News from around the nation.

Protests erupt after an ICE agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man in Austin, a gold mine threatens the Alaskan economy and delicate ecosystems, and Wisconsin teachers feel the strain as classroom pressures mount.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Protests in Austin after an ICE agent Sunday shot and wounded a Venezuelan man working as a DoorDash delivery driver.

Austin's Democratic representative, Greg Kassar, says this is a pattern, it's a disturbing pattern, and it's got to stop.

The Austin-American statesman identifies the man as 28-year-old Wilbur Rafael Garcias Perez.

He was released from the medical center at around 4.30 Saturday and transferred to ICE custody.

A local immigration attorney said he was an asylum seeker.

Meantime, advocates in Alaska's interior warned that a proposed gold mine on the Johnson Tract in Lake Clark National Park threatens critical habitat, ecosystems, and a large chunk of the state's economy.

Contango is working with Alaska native-owned Cook Inlet Region Incorporated to establish the mine at the headwaters of the Johnson River, a prime spot for commercial and sport fishing, bear watching, salmon runs, and ecotourism.

Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship President David Jenkins contends that the environmental risk isn't worth the economic reward, especially when the bulk of the profit from the mine flows to out-of-state investors, including asset management companies like BlackRock and Vanguard.

What would you risk a 100% Alaskan economic engine that's sustainable and just keep providing benefits year after year for something that's temporary?

Contango counters that the mine will create 175 jobs for the first three years of the project.

I'm Mark Moran.

And about a month into the new school year, teachers in Wisconsin and across the country are more stressed than ever.

That's according to a new survey by the American Federation of Teachers.

The American Federation of Teachers, Melissa Cropper, says now they're also faced with financial strain from rising costs and ever-shifting education policies that impact how they show up for their students.

They're fed up.

They're tired of trying to comply with policies that don't allow them to teach the way that they want to teach.

They still actually love working with the students when they have the freedom to teach the way that they want to teach.

But the pressures are just becoming too much.

The survey of more than 2,000 AFT members found nearly two-thirds rate their weekly stress at seven or higher on a 10-point scale.

I'm Judith Ruiz-Branch reporting.

Next, after eight years of planning, Good Jobs Nashville, a budding workforce initiative, launches today.

It aims to bring together small businesses, workers, and policymakers to build a stronger local economy.

Nathaniel Carter with Stand Up Nashville says the initiative helps secure local hiring commitments.

Another key effort is the Nashville Living Wage Certified Program.

That is a tool that we use with a lot of employers in our ecosystem.

They get their certifications, but we get our information and our data from the ALICE report.

Tennessee's minimum wage remains at just $7.25 an hour His group is pushing for a wage that's closer to the $22 benchmark This is Public News Service This week, the public gets a chance to meet candidates for political office at two nonpartisan public forums They are being held in northern and southern Nevada Candidates from all parties running for mayor, Congress, County Commission, and State Assembly will be given time to speak and then answer questions from the audience.

Ben Innes from the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance teamed up with colleagues from the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition and the Nevada Immigrant Coalition to organize the event.

The whole purpose is for community to engage with these candidates and challenge the idea that civic engagement is that one and done process where we vote and then hope for the best.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

People can sign up to attend either event on the website of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition.

The event will be live-streamed on the Nevada Housing Justice Facebook page.

And folks in Maine are encouraged to attend the Office of Affordable Health Care's annual public hearing this week to share their experiences of navigating today's health care system.

Surveys show nearly half of Maine households have taken on medical debt in the past two years, and the majority point to hospital-based services like surgeries or emergency care as the primary cause.

Kate Endy with Consumers for Affordable Health Care says data can show how insurance premiums or prescription drug prices are rising, but it's the personal stories that help state officials find ways to lower costs.

We hear from people through our helpline who are delaying an appointment, putting off a procedure, stretching a prescription, or taking on medical debt because of the cost, And those experiences really need to be part of the conversation.

The hearing takes place this Wednesday, September 23rd at the Department of Health and Human Services Building in Augusta.

Mainers can register to speak in person or virtually or submit written testimony by October 2nd.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Finally, plans for next year's crop planting season are taking shape, and Iowa landowners are changing what tenants can grow on the land they're leasing.

They're focusing on sustainable crops and at the same time requiring tenants to reduce the use of neomics and other pesticides.

Almost half of landowners in the Midwest are called non-operators, meaning they don't farm the land they own.

They rent it to someone else.

They receive financial incentives from the government to move away from row crops and livestock and plant things that are more sustainable.

Carol Boschka owns and rents out Highland Farm in northeast Iowa's Winnishe County with her three sisters.

Boschka has put in 20 acres of pollinator fields and planted 4,500 trees and shrubs.

To create this windbreak on our farm.

And those are for habitat for insects, birds and mammals and to sequester carbon.

I'm Mark Moran.

This is Mike Clifford and thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

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