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Unbreakable: Glass in the Rust Belt

By |Features|

What’s left of domestic glass manufacturing in the U.S. remains concentrated in the Rust Belt–eight of the industry’s top ten employers are in Pennsylvania, New York, and the Midwest. But studio glassblowing is adding relevance to a material long forgotten by many communities shaped by it. Today, the Rust Belt is home to three of the United States’ top five hubs for glass studios.

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Art that’s Rooted in the Rust Belt

By |Essays|

Thriving creative communities can be found throughout the Rust Belt in other small- to mid-size industrial cities like Racine.  Places like Sheboygan, Rockford, Peoria, Flint, South Bend, Dayton, Toledo, Canton—the list goes on.

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The Phosphorus Paradox

By |Points North, Uncategorized|

Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches, and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus, a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost.

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Novelist Idra Novey on the Places That Made Her

By |Interviews|

"I came from somewhere that has a lot of character and really fascinating people who have carved out really beautiful lives, and they don't fall easily into the caricatures that we see of rural Pennsylvanian people in the news."

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