Barn Raiser
@barnraiser.bsky.social
Your independent source for rural and small town news
https://barnraisingmedia.com/
https://barnraisingmedia.com/
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Barn Raiser
@barnraiser.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Newsletter
barnraisingmedia.com
Welcome to the Barn Raiser bluesky! Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates on the issues facing rural communities and small towns! barnraisingmedia.com/newsletter/
The books—old and new—that our readers and staff enjoyed this year
barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
Our Readers’ Favorite Books of 2025
I loved it for its beautiful language and the story of a dull life with no escape, a near dead experience and being conned by a crazy visitor which in the end opened doors to possibilities that were…
barnraisingmedia.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The books—old and new—that our readers and staff enjoyed this year
barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art has put David City on the map
barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
How a Small Nebraska Town Became an Arts Destination
The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art has made David City an arts destination as the home of the nation’s only agrarian art museum
barnraisingmedia.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art has put David City on the map
barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
We asked our readers to submit their favorite story for the first-annual Barn Raiser Readers’ Choice Award 2025. The winner was “Iowa Republicans Are Erasing the State’s History,” by Suzan Erem. barnraisingmedia.com/iowa-republi...
Iowa Republicans Are Erasing the State’s History
Iowa elected officials are preparing to trash 60% of the state’s historical archives with no transparency or input from the public.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
We asked our readers to submit their favorite story for the first-annual Barn Raiser Readers’ Choice Award 2025. The winner was “Iowa Republicans Are Erasing the State’s History,” by Suzan Erem. barnraisingmedia.com/iowa-republi...
We asked Barn Raiser readers to tell us the best books they read this year. Here is what they said. barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
Our Readers’ Favorite Books of 2025
I loved it for its beautiful language and the story of a dull life with no escape, a near dead experience and being conned by a crazy visitor which in the end opened doors to possibilities that were…
barnraisingmedia.com
December 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
We asked Barn Raiser readers to tell us the best books they read this year. Here is what they said. barnraisingmedia.com/our-readers-...
After decades of struggle, indigenous leaders and organizers have shown how to win against billionaires and large corporations
barnraisingmedia.com/when-we-win-...
barnraisingmedia.com/when-we-win-...
When We Win: Stories From the Frontlines of Ecological Resistance
After decades of struggle, indigenous leaders and organizers have shown how to win against billionaires and large corporations.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
After decades of struggle, indigenous leaders and organizers have shown how to win against billionaires and large corporations
barnraisingmedia.com/when-we-win-...
barnraisingmedia.com/when-we-win-...
At Barn Raiser, we know local reporting is vital.
If you believe in what we do, we hope you’ll chip in during our NewsMatch campaign. Through 12/31, the impact of your donation is QUADRUPLED!!
Can we count on you?
donorbox.org/barn-raising...
If you believe in what we do, we hope you’ll chip in during our NewsMatch campaign. Through 12/31, the impact of your donation is QUADRUPLED!!
Can we count on you?
donorbox.org/barn-raising...
Barn Raiser’s Year-End 4X Match Campaign | BARN RAISING MEDIA (Powered by Donorbox)
Your tax-deductible donation to Barn Raiser powers trusted, independent journalism spotlighting critical issues and amplifying the diverse voices shaping the future of rural communities. From now…
donorbox.org
December 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
At Barn Raiser, we know local reporting is vital.
If you believe in what we do, we hope you’ll chip in during our NewsMatch campaign. Through 12/31, the impact of your donation is QUADRUPLED!!
Can we count on you?
donorbox.org/barn-raising...
If you believe in what we do, we hope you’ll chip in during our NewsMatch campaign. Through 12/31, the impact of your donation is QUADRUPLED!!
Can we count on you?
donorbox.org/barn-raising...
In 2007, the Bone Creek Museum became the nation's first museum devoted to agrarian art. The museum’s mission to celebrate rural art and its connection to land has helped revitalize the small town of David City, Nebraska. barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
How a Small Nebraska Town Became an Arts Destination
The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art has made David City an arts destination as the home of the nation’s only agrarian art museum
barnraisingmedia.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
In 2007, the Bone Creek Museum became the nation's first museum devoted to agrarian art. The museum’s mission to celebrate rural art and its connection to land has helped revitalize the small town of David City, Nebraska. barnraisingmedia.com/how-a-small-...
If the issue were only money, this strike would have ended before it began.
Instead, it lasted through two scorched Arizona summers; some 70-odd Fridays without paychecks; one Christmas without presents, and then another; a 100-year flood.
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
Instead, it lasted through two scorched Arizona summers; some 70-odd Fridays without paychecks; one Christmas without presents, and then another; a 100-year flood.
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
Barbara Kingsolver on the Women of the Great Arizona Mine Strike
In 1983, Barbara Kingsolver was a freelance journalist assigned to report on strike-gripped Arizona mining towns. Her reporting resonates today.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
If the issue were only money, this strike would have ended before it began.
Instead, it lasted through two scorched Arizona summers; some 70-odd Fridays without paychecks; one Christmas without presents, and then another; a 100-year flood.
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
Instead, it lasted through two scorched Arizona summers; some 70-odd Fridays without paychecks; one Christmas without presents, and then another; a 100-year flood.
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
Since 1978, Kay and Ted Berger have forgone the amenities of "civilization" and built a life as Ozark farmers
barnraisingmedia.com/back-to-the-...
barnraisingmedia.com/back-to-the-...
Back to the Land in the Ozarks
Since 1978, Kay and Ted Berger have forgone the amenities of "civilization" and built a life as Ozark farmers.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Since 1978, Kay and Ted Berger have forgone the amenities of "civilization" and built a life as Ozark farmers
barnraisingmedia.com/back-to-the-...
barnraisingmedia.com/back-to-the-...
Today, the Joyce family, Fraser fir Christmas tree farmers in southwest Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands, are among those hoping to write a new kind of Chestnut story—a success story of restoration and renewal. barnraisingmedia.com/can-a-family...
Can a Family Resurrect the American Chestnut Tree in Appalachia?
Virginia family farmers have planted American chestnut seedlings that come from an old grove that survived the 20th century blight. Will the trees survive?
barnraisingmedia.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Today, the Joyce family, Fraser fir Christmas tree farmers in southwest Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands, are among those hoping to write a new kind of Chestnut story—a success story of restoration and renewal. barnraisingmedia.com/can-a-family...
In a year of sweeping federal policy change and visionary rural organizing, Barn Raiser covered rural America from coast to coast
barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
Barn Raiser’s 2025 Year in Review
Explore a selection of rural stories in 2025 from Barn Raiser that made an impact, from covering the Trump administration to Native voices.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM
In a year of sweeping federal policy change and visionary rural organizing, Barn Raiser covered rural America from coast to coast
barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
For rural communities hard-hit by decades of PFAS pollution, class-action lawsuits have aided recovery. But the victims of pollution are finding that courtroom victories don’t solve the problem.
barnraisingmedia.com/petersburgh-...
barnraisingmedia.com/petersburgh-...
‘I Didn’t Know I Was Sitting in a Pool of Poison’
For those hard-hit by decades of PFAS pollution, class-action lawsuits have aided recovery. But many find that it’s not nearly enough.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
For rural communities hard-hit by decades of PFAS pollution, class-action lawsuits have aided recovery. But the victims of pollution are finding that courtroom victories don’t solve the problem.
barnraisingmedia.com/petersburgh-...
barnraisingmedia.com/petersburgh-...
The billionaire-led push to siphon public funds to private religious schools faces a backlash from rural voters whose public schools are the cornerstones of their community.
barnraisingmedia.com/why-red-stat...
barnraisingmedia.com/why-red-stat...
In Red States, Rural Voters Are Leading the Resistance to School Vouchers
The billionaire-led push to siphon public funds to private religious schools faces a backlash from rural voters who make up the GOP base.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The billionaire-led push to siphon public funds to private religious schools faces a backlash from rural voters whose public schools are the cornerstones of their community.
barnraisingmedia.com/why-red-stat...
barnraisingmedia.com/why-red-stat...
In response to sweeping federal policy changes, organizers and visionaries took a stand, leading the charge to renew rural civic life. Barn Raiser was there, covering these movements from coast to coast. Here are our top 40 stories from the past year. barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
Barn Raiser’s 2025 Year in Review
Explore a selection of rural stories in 2025 from Barn Raiser that made an impact, from covering the Trump administration to Native voices.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
In response to sweeping federal policy changes, organizers and visionaries took a stand, leading the charge to renew rural civic life. Barn Raiser was there, covering these movements from coast to coast. Here are our top 40 stories from the past year. barnraisingmedia.com/barn-raiser-...
“If we could just get rid of these broads, we’d have it made,” said an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
Barbara Kingsolver on the Women of the Great Arizona Mine Strike
In 1983, Barbara Kingsolver was a freelance journalist assigned to report on strike-gripped Arizona mining towns. Her reporting resonates today.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“If we could just get rid of these broads, we’d have it made,” said an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
barnraisingmedia.com/barbara-king...
How Pete Hegseth’s former Minnesota church is leading the new Christian “crusade”
barnraisingmedia.com/megachurches...
barnraisingmedia.com/megachurches...
Megachurches: Streaming to a Barn Near You
As rural churches struggle to keep their doors open, megachurches like Minnesota’s Eagle Brook are embracing technology to fill the void.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:01 PM
How Pete Hegseth’s former Minnesota church is leading the new Christian “crusade”
barnraisingmedia.com/megachurches...
barnraisingmedia.com/megachurches...
Author and farm advocate Brooks Lamb discusses how he brings rural communities together to conserve farmland for future generations. barnraisingmedia.com/homesick-for...
‘Homesick for the Land Itself’
Author, farmer and land advocate Brooks Lamb discusses the future of agriculture but also the land and ecosystems upon which we depend.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Author and farm advocate Brooks Lamb discusses how he brings rural communities together to conserve farmland for future generations. barnraisingmedia.com/homesick-for...
A once-fringe idea has gone mainstream—its flawed roots are as visible as ever
barnraisingmedia.com/the-myth-of-...
barnraisingmedia.com/the-myth-of-...
The Myth of the Constitutional Sheriff
How Richard Mack led the rise off the constitutional sheriff movement, one of the most serious threats to American democracy since the Civil War.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
A once-fringe idea has gone mainstream—its flawed roots are as visible as ever
barnraisingmedia.com/the-myth-of-...
barnraisingmedia.com/the-myth-of-...
"Sometimes all you have is hope. That’s the one thing I think we have to hang on to. But some days it’s harder to find than others." barnraisingmedia.com/this-is-how-...
‘This Is How People Find Their Voice’
Farmer and organizer Suzan Erem reflects on rural collective action in the Trump age and the power of rural and urban people coming together.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM
"Sometimes all you have is hope. That’s the one thing I think we have to hang on to. But some days it’s harder to find than others." barnraisingmedia.com/this-is-how-...
Following the abandonment of Howard Dean’s “50 state strategy” and the resulting Democratic divestment from rural districts nationwide has entrenched an exclusivity in the party. barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...
Two Paths Forward for Democrats in 2026
Despite the Democratic Party’s success in 2025, the experiences of rural candidates in Virginia show the party’s challenges ahead.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Following the abandonment of Howard Dean’s “50 state strategy” and the resulting Democratic divestment from rural districts nationwide has entrenched an exclusivity in the party. barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...
Pastor and author Angela Denker discusses what’s happening to white men and boys in Trump’s America
barnraisingmedia.com/disciples-of...
barnraisingmedia.com/disciples-of...
‘Disciples of White Jesus,’ Disciples of Trump
For her new book Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood (Broadleaf Books, 2025), Denker again traversed the country. This time she was investigating the radicalization of…
barnraisingmedia.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Pastor and author Angela Denker discusses what’s happening to white men and boys in Trump’s America
barnraisingmedia.com/disciples-of...
barnraisingmedia.com/disciples-of...
The 2025 off-year elections were a windfall for Democrats. But the experiences of rural candidates show the challenges ahead in 2026.
barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...
barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...
Two Paths Forward for Democrats in 2026
Despite the Democratic Party’s success in 2025, the experiences of rural candidates in Virginia show the party’s challenges ahead.
barnraisingmedia.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
The 2025 off-year elections were a windfall for Democrats. But the experiences of rural candidates show the challenges ahead in 2026.
barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...
barnraisingmedia.com/two-paths-fo...