One state finds itself different when it comes to all the rest. That state is New York. Communities across the country are having passionate debates – for and against – about locating data centers in their jurisdictions. But New York initiated a temporary ban for the entire state. More than a dozen states have discussed the idea of temporary bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), which has been tracking legislation. But none progressed as far as New York....

A downward economic trend has continued for another month for Creighton University’s “Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI),” according to its latest survey of rural bank CEOS in a 10-state region. RMI surveys leaders in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The index measures approximately 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. Input costs rise for farmers “The farmers out there and ranchers are seeing what...

Farmers in a key agricultural state saw their incomes plummet over a three-year period, according to a newly released study. What Iowa farmers have faced is illustrative of what some of their counterparts in other states have experienced since the post-COVID boom earlier this decade. The headline number was 53%. That was the amount of net income that fell for farmers between 2022 and 2024, according to the study released by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa State University’s Center for...

The sequel can sometimes be much different than the original. That could be the case with the proposed update of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).