• Your Dashboard
  • Features
  • Public Lands
  • Indigenous Affairs
  • Water
  • Climate Change
  • Arts & Culture
  • Subscribe
  • Donate Now
  • The Magazine
  • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Place a Classified Ad
    • Display Ad Info
  • Your Dashboard
  • Features
  • Public Lands
  • Indigenous Affairs
  • Water
  • Climate Change
  • Arts & Culture
  • Subscribe
  • Donate Now
  • The Magazine
  • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Place a Classified Ad
    • Display Ad Info
Skip to content
High Country News

High Country News

A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.

Support

Labor

Picoso Farm in Gilroy, California, is still trying to recover from a series of devastating floods.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

After historic floods, the safety net failed small farmers

by Sarah Trent August 1, 2024July 31, 2024

Climate disasters are killing the largest subset of California farms. Government programs are too.

Posted inArticles

Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking

by Nick Bowlin, Joaqlin Estus, Natalia Mesa, Kylie Mohr and Erin X. Wong July 15, 2024August 8, 2024

Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.

Posted inArticles

The American Climate Corps take flight, with most jobs based in the West

by Brooke Larsen June 6, 2024August 8, 2024

Biden’s climate jobs program will put young people to work starting this summer.

Posted inArticles

This Montana school solved its teacher shortage by opening a day care

by Susan Shain May 28, 2024August 8, 2024

On-site day cares are being used as a recruitment tool. Turns out, they help more than just the teachers.

Posted inArticles

Cancer is killing firefighters. So this city is going PFAS-free.

by Susan Shain May 23, 2024August 8, 2024

San Francisco is the first major American city to ban the substance from protective gear.

New homes in Bozeman's Valley West.
Posted inMay 2024: A River Returns

Bozeman’s boom depends on immigrants but struggles to support them

by Nick Bowlin May 1, 2024May 6, 2024

One of the nation’s fastest-growing cities relies on a vulnerable population of workers to fuel its economic explosion.

New homes in Bozeman's Valley West.
Posted inMay 2024: A River Returns

Los motivos ocultos de la prosperidad de Bozeman

by Nick Bowlin May 1, 2024May 6, 2024

El auge económico de una de las ciudades estadounidenses con mayor crecimiento depende del trabajo de un grupo vulnerable de personas.

Posted inArticles

These Washington nurses want their hospital to be more like Oregon

by Susan Shain April 19, 2024August 8, 2024

Nurses at PeaceHealth Southwest, in Vancouver, Washington, protest unsafe staffing and pay.

Posted inJanuary 1, 2024: January 2024

Labor unions and environmentalists are working together on the energy transition

by Brooke Larsen January 1, 2024March 30, 2024

In 2023, groups found solidarity on the climate, but work lies ahead.

Posted inArticles

New Mexico’s displaced coal miners have gotten the shaft on severance pay

by Nick Bowlin November 7, 2023January 31, 2024

The state’s just transition plans promised by the Energy Transition Act haven’t panned out for many workers.

Fantasy A as himself.
Posted inArticles

A new film asks: how do you make art in a city you can’t afford?

by Natalia Mesa October 18, 2023January 24, 2024

‘Fantasy A Gets a Mattress’ is a dark, surreal, fun adventure that deals with themes of eviction, homelessness and disability.

Posted inArticles

Western states saw increasing poverty and lower incomes in 2022

by Natalia Mesa October 10, 2023January 24, 2024

From Alaska to Wyoming, cash assistance can pull families out of income hardships.

Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry

Los peligros del pastoreo

by Teresa Cotsirilos October 2, 2023April 11, 2024

Trabajadores con visas H-2A sufren en su mayoría precariedad laboral mientras sostienen a la industria ovina del Oeste de EE.UU.

Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry

The dark side of America’s sheep industry

by Teresa Cotsirilos October 2, 2023June 24, 2024

Sheepherders face wage theft, isolation, hunger and alleged abuse.

Two labor advocates wave United Farm Workers flags at the rally in Seattle on August 31.
Posted inArticles

Farmworkers fight for higher pay, better hours and fair treatment

by Natalia Mesa September 18, 2023January 24, 2024

Labor advocates rallied in Seattle to demand a union contract from Windmill farms amid allegations of poor treatment and retaliation.

Edgar Franks, policy director of the farmworkers’ union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, at the union office in Burlington, Washington.
Posted inArticles

Washington to adopt rules protecting farmworkers from wildfire smoke

by Natalia Mesa August 22, 2023January 24, 2024

Some labor advocates say they don’t go far enough.

Fred Galvez stands on the shoulder of eastbound I-15 in southern Nevada.
Posted inArticles

Scene from a Mojave oasis

by Samuel Shaw June 28, 2023January 24, 2024

Our reporter’s notebook from a stretch of road in the Nevada desert.

Posted inArticles

After a controversial merger, Nevada Gold Mines union is back

by Daniel Rothberg March 31, 2023January 24, 2024

In 2019, management abruptly stopped recognizing a union. This week, the company and the union negotiated a new contract. 

Posted inMarch 1, 2023: Moving Parts

The 90-foot sentinel of Butte, Montana

by Leah Sottile March 1, 2023January 24, 2024

What does a statue dedicated to mothers reveal about women’s rights?

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

A California fire department forges a new generation of conservation practitioners

by Danielle Venton November 1, 2022January 24, 2024

In wealthy, segregated Marin County, a pioneering recruitment program breaks down barriers to the firefighting profession

Posts navigation

1 2 3 4 Older posts

Support nonprofit news

High Country News relies on donations as well as subscription fees to produce independent reporting on the West. Help continue the legacy of reader-supported journalism by making a tax-deductible contribution today.

Make a contribution

Find out more about how we use your contributions in our annual reports and filings.

Subscribe to High Country News

Get access to on-the-ground reporting from across the West and support continued coverage of our region.

Get our newsletters

Sign up to receive news and updates from High Country News.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most popular stories

  • Lake Mead’s illegal road network is growing
  • Collaborating to create more resources for rural students
  • The New Mexico utility that wants to go all in on green hydrogen
  • Land-grab universities
  • How do you protect wildlife from sprawl?

Featured Stories

Collaborating to create more resources for rural students

Collaborating to create more resources for rural students

After losing his sight, the Tijuana River Estuary offered other ways to see

After losing his sight, the Tijuana River Estuary offered other ways to see

Endurance and the spirit of wrestling in the West

Endurance and the spirit of wrestling in the West

The West in Perspective

Can words help us out of climate despair and toward repair?

by Ruxandra Guidi

Grabbing public land in the name of housing

by Jonathan Thompson

Who is spouting violent rhetoric?

by Jonathan Thompson

About High Country News

  • Our history
  • How to support HCN
  • Submissions

Know the West.

Get 2 free issues ↓

119 Grand Avenue
PO Box 1090
Paonia, CO 81428
(970) 527-4898

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed
  • Contact Us
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Pitch us a story
  • Fellowships
  • Education
  • Support our work
  • Advertise
  • Syndication
  • Subscriber services
Get 2 free issues ↓
Magazine cover: January 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

Sign up for a free trial of High Country News. Learn what’s happening across the West today and see if becoming a subscriber is for you.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

© 2024 High Country News. All rights reserved Powered by Newspack