News from rural America.

A commissioner on the FCC contends the Trump Administration is weakening freedom of speech and the press, a New Mexico town is building an innovative green hydrogen plant and Texas could soon face even more rural hospital closures.

TRANSCRIPT

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, this is the news from rural America.

A Biden appointee to the Federal Communications Commission is sounding alarms about attacks on the First Amendment, including free speech and the free press.

Julia Tilton reports on a national tour by Ana Gomez.

Gomez is the lone Democrat on the traditionally independent FCC.

On her listening tours, Third Stop in rural Fleming, Neon, Kentucky, Gomez said the Trump White House is trying to use the agency to censor media organizations and control free speech.

I felt the need to start taking our message in defense of our fundamental First Amendment rights and freedoms outside of Washington.

She says the administration is directing the FCC to use control of broadcast licenses to demand favorable coverage and force personnel decisions at private media companies.

But Gomez says politics can't prevent folks from fighting for their liberties.

And the way that we do that is by being aware and by speaking up and pushing back.

I'm Julia Tilton.

A small Northern New Mexico community is relying on 300 days of sunshine to become a clean energy model.

The village of Cuesta, population 2,000, is building an innovative green hydrogen plant to act as a battery.

Lynn Skull leads the town's economic development.

She says Taos County's Kit Carson Electric Cooperative paved the way by exploring solar nearly 25 years ago.

Right now we're 100 percent daytime solar and the green hydrogen project would provide 100 percent solar powered energy.

That is very forward thinking for our country.

Nobody else is doing that yet.

Co-op CEO Luis Reyes says the hydrogen plant will store solar energy for when generating capacity drops at night or due to weather.

Our primary focus is how do we get a model so that other co-ops can do that safely.

The plant is funded mostly by the USDA and would make Towse County 100 percent renewable powered.

Texas leads the nation in rural hospital closures with 26 in the past 15 years.

And a new study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform says two thirds of those remaining are in jeopardy due to lower patient volumes and higher operating costs than urban hospitals.

John Henderson with the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals says closure of a healthcare facility can be a life and death matter.

When a rural hospital closes, the data shows that the community mortality rate increases by seven to 8 percent.

Texas is the second largest state and home to 156 rural hospitals.

Finally, if the corn is knee high, it must be nearly the 4th of July.

Get out and celebrate the nation's 249th birthday.

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, I'm Roz Brown.

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.