Jul 16 Economy Kentucky Regulators: West Virginia Coal Plant Should Close in 2028 Kentucky utility regulators reached a decision this week that could mean a northern West Virginia power plant will have to close years sooner than planned. The Kentucky Public Service Commission on Thursday rejected Kentucky Power’s request to perform environmental compliance work on the Mitchell Plant near Moundsville, West Virginia. Under federal rules, the coal-burning plant […] By Curtis Tate Jul 16 Economy Kentucky Regulators: West Virginia Coal Plant Should Close in 2028 Curtis Tate
Jun 30 Economy Kentucky’s AG Cameron on West Virginia Coal Plant: Close It Environmental and consumer groups have pushed for the early closure of a 50-year-old coal-fired power plant in West Virginia that serves electricity customers in both West Virginia and Kentucky. They have an unlikely ally: Kentucky’s Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron. In a filing last week with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, Cameron recommended the commission […] By Curtis Tate Jun 30 Economy Kentucky’s AG Cameron on West Virginia Coal Plant: Close It Curtis Tate
Jun 24 Arts & Culture Appalachian Community Uses Theater To Reckon With Racism, COVID, And The Trauma Of 2020 George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, a cold and faraway place from the vantage point of Harlan County, Kentucky. But the energy of that long, hot summer reached a group of Harlan high schoolers, and soon enough, this small, rural town was in the midst of a national movement. The […] By Katie Myers Jun 24 Arts & Culture Appalachian Community Uses Theater To Reckon With Racism, COVID, And The Trauma Of 2020 Katie Myers
Jun 4 Economy Evictions At A Kentucky Trailer Park Highlight Ohio Valley’s Lack Of Affordable Housing Jimmy McRoberts knew the North Fork Mobile Home Park was teeming with animals. Some residents, like local grandmother Penny Gozzard, had two or three beloved cats they kept a close eye on; others let their pets roam around and mingle with the neighborhood kids who played around their families’ trailers. So when McRoberts’ entire trailer […] By Katie Myers and Liam Niemeyer Jun 4 Economy Evictions At A Kentucky Trailer Park Highlight Ohio Valley’s Lack Of Affordable Housing Katie Myers and Liam Niemeyer
May 14 Infrastructure With Infrastructure Funding On Horizon, Beleaguered Martin County Looks To Raise Water Rates Again In December, Kathy Fletcher, a lifelong Martin County, Kentucky, resident and mother, found her water was shut off. When it came back on, something was wrong with it. Fletcher remembers that after she showered, her skin and nails felt completely dried out. The water smelled acrid, like chemicals. For years, Fletcher has been frustrated by […] By Katie Myers May 14 Infrastructure With Infrastructure Funding On Horizon, Beleaguered Martin County Looks To Raise Water Rates Again Katie Myers
Mar 29 Energy & Environment Eastern Kentucky Communities Barraged By Second Round of Flooding Heavy rains have again caused major flooding in parts of eastern Kentucky, a region that has suffered three floods in just a little over a year. The high waters this weekend followed a round of severe flooding at the first of March. For some communities, including the city of Middlesboro in Bell County and the […] By Katie Myers Mar 29 Energy & Environment Eastern Kentucky Communities Barraged By Second Round of Flooding Katie Myers
Mar 17 Energy & Environment Slow Recovery: Repeated Floods And Storms Strain East Kentucky’s Aging Infrastructure Katrina Bostrin had never seen the lake come up that quickly before. She’d lived in Jackson, the county seat of Breathitt County, Kentucky, on and off since she was a child. It had come up to the garage before, but never inside her home. As she spoke, a volunteer crew from a local church ripped […] By Katie Myers and Corinne Boyer Mar 17 Energy & Environment Slow Recovery: Repeated Floods And Storms Strain East Kentucky’s Aging Infrastructure Katie Myers and Corinne Boyer
Jan 8 Agriculture Driven Off The Road And Assaulted: Animal Rights Group Confronts Alleged Cockfighting In Southeastern Ohio Members of an Illinois-based animal protection group say one of their members was assaulted and another was driven off the road recently after confronting a suspected cockfighting event in southeastern Ohio. Animal rights activist Steve Hindi said his group Showing Animals Respect & Kindness, or SHARK, received a tip from the group’s hotline about a […] By Liam Niemeyer Jan 8 Agriculture Driven Off The Road And Assaulted: Animal Rights Group Confronts Alleged Cockfighting In Southeastern Ohio Liam Niemeyer
Oct 23 Democracy & Civic Life From Appalachia To Wyoming: Youth From Coal Country Discuss The Future After Coal On a recent Saturday, over Zoom, a group of seven high schoolers from Wyoming, eastern Kentucky and West Virginia gazed at an image of a gleaming, pale blue, coal-fired power plant. “OK, so this one really interested us,” said Sarah Belcher, a senior from eastern Kentucky. “So we noticed your all’s coal facilities, they’re really […] By Brittany Patterson Oct 23 Democracy & Civic Life From Appalachia To Wyoming: Youth From Coal Country Discuss The Future After Coal Brittany Patterson
Sep 18 Agriculture Back To The Land: The Future Challenge And Opportunity Of Appalachian Agriculture A line of blue and yellow pop-up tents stand along the North Fork of the Kentucky River during a sunny September weekend in downtown Whitesburg, Kentucky, and Valerie Horn is doing her part to keep the Letcher County Farmers Market rolling. Pumpkins and watermelons fill tarps laid out on the ground next to a farmer, […] By Liam Niemeyer Sep 18 Agriculture Back To The Land: The Future Challenge And Opportunity Of Appalachian Agriculture Liam Niemeyer