Our POLITICS + POLICY category provides users with an extensive list of articles dealing with past, present, and future issues relating to politics and policy throughout the UP.

Recently Published

Upper Peninsula Voting Data Published

A new paper detailing Upper Peninsula election data has been published to Rural Insights, using information compiled by Isabelle Karl, one of our student researchers.

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Is Rural America Failing or Succeeding? Maybe Both

Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter of the University of New Hampshire Casey School of Public Policy summarize the findings of their peer reviewed article that provides cautionary lessons regarding the commonplace narrative of widespread rural decline and urban growth.

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Rural Insights’ David Haynes Interviewed on U.P. Absentee Ballot Numbers

TV6’s Nick Friend spoke to Rural Insights Director & Editor David Haynes recently about the rise in absentee ballots seen in the Upper Peninsula.

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Absentee Ballot Requests Show Increased Voter Participation for 2020 Election

Research by NMU student Max Steele on absentee ballot requests in six Upper Peninsula counties for the November 2020 election show that voter participation is higher than the previous two presidential elections.

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Rural Forest Markers Act is a Bipartisan Win-Win for Rural Landowners and the Environment

Rural Insights contributor Tom Watkins shares his thoughts on the bipartisan “Rural Forest Markets Act” bill, which authorizes the USDA to offer loan or bond guarantees of up to $150 million to open emerging markets for carbon mitigation, among other things, to rural forest owners.

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