Great Plains

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Newborns in Great Plains Tribes Paying a Steep Price

ProPublica explains syphilis rates are off the charts, with infants at unprecedented risk

(Newser) - Syphilis cases have been on the rise in the US, as has the number of infants born with the disease. But nowhere have those two stats wrought more misery than in South Dakota— more specifically among Native Americans on reservations there. ProPublica reports that "the syphilis rate among American...

'Lost Winter' Continues, With New Warmth Swooping In

Record-busting temps expected early this week in Midwest, along East Coast

(Newser) - Our collective "lost winter" carries on, with a new burst of warmth set to converge on large chunks of the United States early this week. The Washington Post reports that record-busting temperatures are expected through Wednesday in parts of the Midwest and along the East Coast, with the mercury...

Part of Why Texas Is So Hot: a Persistent 'Death Ridge'

Wichita Falls, Texas, hit 115 degrees Tuesday

(Newser) - This summer has already brought extreme temps to Tokyo , Western Europe , and the UK , and now it's the United States' turn in the barrel. While Americans from coast to coast are suffering through heat waves at the moment, AccuWeather reports it's particularly bad in the south-central part of...

Great Plains Walloped With Snowstorm, Tornadoes

15 injured in tornadoes, 3 die in snow-related car accident

(Newser) - In the span of 24 hours, the scenic Black Hills in South Dakota were coated in up to three and a half feet of wet, heavy snow, one of several Great Plains states walloped by a storm system that's caused millions of dollars in damage. But wintry weather wasn'...

6 Dead as Blizzard Rages in Great Plains

Snow covers eastern New Mexico to Kansas

(Newser) - It's not the kind of White Christmas most people had in mind: Six have died in a blizzard that began yesterday and has been raging from eastern New Mexico to Kansas. Highways have been shut down in five states as the storm moves deeper into the Great Plains today....

Rural Share of US Population Hits Record Low

84% of Americans now live in cities or suburbs

(Newser) - Small-town and rural America is fading away as the US becomes a nation of suburbanites and city dwellers, according to the latest census figures. The share of Americans who live in rural areas—including towns with fewer than 50,000 people that are out of commuting range of metropolitan areas—...

US Faces New Tornado Threat
 US Faces Fresh Tornado Threat
Apr 18, 2011 9:37 AM CDT

US Faces Fresh Tornado Threat

Ohio Valley to Texas could be hardest-hit after 250 storms last week

(Newser) - Some 250 tornadoes wreaked havoc in the US last week, and—brace yourself—another possible wave of tornadoes may hit this week. Last week’s tornadoes killed at least 47 people across six states; now, a storm system heading east from the Rockies is threatening new snow, flooding, hail, and...

Arctic Blasts Drop US Big Chill to -37

Weather brr-acing from Plains to Florida

(Newser) - A large chunk of the US was in the deep freeze yesterday, with temperatures plunging below freezing to as low as -37 in Minnesota's hapless International Falls, the town's coldest day since 1911. Temperatures dove from the Plains, Midwest and Northeast to Florida, giving citrus growers the shivers. Jacksonville was...

Emergency Declared in Plains Blizzard

S. Dakota buried by up to 4 feet of snow

(Newser) - Schools were shut down and major highways closed, stranding some drivers for 24 hours, as South Dakota was buried by up to four feet of snow in the first major snowstorm of the season yesterday. "We can't see a thing in many areas where we're out searching for people,...

Gas Prices Hit Hardest in Rural Areas—not Suburbs

The South, Southwest, and upper Great Plains feel brunt of $4 fuel

(Newser) - Gas prices, which hit an all-time-high average of $4 a gallon over the weekend, are causing more pain in rural America than anywhere else, with motorists in the South, Southwest, and the upper Great Plains the hardest hit. With relatively low wages and high use of pickup trucks and vans,...

Storms Pummel Midwest, Scare Visitors

Kansas tornadoes smash homes, spook elephants

(Newser) - Severe weather lashed the Great Plains yesterday after forecasters warned of a possible tornado outbreak as bad as the 1974 one that spawned 39 twisters, AP reports. At least four tornadoes touched down in Kansas, causing widespread damage and spooking a pair of runaway circus elephants. Heavy rains caused rivers...

Pumas Prowl Midwest
Pumas Prowl Midwest
Feb 22, 2008 7:42 PM CST

Pumas Prowl Midwest

Big cats migrate east in search of prey

(Newser) - Pumas, normally prowlers of the Rocky Mountains, are slowly pushing east, ecologists say, which has led to a rash of sightings throughout the Midwest. Wisconsin just had its first confirmed puma sighting in over a century, and since 1990 the big cats have cropped up in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and...

Deadly Storm Batters Plains
 Deadly Storm Batters Plains
Dec 23, 2007 7:13 AM CST

Deadly Storm Batters Plains

At least five people die as massive crashes close several highways

(Newser) - A deadly storm packing a one-two punch of heavy snow and high winds delivered a pounding to the Plains, making travel treacherous on a busy pre-holiday weekend. Blowing snow dropped visibility to near zero at times, causing at least five deaths in a string of multi-vehicle crashes that closed portions...

Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Apr 3, 2007 8:31 AM CDT

Utilities May Profit From Ruling

Some corporations may profit off tighter greenhouse gas regulations

(Newser) - Some utility  companies may actually benefit financially from the Supreme Court ruling forcing the EPA to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions, the Wall Street Journal reports.  While it will cost them millions in the short-term to meet new requirements, utilities in government-regulated markets—mostly in the Southeast, Great...

14 Stories