Indiana food banks are in dire need of meat for families who simply cannot afford to buy it at the grocery store and local hunters are doing their part to help hungry neighbors. An Indiana Department of Natural Resources program, known as "Indiana Hunt for Hunger," is underway. It makes it easy for hunters to donate harvested deer to participating meat processors at no charge. .
By Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Wyoming News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration The number of people with disabilities who are working rose last year to 21.3%, up from 19.1% in 2021. Still, those statistics lag far behind the 65% workforce participation rate in 2022 for people with no disabilities. However, some key factors are helping open doors into the workforce for people with disabilities. .
States such as Minnesota have seen a tidal wave of union organizing amid public support to improve pay and workplace conditions. However, labor leaders acknowledge the slow growth of membership, prompting questions about the movement s future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says nationwide, the number of union jobs last year increased by nearly 2%, but the actual membership rate declined to 10.1%. .
Ohio schools are stepping up to meet the needs of a growing number of English learners. Nearly 40% of around 60,000 English learners in the state speak Spanish as their primary language, but others speak Arabic, Chinese, Somali, Swahili and more. Debbie Skarsten is an English teacher in Pickerington. .
Community groups across Maine are helping small towns with fewer resources better prepare for the growing threat of climate change. They are conducting energy audits to help towns save money and implement renewable energy projects, including off-grid emergency shelters. Scott Vlaun, executive director of the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, said his group is working with the town of Norway to assess infrastructure potentially vulnerable to extreme weather events like the devastating floods last spring. .