Resilience
States and localities are having to adjust to a changing climate, establishing new policies, rules and guidelines relating to energy, land use and water rights, as well as responding to emergencies triggered by more intense storms, floods and wildfires.
An Indiana district is experimenting with small, flexible learning environments to counter declining enrollment.
The U.S. homeland is out of range of military strikes, but state and local governments could see cyber attacks, cloud service disruptions and rising supply costs.
State and local governments can expand access and slash electric bills by simplifying slow, expensive permitting processes.
State data show officers equipped with the devices responded to cardiac emergencies with faster interventions, bolstering public health outcomes.
By showing where salt marshes may migrate, local officials can better guide development and reduce flood risk.
Municipalities in Rhode Island hope to delay the landfill’s closure date and save money on waste disposal by setting up composting programs.
A new federal survey finds roughly a 20 percent difference in school readiness between children from the poorest and wealthiest families.
The lithium-ion devices that power our electrifying society pose serious safety and environmental risks. Life cycle stewardship must keep pace, and governments have a major role.
Experiments show that extracting rare earths from acid mine drainage can turn something harmful into a useful resource. But states will need to sort out who owns that mine waste.
Researchers say better modeling of multi-ignition fires could help protect firefighters and guide smarter deployments.
Local leaders lay out practical steps to stabilize funding and streamline assistance before the next crisis hits.
Enhancements and weatherization efforts mean this year’s freezing weather did not overwhelm the state’s electric system. But policymakers face tough decisions as future load projections grow.
New Census estimates show the state added more residents than any state in 2025 even as immigration and domestic migration drop to their lowest rates in years.
Kansas flex-plexes and Indiana microcenters are turning underused spaces into multiprovider childcare facilities.
Progress is slow and uneven a year after the Eaton Fire. The wealthy and the well-insured are faring the best.
Water facilities aren’t always aware of the risks they face, or what they can do about it.
As states and cities navigated crisis, reform and political change, these were the stories readers turned to most in 2025 — from emergency management and public safety to housing, transit and federal policy.
From heat-risk task forces to flood and wildfire planning, states are broadening their approaches to disaster preparedness.
A district at the edge of the Mojave Desert is part of a network of California schools harvesting environmental, behavioral and academic benefits from a school forest.
AI companies can’t grow at speed without electricity to power their data centers. A new report argues that this isn’t just a matter of adding more power plants.
The robot's agility makes it valuable in standoffs and hazardous incidents, but civil liberties groups warn that semi-autonomous robots could reshape policing in troubling ways.
Billings Clinic’s residency programs are training new doctors in the communities that need them most, countering national shortages in primary care and psychiatry.
A recycling project in Santa Monica, Calif., is helping the city move away from dependence on imported water.
President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate a federal disaster preparedness program threatens a fund used by state health systems from Republican-led Texas to the Democratic stronghold of California.
Missouri utility regulators approved a tariff to ensure large power users are responsible for offsetting some of the effect their usage has on the power grid and other customers.
How one organization in Pasadena, Calif., is mobilizing amid a shortage of federal food aid during the government shutdown.
State officials hope to cut chronic absenteeism by 50 percent within five years as schools experiment with mentoring, family outreach and more engaging classroom models.
Typhoon Halong battered remote communities on Alaska's west coast last month. The state faced unique obstacles in getting people to safety — and it faces even more as it looks toward rebuilding.
New testing standards, staffing strains, and persistent absenteeism are testing the sustainability of the state’s post-pandemic academic rebound.
After state regulators approved direct potable reuse, city officials say they could avoid costly pipelines and reservoir storage — reshaping one of the nation’s largest water recycling projects.
It’s not yet clear how much financial support states can expect from a reimagined FEMA. A new analysis of past costs sheds light on the gaps they might have to fill.
