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Rural Texas

A stream of brown liquid spills from a long pipe onto a polluted looking, muddy and desolate field.

Texas Has a Water Shortage and a Water Glut. They’re the Same Problem.

Every day the Permian Basin brings up more water than nearby communities use, and treats most of it as waste. The state can no longer afford to do so.

by Mezabahnur Masum

Keep Reading

Texas’ Fight Against the Screwworm Will Be Nasty and Brutish

by Christopher Collins

Data Center Boom Exposes GOP Faultlines over Local Control

by Candice Bernd

When the AI Cloud Comes for Texas Water

by Miranda Williamson

A wild adult American bald eagle is seen feeding two juveniles in a nest near Lake Palestine, Texas in this April 25, 2005 file photo. The Interior Department will announce on Thursday, June 28, 2007 that it is removing the majestic bird from the protection of the Endangered Species Act, capping a four-decade struggle for recovery. Jan 31, 2020

Bald Eagle Numbers on Lake Buchanan Hit a Record Low

The midwinter survey of bald eagles at Lake Buchanan found the lowest number ever recorded, and illegal duck hunting could be a factor.

by Christopher Collins

Donald Trump Jan 21, 2020

Trump Harvests Support in America’s Farmlands

At a farm convention in Austin, the nation’s agriculture sector warmly welcomed a president who has hurt them in the past.

by Christopher Collins

In Ozona, people who need basic preventative services or prenatal check-ups typically need to make a 170-mile round trip drive to San Angelo. Jan 17, 2020

We Asked You About Health Care in Rural Texas. Here are Your Stories.

Much has been written about medical deserts, but these are the experiences of people who call them home.

by Sunny Sone

Sabrina Salas and her baby, Xavier, at Ozona High School. Jan 06, 2020

This West Texas Town is a Reproductive Health Void

Family planning clinics and abortion clinics across Texas have been closing at an alarming rate. Rural hospitals are shuttering their maternity wards. For many Texans, this means traveling hundreds of miles just to access basic reproductive health care services.

by Sophie Novack and Christopher Collins

Dec 27, 2019

5 Stories About Rural Texas You May Have Missed in 2019

A view into the weird, sad, and sometimes funny world of rural Texas.

by Christopher Collins

pollution, smog, refinery, environment Dec 19, 2019

Report: As TCEQ Sits Idle, Polluters Double Illegal Air Pollution in 2018

Unauthorized emission incidents resulted in 135 million pounds of illegal air pollution, according to a new report by Environment Texas.

by Christopher Collins

bald eagle Dec 09, 2019

Bald Eagle Numbers at Lake Buchanan Are Declining. No One’s Exactly Sure Why.

From 2015 to 2019, an average of four birds per year came to Lake Buchanan—less than half of the 10.4 average for the five years before that. Could the noise from hunters be to blame?

by Christopher Collins

Carole Ward, a former nurse practitioner, ran the Memphis health clinic until she retired in 2017. Dec 02, 2019

The Last Nurse in Memphis, Texas

Carole Ward, a former nurse practitioner, ran the only health clinic in a small town in the Panhandle until she retired in 2017.

by Christopher Collins and Sophie Novack

A pistol grip mussel. Nov 25, 2019

East Texas Rivers Could Become a Boiling Pot for Mussels

The humble bivalves may not look like much, but they act as crucial natural filters across the state's waterways—and they're severely threatened by climate change.

by Christopher Collins

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