940-631-1828 
Ted Cruz Won Because of Rural Texas, but Beto Made Small Gains for Democrats
O’Rourke’s strategy of hitting all 254 counties didn’t win him the race, but it likely gained Democratic ground in small-town Texas, Republicans’ most reliable stronghold.
Christopher Collins
Christopher Collins is a freelance writer and formerly an associate editor at the Texas Observer. The Wichita Falls native graduated from Midwestern State University in 2012 with a degree in Mass Communication. He previously has worked as a reporter at the Abilene Reporter-News and the Wichita Falls Times Record News.
Articles by Christopher Collins
In East Texas, Chicken Plants are Polluting Rivers and Lakes with Oxygen-Sucking Contaminants
A report released by the Environmental Integrity Project identified Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson as major dischargers of wastewater containing high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Despite Trump and Rick Perry’s Best Efforts, Another Coal Plant Eats the Dust in Texas
The impending closure of the 650-megawatt Oklaunion plant is more writing on the wall for the state’s power generators.
Sid Miller’s Ag Department Knew About Dangerous Pesticide Violations in 2015, Did Nothing for Two Years
A state inspector found that USDA's fever tick teams broke state and federal rules by indiscriminately spraying poison and dumping toxic pesticides on ranchland.
Inside the Coordinated Attack on a North Texas Wind Farm
Conservative lawmakers, an oil investor and other activists did all they could to stop a wind project in rural Texas, even as the state has increasingly embraced renewable energy.
Heartland is an Honest, Poetic Meditation on Class in America
Journalist Sarah Smarsh’s book encapsulates what it’s like to grow up in the forgotten farm fields of America, artfully mixing anecdote with political context and societal commentary.
Documents Show Financial Entanglements Between Trump’s USDA Pick and Agribusiness
Mindy Brashears, a Texas Tech animal scientist nominated by Trump to lead the food safety arm of the USDA, is deeply embedded in the agribusiness industry.
Lawmakers Killed a Plan to Shut Down 87 Driver’s Licenses Offices. That’s Good News for Voters.
The DPS proposed to close “inefficient” driver’s licenses office in mainly rural areas, even though it would have created an extra hurdle for voters to get state-required photo ID.
Beto’s Drawing Big Crowds in Small Towns. But What’s His Plan for Rural Texas?
Focusing on rural access to health care, high-speed internet and immigrant farm labor, O’Rourke’s rural platform looks to be cogent and cohesive, if still a little skinny.
In Boerne, a Youth Suicide Prevention Effort that May Actually Work
Boerne ISD was once in the grips of a student suicide crisis, but now a prevention program has kept the district suicide-free for the last three years.