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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.

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Posted inArticles

The New Mexico utility that wants to go all in on green hydrogen

by Mary Catherine O’Connor August 19, 2024August 20, 2024

The project, like the larger green hydrogen economy, will need to overcome skepticism from local communities and funding challenges.

Posted inArticles

As cities enact camping bans, where will California’s unhoused population go?

by Erin Rode August 8, 2024August 8, 2024

The number of people experiencing homelessness vastly exceeds the number of available shelter beds in the state.

Posted inArticles

How an unexpected storm reshaped Alaska’s west coast

by Emily Schwing August 7, 2024August 8, 2024

Disaster recovery is a long game and the boats and driftwood that pepper Western Alaska’s tundra are the perfect reminder.

Posted inArticles

Banning concentrated feedlots is on the ballot in Sonoma

by Nina Elkadi August 6, 2024August 8, 2024

Locals worry what this could mean for a region dominated by agritourism.

Posted inArticles

Is your community ready for a wildfire?

by Erin X. Wong August 5, 2024August 12, 2024

Local governments throughout the West are investing in wildfire defense. Here’s how to know if yours is one of them.

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.

Sleeping Buffalo and Medicine Rocks, Saco vicinity, Phillips County, Montana. October 1994
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

The vision of Little Shell

by Chris La Tray August 1, 2024July 31, 2024

How Ayabe-way-we-tung guided his tribe in the midst of colonization.

Boats carry Hanford Journey attendees down the Columbia River in Washington toward Hanford reactors, one that’s cocooned and another that’s decommissioned but still standing.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster August 1, 2024August 1, 2024

At the fourth annual Hanford Journey, Yakama Nation youth, elders and scientists share stories about a land that is a part of them.

Dusk in Phoenix during July 2023, when the city saw 20 straight days of extreme heat.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

The inequity of heat

by Jonathan Thompson August 1, 2024August 1, 2024

Extreme heat doesn’t discriminate; the ability to escape it does.

Teacher Sabrina Moquino works with students during circle time in a pre-K class at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe’s Child Development Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With the new state child-care program, the center no longer has to cap the number of students that receive subsidies.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

How New Mexico made child care free for most families

by Susan Shain August 1, 2024July 31, 2024

The state, long known for its challenges with child wellbeing, is now a leader in early childhood education.

Wild blueberries in the foothills of the Alaska Range, near Cantwell.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

What the tundra provides

by Laureli Ivanoff August 1, 2024July 31, 2024

Picking blueberries fills more than just a bucket.

Danica Nava with her new book, "The Truth According to Ember."
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

Indigenous people deserve gushy romance novels

by Taylar Dawn Stagner July 31, 2024July 31, 2024

‘The Truth According to Ember’ is a summer rom-com about Native people learning to be their authentic selves.

Posted inArticles

California’s Park Fire rekindles trauma from previous blazes

by Dani Anguiano July 30, 2024August 8, 2024

‘The PTSD is horrible.’

Posted inArticles

Fireworks trigger wildfires. Climate change may increase the risk.

by Kiley Price July 4, 2024August 8, 2024

Research found that twice as many wildfires were recorded on July 4 as almost any other day in the West. 

The Bessemer ditch near Pueblo, Colorado.
Posted inJuly 2024

A new documentary confronts water scarcity in the West

by Natalia Mesa July 1, 2024July 1, 2024

In Mirasol: Looking at the Sun, Colorado farmers fight to save their communities.

Posted inArticles

Supreme Court gives cities and towns power to criminalize homelessness

by Natalia Mesa June 28, 2024August 8, 2024

The Oregon case has been closely watched by Western cities and states.

Posted inArticles

The theft of the commons

by Antonia Malchik June 25, 2024August 8, 2024

It’s time to turn away from land ownership and back to land relationship.

Posted inArticles

What being a rural election official is like

by Susan Shain June 21, 2024August 8, 2024

And what’s worrying one expert this November.

Posted inArticles

Alaska’s capital plans to limit cruise ship tourists

by James Brooks June 20, 2024August 8, 2024

‘Juneau is hitting pause on growth.’

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.

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