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Rural communities impacted by closings

UNIVERSITY PARK — All communities rely on physical spaces that are vital to the well-being of their citizens, such as grocery stores, recreational facilities and pharmacies. But what happens when these places are lost, especially in rural areas where no alternatives exist? Two new studies led by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Health and Human Development — one published in the journal Wellbeing, Space and Society and the other in the Journal of Rural Health — analyzed the experiences of residents in one such rural Pennsylvania ...

Patriotic voices to start each day at 2025 PA Farm Show

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania performers will sing the National Anthem daily and at special events during the 2025 Farm Show. Finalist nine-year-old Cadence Kline from Barnesville, Schuylkill County got the most social media fan-votes in the 2025 PA Farm Show National Anthem contest, Oh, Say Can You Sing? She will sing live to kick off the 109th PA Farm Show at 8 a.m. on Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. "The 2025 Farm Show theme, Powering Pennsylvania, highlights the strength and vitality of our agriculture industry and its role in driving our state forward," Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, ...

Pa. invests $10.2 million to ensure 31 farms stay farms

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is investing $10,215,541 to purchase development rights for 2,842 acres on 31 farms in 13 counties, protecting them from future residential or commercial development. In 2024, Pennsylvania preserved 167 new farms and 13,847 prime acres of farmland across the state, investing more than $50.6 million. These joint investments by state and local governments ensure that Pennsylvania farmers will have the prime-quality land they need to continue supporting families, communities, and jobs. “Saving farmland for producing food, rather than losing it to warehouses ...

Residents of this Philadelphia block create ‘magic’

PHILADELPHIA — Theresa Ackerman begins plotting her holiday decorations a few weeks after the festivities end. Jan. 15, to be specific. She lives on the 1600 block of South 13th St. in Philadelphia, which lights up like a constellation every December to celebrate the season. A flashing ...

NASS to collect info on quarterly bee colony loss

HARRISBURG — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will be collecting information about colony loss in the honey industry throughout the United States. The next Quarterly Colony Loss survey will be conducted during January of 2025. This survey collects information about colony inventory and loss from more than 400 producers with honeybee colonies in the Northeastern Region of the United States. “The information from these surveys directly impacts our region’s beekeepers and honey producers,” said David Knopf, regional director ...

Suspect in killing of healthcare CEO arrested in Altoona eatery

ALTOONA (AP) — Police arrested a suspect Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania spotted a man who officers found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush. The chance sighting at the ...