When corn and soybean farmer Kenny Reichard stopped plowing some of his fields in northern Missouri in 1982, other farmers told him that it was a terrible decision that would lower his yields. 

“I’ve been told many times that no-till doesn’t work,” said Reichard, 62, who farms north of Brunswick in Chariton County. 

More than three decades later, state programs and agriculture initiatives are trying to encourage farmers to adopt no-till and other practices that reduce fertilizer runoff that contributes to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. While many farmers think such methods are expensive, they’re critical to cleaning up the Mississippi River basin. 

It’s only midmorning, but shrimper Thomas Olander is already calling it quits for the day in a small bayou in St. Mary Parish, on the central Louisiana coast.

There aren’t enough shrimp out there — especially the highly sought-after jumbo shrimp that fetch the highest prices at the market.

“It's just not worth it,” Olander said, of his morning burning fuel, supplies and time.

There are a lot of subjects that are tough to teach, but one of the most difficult is the Holocaust. It’s an important historical event, but one that can be scary for students to hear about, and hard to understand. With a recent rise in hate crimes, activists say now especially, the history of the Holocaust and antisemitism is important for students to learn.

Echoes and Reflections creates middle and high school curriculum on the Holocaust. WWNO's education reporter Jess Clark attended their recent training at the National World War II Museum. Here are five ways to improve instruction.

Famed Louisiana Novelist Ernest J. Gaines, author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and other novels, passed away this week at his home in Oscar, Louisiana. He was 86 years old.

Have you ever read a story about climate change, and by the end of the article thought, ”Great, now what?” Or maybe, “What do I do with that information? I have questions!”

The Coastal Desk of WWNO and WRKF wants to answer your questions about living with climate change for an upcoming project.

The "Nation's Report Card," or the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), shows Louisiana students are performing better in math and reading, but that the state still lags behind the rest of the nation, as well as the rest of the South.

The NAEP is based on nationally representative testing of thousands of 4th and 8th grade students in reading and math. It's carried out by the federal government through the National Center for Education Statistics.