and so it will cause people to feel short of breath.

If they have asthma or emphysema, they are more at risk.

Drought's not only fueling wildfires, it's driving down crop yields.

Andrea Evelyn with Missouri's Donald Danforth Plant Science Center says they expect consumer prices to rise 3.6 percent.

And this is not only the crops that we eat, but the livestock that are grazing on the grasses that are in danger from the drought.

Passing the farm bill is a Herculean task, but Western Illinois University rural economist Christopher Merritt says Congress should remember that it's a key piece of legislation, not just for agriculture, but for rural communities as a whole.

It's often the case that one spouse manages the farm and the other spouse works in a neighboring community because that's where the health insurance, where the retirement benefits come from.

The Farm Bill sets national policy for agriculture, nutrition, and conservation.

But in rural Illinois, Merritt warns communities are losing economic anchors like hospitals and grocery stores.

Most of the rural counties in Illinois have experienced a long-term population decline, and that presents a whole range of community and economic development challenges.

He says the Farm Bill should include investments in affordable housing, community facilities, cooperative development, and broadband expansion.

Americans have a complicated relationship with guns.

For some, they're part of family traditions like hunting.

For others, they're reminders of violence and pain.

Scotty Oots is a blacksmith in North Carolina.

It's so much easier to get a gun than to get rid of a gun in our country.

Oots, along with Pastor Stan Wilson, helped co-found Raw Tools South, which aims to reduce gun violence and turn guns into something new.

Wilson says they get firearms from safe surrender events where the public can give up their guns.

At a recent festival, he pointed to a table full of transformed objects.

We take unwanted guns and turn them into garden tools and art.

Teresa Shrakta sought out raw tools when the Marine Corps returned her son's firearm after he took his life while on active duty.

Bent on its destruction, she grabbed a hammer, but the group did something better.

I was happy to pound on that thing and take everything out on it.

By the end, we were transforming it into jewelry.

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, I'm Roz Brown.

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.