News Lab at Penn State

From Warren to Williamsport: Pennsylvania at the polls

Twenty journalists from the News Lab at Penn State are reporting from polling places in 26 Pennsylvania counties on Election Day, including throughout WPSU's listening area.

Map of Pennsylvania marking the 16 data center locations with state sales tax exemption certificates, clustered near Pittsburgh, in northeastern Pennsylvania and around Philadelphia.

What to know about Pennsylvania’s data center tax exemption and the shifting attitudes surrounding it

Bronwyn Liber, Jenna Ramm, Piper Murray, Sadie Harvey, Sophia Taberne | The News Lab at Penn State

The debate around the possible repeal of the data center equipment tax exemption is reflective of conflicting interests among local residents, elected officials, labor unions, and tech companies.

Gaughn’s Drug Store, a family-owned pharmacy located in the heart of Warren, Pa., is looking to expand its services to fill healthcare gaps, with support from Rural Public Health Transformation Fund.

In Warren, a reflection of rural healthcare’s turmoil

Avery McGurgan, Chayil Dozier, Esteban Marenco, and Quinn O’Leary | The News Lab at Penn State

Warren County is like most rural regions struggling to provide adequate and affordable healthcare to its aging population. A family-owned pharmacy is at the heart of keeping the system afloat.

FILE - James Tatum, 11, right, receives a vaccination shot that included a polio dose from nurse Frances Findley at the Dallas County Health and Human Services immunization clinic in Dallas, Friday, April 4, 2025.

More rural Pennsylvania parents are opting kids out of vaccines

Kahlie Wray, James Russell, Mercedes Tresise and Kakii Kibua for the News Lab at Penn State

Childhood immunization exemptions in Pennsylvania school districts have doubled in the past five years and diseases like measles are on the rise.

This entrance at Rockview is "Gate 6." The chapel is in the center and the D Building is on the left, which is the iconic view drivers can see off of Route 26.

With SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp closures, effects on inmates, staff and communities remain uncertain

Sofia Miranda of News Lab at Penn State

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has closed SCI Rockview in Centre County and the Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County. Workers, inmates and the communities are adapting to their new realities.

In Clearfield County, Steven Weiss, a father of four, said reproductive rights brought out to vote in the municipal election on Nov. 4, 2025.

In central Pa., voters thinking beyond courts to health care, food security and abortion

Penn State News Lab's Jennae Overton, James Russell, Kakii Kibua, Mercedes Tresise, Mia Debelevich and Alexandria Smith

Penn State News Lab reporters found that in rural Pennsylvania, what's motivating people to vote goes far beyond the judicial race itself. In Clearfield, Clinton and Union counties, residents say they're thinking about health care, food security, and reproductive rights.