Oct 11 Agriculture Grassroots Growing: Hemp Farmers Form Cooperatives Amid Growth And Uncertainty Tony Silvernail swings a heavy machete at a stalk of bushy hemp and chops the plant near the root, grabbing the five-foot-tall shoot with his sun-weathered hand. It’s an unusually hot October day on his farm, Beyond The Bridge LLC, tucked in the hills outside of Frankfort, Kentucky. But the heat doesn’t faze Silvernail, sporting […] By Liam Niemeyer Oct 11 Agriculture Grassroots Growing: Hemp Farmers Form Cooperatives Amid Growth And Uncertainty Liam Niemeyer
Oct 4 Economy Rethinking Retraining: Why Worker Training Programs Alone Won’t Save Coal Country Bobby Bowman mined coal in West Virginia for 12 years before his employer shut down. “I don’t think that mine will ever open again,” he said. Bowman lives in Welch, in the south of the state, where he worked at the Pinnacle Mine, which shut down almost exactly one year ago, putting him and about […] By Becca Schimmel Oct 4 Economy Rethinking Retraining: Why Worker Training Programs Alone Won’t Save Coal Country Becca Schimmel
Oct 3 Economy Blackjewel Miners Likely to Receive Pay in DOL Deal The Department of Labor and a company associated with Blackjewel agreed this week to put nearly $5.75 million toward coal miners left unpaid in the company’s chaotic bankruptcy. The July 1 bankruptcy of one of the nation’s largest coal companies left 1,100 coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia out of work and without […] By Sydney Boles Oct 3 Economy Blackjewel Miners Likely to Receive Pay in DOL Deal Sydney Boles
Sep 27 Energy & Environment Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Ohio will begin testing some public and private water systems for the presence of toxic nonstick, fluorinated chemicals, broadly called PFAS. In a press release issued Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state’s environmental and public health agencies will analyze drinking water systems located near places with known contamination. That includes near firefighting training […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 27 Energy & Environment Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Brittany Patterson
Sep 27 Economy Meet The Coal Town Betting Big On Outdoor Recreation Standing on the breezy outlook at Flag Rock Recreation Area, Norton City Manager Fred Ramey is taking in the panoramic view of downtown Norton, Virginia. The brick building-lined streets are framed by the verdant, rolling Appalachian mountains. Jagged, brown scars from mountaintop mining operations can be seen in the distance, reminders of the region’s history […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 27 Economy Meet The Coal Town Betting Big On Outdoor Recreation Brittany Patterson
Sep 4 Energy & Environment While “Zombie” Mines Idle, Cleanup And Workers Remain In Limbo The sound of metal banging against metal broke the calm on the high mesa separating Colorado’s Paradox and Big Gypsum valleys. An old rusted headframe marked the entrance to an abandoned uranium mine that, from a distance, looked as if its workers were simply off on a lunch break. Jennifer Thurston, a local environmentalist, paused […] By Mark Olalde and Joe Yerardi Sep 4 Energy & Environment While “Zombie” Mines Idle, Cleanup And Workers Remain In Limbo Mark Olalde and Joe Yerardi
Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Standing at an overlook on the top of Black Mountain — the tallest point in Kentucky — the wooded Appalachian mountains stretch on like a sea of green for miles. For many, this mountain is synonymous with the coal industry. It straddles the state line separating Harlan County, Kentucky and Wise County, Virginia, two communities […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Brittany Patterson
Aug 30 Energy & Environment Meet The Little Green Clover That Beat The Odds The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving to take a rare species of plant found in the Ohio Valley off of the endangered species list. Amid controversial proposals to change the law protecting rare species, the Running Buffalo Clover is an example of a successful recovery. It would join about 2.5 percent of threatened […] By Glynis Board Aug 30 Energy & Environment Meet The Little Green Clover That Beat The Odds Glynis Board
Aug 23 Agriculture Farmer Fatigue: Farmers Grow Weary Of Trade War, But Most Stick With Trump Tom Folz drives around on a sunny, August afternoon and surveys the thousands of acres of dark green, leafy soybean plants and tall stalks of corn he grows on his sprawling farm in Christian County, Kentucky. At 54, Folz has wispy, white hair matching his white mustache. It’s taken him several long work weeks to […] By Liam Niemeyer Aug 23 Agriculture Farmer Fatigue: Farmers Grow Weary Of Trade War, But Most Stick With Trump Liam Niemeyer
Aug 23 Economy Sanders Visits Coal States On Heels Of Climate Plan Release Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will visit Kentucky Sunday just days after releasing his plan to address climate change. Sanders will speak in Louisville Sunday afternoon. His detailed climate plan released Thursday calls climate change “the single greatest challenge facing our country.” Like many of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders supports […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 23 Economy Sanders Visits Coal States On Heels Of Climate Plan Release Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles