Cars are Alabama s biggest export and the auto industry is a huge employer, responsible for about one in six Alabamians jobs, about 45,000 people. But even though the auto industry is growing, a new report contends workers are not getting the benefits they deserve. The "State of Working Alabama 2023" report from Alabama Arise argues the job quality and economic results are not what they should be. .
By Tony Leys for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collaboration Myrna Peterson predicts self-driving vehicles will be a ticket out of isolation and loneliness for people like her, who live outside big cities and have disabilities that prevent them from driving. Peterson, who has quadriplegia, is an enthusiastic participant in an unusual test of autonomous vehicles in this corner of northern Minnesota. She helped attract government funding to bring five self-driving vans to Grand Rapids, a city of 11,000 people in a region of pine and birch forests along the Mississippi River. .
A Georgia group is using some U.S. Department of Agriculture Housing Preservation Grant funding to help people stay in and better afford their homes, while also saving energy. It s one of more than 200 projects transforming rural housing, infrastructure and economic conditions with federal funds. .
Arkansas ranks near the bottom among states in the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report on children s well-being. "Race for Results" focuses on children s chances for success by race, from birth to career path. " .
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a National Day of Service, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada is hosting an all-ages volunteer event on Monday. The goals are to help fight hunger and foster a culture of service. .