North Dakota

In a small community in southeastern North Dakota, tension between compassion and faith is ever present in residents' attitudes toward same-sex marriage.

Radio is king in North Dakota. Morning Edition talks to a liberal radio host and a conservative small business owner who listens to him — though he doesn't always like what he hears.

Similar legislation has been proposed in North Dakota and Wyoming to allow concealed firearms on K-12 school grounds and college campuses, as a part of a larger effort to expand gun owners' rights.

Once a booming timber area, Grays Harbor County is the site of three proposed oil terminals. The local fishing industry sees the uptick in oil movement as a big risk, with limited economic benefits.

North Dakota and Colorado voters struck down the "personhood" measures, which would give legal rights to fetuses. But Tennessee's Amendment 1 passed with 53 percent of the vote.

Trains carrying oil from North Dakota pass through American towns daily — and sometimes they derail and explode. The oil industry is now under pressure to make the oil less volatile before shipping.

Projections suggest that climate change will hurt agriculture in most parts of the world. But some areas of the U.S. could actually see a benefit as corn production moves farther north.