drought

All six U.S. regional climate centers will remain online through a new contract deadline in mid-June. Four of the centers, which are overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were abruptly closed last week after their funding ran out.

The closure of four of the six Regional Climate Centers across the U.S. occurred after funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ran out. A recent report stated that the Trump administration plans to propose a 25% cut to NOAA's budget next fiscal year.

Another year of dry conditions could hurt production for farmers growing crops and raising livestock in the region.

New Madrid, Missouri, seems obsessed with the fault lines under its surface, but few residents in the area have insurance in case a big earthquake hits again. Plus: Some places in southwest Kansas may only have 25 years of water left. One proposal to help would take river water from near Kansas City and move it to western Kansas.

Droughts in top coffee-growing countries have shrunk the supply of beans. Supermarket brands like Nescafé and Folgers have already raised prices — but the world keeps drinking more and more coffee.

Legal agreements govern the Great Lakes and some river systems in the U.S., but the Mississippi River doesn’t have a compact. Some mayors on the waterway think it’s time to change that.

State lawmakers want farmers in western Kansas to take action by 2026 to halt declines in the Ogallala aquifer. But the region’s whole agriculture system is built to produce irrigated grain at a high volume.

Doctors who treat eating disorders in Kansas City are seeing more cases among younger people. But resources for "accepting" treatments are not meeting the demand. Plus: Wildlife in the Midwest and Great Plains are suffering from persistent drought.

Drought has scorched much of the Midwest and Great Plains for the last four years. It has destroyed crops and sparked wildfires. Wildlife is also reckoning with the dry conditions – which can change animal behavior and even push species out of some regions.

Democrats have long enjoyed support from organized labor, but many union members don’t feel a party allegiance any more. In Kansas City's Northland, both Republican Rep. Bill Allen and his opponent, UAW member and Democrat Shirley Mata, hope to win over dissatisfied voters. Plus: The Midwest is going through another drought, but farmers might not be eligible for relief.

Programs that provide drought relief to farmers use the U.S. Drought Monitor to determine eligibility, but some experts say it doesn’t always capture local conditions.

Fall is typically a drier time of the year for the Great Plains and Midwest. But drought is once again rearing its head in much of the region, and experts are not seeing relief anytime soon.