Good evening,

Registration for One Country's third annual Rural Progress Summit is NOW OPEN! Join us Tuesday, June 4 through Thursday, June 6 to hear from a variety of policymakers and rural stakeholders about paid family leave, the Farm Bill, the fentanyl crisis, and more challenges facing rural America. Plus, tune in to a conversation with the team behind War Games, a film starring OCP's own Heidi Heitkamp.

Register Now!

Here's what else you need to know this week...

TRUMP TRIAL

• No, this isn't Veep, and it isn't Jury Duty either. The first-ever criminal trial against a former U.S. president – who else but Donald Trump? – began yesterday, with much less entertainment value. Although more than half of the jurors summoned said they couldn't be "fair and impartial" yesterday, as of today seven jurors have been selected. At this rate, opening statements may begin as soon as next Monday. The trial itself is estimated to last six to eight weeks.

• While it's the first criminal trial against Trump, it won't be the last: also on the docket are his Georgia election interference case, his January 6 case, and his classified document case.

TRADING UP

• High schoolers are increasingly looking ahead, not to a four-year college, but to the trades. Student enrollment in vocational training programs jumped 16 percent last year.

• Many members of Gen Z see the growing salaries and job security of electricians, plumbers, and other skilled tradespeople and find technical training to be a more lucrative investment than a four-year college degree. The surge comes as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act work to create new skilled domestic jobs.

• It's also a time of strengthening support for unions. Workers in Alabama's Mercedez Benz plant and Tennessee's Volkswagen plant are poised to hold elections to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Gen Z, the most pro-union generation, sees trade unions as an avenue to help workers achieve economic security.

• While Gen Z's enthusiasm is beginning to fill in the gaps left by older workers' retirement, the technical jobs labor shortage isn't over quite yet.

• In Wyoming, a shortage of Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, who help provide students with skills-based learning opportunities, is leaving students in the lurch. Without trained educators, high school CTE programs – particularly those in rural areas, which might not have many teachers to begin with – close down, preventing students from pursuing CTE – and creating a vacuum in the trades where a workforce should be.

• A variety of solutions to encourage more people to join the trades are arising around the country. A partnership between the University of Wyoming and local community colleges is creating a new CTE curriculum to meet students where they are – and ensure that a new generation of teachers and tradespeople can continue their work.

• In December, OCP founder and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp spoke to Nick Fouriezos, a rural education reporter with Open Campus Media, about Montana's programs providing students micro-degrees in trades – providing more flexible skill sets and opening access to high-paying jobs.

TACKLING FOOD SCARCITY IN THE LAND OF PLENTY

• On the latest episode of the Hot Dish, Heidi and Joel take a look at food insecurity in areas often dubbed the country's breadbasket with Zach Rodvold from Second Harvest Heartland.

• Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small shared the importance of the Summer EBT program and how a new Farm Bill can provide greater certainty for small farmers.

• Listen now for a balanced plate of nutrition, health care, and agriculture discussions.

Be sure to follow the One Country Project on Twitter and Facebook, and listen to The Hot Dish podcast.