Amish Controversies

Four Swartzentruber Amishmen took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit in 2017 against a Minnesota agency, over objections to wastewater requirements. Their trial began last week: PRESTON — For the last week, four members of the Swartzentruber Amish community have listened to arguments on whether their religious beliefs would allow them to not comply […]

Continue Reading Why Are Four Swartzentruber Amishmen Suing Minnesota?

From mlive.com: GLADWIN, MI — An Amish man will spend more than a decade in prison for sexually assaulting three girls over a several years. Gladwin County Circuit Judge Thomas R. Evans on Monday, Oct. 15, sentenced 53-year-old Ora F. Troyer to one term of 15 to 25 years in prison and two terms of […]

Continue Reading Michigan Amishman Gets 15-25 Years For Sexual Assault

If measuring by sheer numbers of Amish, Branch County, Michigan is well behind Lagrange County, Indiana just to the southwest. Yet in another way Branch County is quite the “Amish County” – home to 5 separate Amish settlements, some of whom are very plain. The oldest, lying in California Township, has been around nearly six decades. […]

Continue Reading Michigan County Pushes State For Mandatory Buggy Licensing, Reflectors, Rubber Horseshoes

Will Amish vote in 2018? You might recall the Amish PAC which was created in 2016 to promote voting among Amish in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Lancaster Online reports that the Amish PAC has returned in 2018 to promote Amish getting to the polls for the midterm elections in November: Two years after it aimed to […]

Continue Reading Amish PAC Returns For 2018; Study Suggests Minimal Impact In Last Election

From the Associated Press: INDIANAPOLIS — An Amish couple with 13 children sued the federal government on Wednesday, accusing officials of violating their constitutional rights by insisting that they provide photographs of themselves before the Canadian wife’s request to become a permanent U.S. resident can be approved. The Indiana couple won’t allow themselves to be […]

Continue Reading Amish Couple Sues Federal Goverment Over Photo Citizenship Requirement

Indiana Amish midwives Sylvia C. Eicher and Lydiann S. Schwartz avoided jail time at their sentencing Friday. The women were instead given 2 years’ probation and ordered to stop practicing midwifery and medicine. The prosecutor had asked for 6 months’ imprisonment. From WANE: In court Friday, Prosecutor Jeremy Brown asked for 6 months in jail […]

Continue Reading Amish Midwives Given Probation, Must Stop Practicing

The Amish of Kent County, Delaware have been dealing with a whooping cough outbreak, for the second time in the past five years. It’s also at least the fourth occurrence there in the past several decades. As of August 18th, a total of 97 cases had been identified in the community. From the Delaware News […]

Continue Reading Delaware Amish Hit Yet Again By Whooping Cough

Each year over 100,000 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules are marked for slaughter, according to an article in Tampa Bay’s 83 Degrees online magazine – among them saddlebreds. Saddlebred horses are valued by Amish for their roadworthiness, but as with any physical asset, they have a limited useful life: Because they are often trained to […]

Continue Reading Saddlebred Rescues Work With Amish Sellers To Save Horses

From wane.com: ADAMS COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – Two Amish women who were arrested earlier this year after police learned they were serving as midwives without any certifications or formal training have pleaded guilty. Sylvia C. Eicher, 74, and Lydiann S. Schwartz, 73, both pleaded guilty in Adams County Court to Level 6 felony Practicing Midwifery […]

Continue Reading Amish Midwives Plead Guilty To Felony Charges; Face 180 Days Imprisonment

According to a report by WWNYTV, towns in the North Country region of New York are pushing for a state law requiring more visible markings on Amish buggies. The main town featured in the video below is Dekalb. “We want to protect both the Amish and our own citizens,” said town supervisor John Frary, who […]

Continue Reading New York Towns Want State To Require Buggy Markings