News from around the nation.

Seven are dead from this weekend's Indiana flooding; Connecticut lawmakers support a bill ending the federal school voucher program; a new study shows that ommunity projects can reduce rural partisan hostility; Volunteers in West Virginia say that the Farm Bill threatens child nutrition; and a PA educator calls U.S. student loan burden an affordability crisis.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday Afternoon Update.

I'm Joe Ulori.

At least seven people are dead after days of severe storms and historic flooding across Indiana, with hundreds forced from their homes and widespread damage to roads and bridges.

Floodwaters are now receding in Indianapolis and other hard-hit areas as recovery efforts begin.

Thousands of utility customers remain without power.

Connecticut Congress members are supporting a bill to end the federal school voucher program.

Our Edwin J. Vieira reports.

The Keep Public Funds and Public Schools Act would terminate the voucher program by ensuring taxpayer money is used solely for public schools.

The Trump administration says it creates more paths for students and broadens school choice for families.

But Karen Rego with Ohio's Cleveland Heights Teachers Union says her own state's universal voucher program drains dollars from financially strapped public schools.

The amount of vouchers being utilized prior to universal vouchers was much lower than it is now, but no more children are actually going to private schools than before.

Ohio's voucher spending has grown to almost two and a half billion dollars in the latest biennial state budget.

Estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Financial Policy show the cost of the federal voucher program depends on how many students use it.

A new study finds that working side-by-side on local projects without persuasion or campaigning can reduce partisan hostility in rural communities.

The research examines six counties in Virginia and Georgia with Community Works Chapters, a program of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative that organizes volunteers in rural communities to work on non-political hands-on projects like road cleanups and food drives.

Nicholas Jacobs teaches government at Colby College and leads the study.

He says Community Works takes a different approach than political organizing.

And what Community Works is trying to do is not necessarily change anybody's minds on the issues.

It's trying to change how they feel about their neighbors who happen to vote a different way.

Local West Virginia groups fighting summer hunger say the next farm bill will be critical to keeping nutritious food within reach for families.

Artie Mellons is the project director for the Southern Appalachian Labor School's Feed and Read program, which primarily serves low-income kids in Fayette County.

He says proposed snap cuts or restrictions will further increase the burden on families, noting the school's summer lunch program, which also delivers daily meals to kids in low-income neighborhoods, has seen an uptick in demand.

I have regulars who come every year, and they come every day, and they're looking forward for me to come.

I think a lot of the kids probably would not have lunch perhaps for that day.

Lawmakers already cut nearly $187 billion over a decade from the SNAP program through last year's budget reconciliation law.

The Farm Bill is set to expire at the end of next month.

In the meantime, Congress continues to work on reauthorization.

This is Nadia Romlagan for West Virginia News Service.

This is Public News Service.

Millions of student loan borrowers are facing changes to the federal repayment system, and some are seeing much bigger monthly bills.

Pennsylvania middle school counselor Jessica Newell says she had been paying $90 a month under an income-driven repayment plan that is being phased out.

She says her new payment is nearly five times higher.

I work in Title I, and when I came back online after they litigated for two years and didn't allow us to pay.

Now my payments are $440 a month, four times what I was paying.

The changes stem from President Trump's tax and spending law, which restructures federal student loan repayment options.

A student debt crisis center survey found 67% of borrowers' questions say they can't afford their new monthly payments.

Nearly 9 million Americans are currently in default on their student loans, or about one in five borrowers.

The survey suggests higher payments and confusion over the new rules could push more borrowers into default.

Scientists warn that cities and towns throughout the Northeast need to reassess their groundwater reserves because of the region's persistent drought, our Catherine Carley reports.

While recent rains have brought some relief to southern New England, conditions have worsened in states like New Hampshire and Maine, where warmer than normal temperatures have increased the rate of evaporation.

Farshid Vahedifard, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tufts University, says wells connected to near-surface aquifers are drying up.

We need to shift from reactive to proactive drought management across the region.

We need to better prepare our communities.

More than 2 million people, or roughly 20 percent of the region's population, rely on well water.

Vahedifard says that as climate change makes it harder for aquifers to recharge, states need to plan for drought resilience. including water conservation and shared backup supplies.

Pro golfers will once again descend on South Dakota in September, and you've got a chance to step up and take a swing.

The Sanford International PGA Champions Tournament is returning to Sioux Falls for the eighth year from September 11th to 13th.

This is the fourth year that AARP South Dakota is a sponsor.

State Director Eric Gajkowski says the event combines healthy living, community engagement, and volunteerism, some of the organization's biggest priorities.

The reality is it gets people out and moving, and that's really what we're looking for.

The more that we can encourage people to actively age, it's better for everybody.

AARP South Dakota will have a viewing deck for tournament attendees at the 9th Green, along with prize giveaways and information about AARP resources.

Gajkowski says there is a $5 discount on tickets with the code Active Aging 2026 through the Sanford International website.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

This is Joe Ulori for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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