By Jennifer Bamberg for Investigate Midwest.Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Investigate Midwest-Public News Service Collaboration During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead, a technician from John Deere was dispatched to diagnose and repair the problems. .
State officials in Maine are preparing the next generation for climate change-related activism and careers. A new state-run website helps young Mainers find ways to use their own talents and interests to counter any climate anxiety and work to build the state s climate resilience. Abigail Hayne is Maine s youth climate engagement coordinator. .
Public News Service publicnewsservice.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from publicnewsservice.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people s health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary restraining order against Austin Master Services, a fracking waste-storage facility in Martin s Ferry, at the request of Ohio Attorney General David Yost. Ohio has some of the least-restrictive rules on fracking waste, said Jill Hunkler, director of the local advocacy group Ohio Valley Allies. .
Leaders of a teachers union in Louisiana are voicing concerns about a package of bills they say would have the effect of dissolving labor unions in the state. The list includes House Bill 571, which would prohibit public agencies from paying union workers for the time they do anything union-related, even if it s on paid leave. If passed, said Roberto Furtado, a special-education teacher in the Jefferson Parish Public School System, the bills would end collective bargaining and prohibit payroll deductions for union dues. .