News from around the nation.

A new report outlines 'perceived barriers' to Utah affordable housing; Donald Trump falsely suggests Kamala Harris misled voters about her race; Racial gaps persist for Montana's Indigenous foster care youth; Rural businesses support each other through 'Rural is Rad.'

Transcript

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The Public News Service Daily Newscast, August the 1st, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The Utah Foundation polled municipal workers across the state to gain their insights into affordable housing.

The report found many officials face barriers when attempting to introduce more affordable housing into their communities.

And they say those barriers often come from residents.

Sean Teigen, who heads the Utah Foundation, says anxieties people may have around affordable housing may not be accurate.

When we think about affordable housing, we think about more density.

And that comes along with perhaps more traffic.

And that may not be reality, but that's what a lot of people are thinking about.

However, those anxieties can create restrictions for those who advocate for more diverse housing options.

In the survey, 79 percent of respondents said municipal officials pursuing affordable housing over residents' concerns face political consequences.

Teigen says some officials must choose between fighting for their beliefs in the need to make housing more affordable and remaining in office to help the constituents with other matters.

I'm Mason Kennedy.

The report polled officials in communities of at least 5,000 and examined populations across the state.

One option being discussed is making changes to zoning policies for so-called middle housing, a strategy that includes allowing multifamily housing in established single-family neighborhoods.

And Donald Trump falsely suggested Kamala Harris has misled voters about her race.

As the former president appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, not for the Associated Press, the reporter was in an interview that quickly turned hostile.

The Republican former president wrongly claimed that Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage.

Quoting Trump, "I didn't know she was black "until a number of years ago when she appeared to turn black.

"And now she wants to be known as black."

And new research shows indigenous youth comprise more than a third of the kids in Montana's foster care system, despite making up a far smaller segment of the state's overall population.

Data from the National Center for Juvenile Justice show the number of indigenous youth comprise 30 percent of the kids in foster care, despite making up just 10 percent of the Montana population.

Child trends researcher, Dina Aroundhim, who's also a member of the Cherokee Nation, says a combination of factors is driving the disparity, but it often comes down to a lack of child oversight.

Child neglect can lead a family to be engaged with the child welfare system and result in a child being removed from the home.

We wonder if that is more a question about the resources available to families and if the solutions should be different than removal.

Aroundhim says solutions have been hard to achieve in Montana.

I'm Mark Moran.

There has been a national effort in recent years to keep kids in their home when it's safe to do so.

This is Public News Service.

Rural is Rad is a new collaboration working to bring attention to businesses operating outside of Colorado's metropolitan areas and help them connect to the state's $14 billion outdoor recreation economy.

Co-founder Kelly Mazzanti is the CEO of Budinsky, a woman owned and operated outdoor clothing outfit based in Summit County.

She says the first step is to create an online space where customers can find these companies in one place.

We're trying to build a directory of brands, founders, and product and service providers in the outdoor industry in rural Colorado.

That way we can utilize that directory year round to point people to discover new brands.

Rural is Rad will be back at this year's West Slope Startup Week, August 19th through the 23rd in Durango, where the idea was first hatched.

They also plan to host events and workshops for business owners.

And a new Rural is Rad Week is set to launch this November in conjunction with Small Business Saturday.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And as people head back to college soon, professors may notice an increase in the number of international students.

Almost 27,000 international students are enrolled at Indiana's universities.

The survey of almost 2,500 foreign students found 44 percent would be more likely to choose the United States as a college destination under a democratic administration, which they perceived as a more welcoming cultural environment but Caitlin Anderson, founder of a graduate admission consulting firm, says others would feel more at ease with a Republican administration. 30 percent of people that said they would be more likely to consider studying the US under a Trump presidency said that the reason was because it's inspiring us because there'll be more jobs, there'll be more opportunities, and he'll be less focused on intervening in international affairs.

About one third of the respondents said politics will not make a difference in their college choice.

Anderson says many foreign students come here to pursue STEM degrees.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Finally, with less than a week until Missouri's primary and early voting already underway, candidates are ramping up their ads.

Immigration has become a hot button issue, especially to Republicans.

But the tone of some ads raises questions.

Are they effective or divisive?

Gubernatorial hopeful Senator Bill Igoe released a controversial ad.

We're throwing them in jail, sending them back where they came from.

Hi, grandma.

We're gonna detain and deport every one of the estimated 70- to 77,000 illegals that are in the state of Missouri right now.

A Health Forward Foundation report shows Missouri's foreign-born workforce adds about 19 billion to the state's annual gross product and supports 160,000 jobs.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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