There was kind of a quirky “Amish” story that emerged last week in France. Not being a French speaker, I have mainly heard of it secondhand from French readers of this site, who have kindly kept me informed. I wanted to share a brief guest post from Romain Speisser on the topic with you today, who you might recall last month shared a history of…
This is a really ugly story which has been making its way around the web the past few days. I take no joy in covering this but it is an “Amish” story, and one that is getting attention for reasons which raise questions about equal treatment. Two adult brothers plead guilty to molesting their minor-age sister in the Seymour, Missouri Amish community. Here’s a summary…
This caught my eye yesterday. I’ve not often seen an online fundraiser for a person who left his or her Amish community. But that’s what this is, for a 27-year-old woman named Millie: Hi everyone, Millie may the decision to leave the Amish very recently. She had been shunned by her family and they would not give her belongings to her unless she put on…
From Cleveland 19 News: CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Ashland County Health Department says a recent outbreak affecting the area’s Amish community stems from a wedding. The outbreak, which is declared when at least two or more individuals test positive for an infectious disease like COVID-19, in the Loudonville area originated from an Ashland County resident who attended a wedding, according to health officials. That…
A case that we’ve followed for some time now reached another point in its journey through the court system. On Monday a Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the original decision. The article in the Post Bulletin summarizes recent events in the matter: The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a ruling Monday that would require four Fillmore County Amish families to install subsurface sewage treatment systems…
A video making the media rounds supposedly shows Amish singers in Minneapolis singing a hymn as they hold signs related to the death of George Floyd. The people in the clip were in several places described as “Amish” – possibly due to the label at least one YouTube uploader gave the video, and those writing the articles lacking familiarity with the Amish. But as awareness…
The Amish in Geauga County have been having issues following the state’s “stay-at-home” order – at least to the satisfaction of their neighbors. Now, health officials have gotten involved. First, Amish were reported for holding gatherings in violation of the state’s stay-at-home order. Non-Amish neighbors sent in photos allegedly showing Amish breaking the order’s rules. Health inspectors are now filing a notice of violation against…
The Amish community at Seymour, Iowa has gotten criticism for a large horse auction held on April 2nd. Close to 500 attendees from seven states came to a trotting horse sale. The event was legally permitted at the time, as reported April 2nd by KTVO: According to the state’s current COVID-19 guidelines, Gingerich was well within his legal rights to host the sale. Livestock auctions…
People living in the Geauga County Amish community area have contacted Cleveland’s FOX8 news channel with reports of Amish “gathering for church and parties,” presumably violating the state’s stay-at-home order. Ohio’s stay-at-home order, prohibiting gatherings above 10 people, was issued March 22, to last from March 23 to April 6. Last week it was extended to last until May 1. Several have sent in photos of…
Iowa has been getting attention as one of the states not officially ordering schools closed during coronavirus. The governor limited it to a recommendation that they close for four weeks, issued mid-March. Here is an article describing it as a “recommendation,” and here is the governor’s own two-minute video statement doing the same. But things have apparently changed in the past several days. Bear with…