Mending Mining Communities

Despite a slight uptick in coal mining activity, most analysts do not forecast a large-scale reversal of the long, downward trend in coal production or employment. Many in the Appalachian coalfields believe we must continue efforts to diversify the region’s economy. The Ohio Valley Resource reports on three bipartisan proposals now before Congress that could […]

Mountains of Music on Crooked Road

Our region has incredible cultural assets, especially our music and dance, as well as traditional arts, crafts and foodways. In this episode of Mountain Talk Monday, we learn about the Mountains of Music Homecoming happening throughout Southwest Virginia June 9-17. Its a project of the The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, which came into […]

Solar Farm in Pike County, KY?

Once the largest coal producing county in the nation, Pike County in far eastern Kentucky may be embracing a whole new kind of energy. Erica Peterson from WFPL in Louisville reports on a proposal to build a massive solar farm on a former strip mine, the largest such project in Appalachia.

Old Ways Create New Markets at Appalachian Farm

Tim Sanders and his wife Becky came back to his family’s land on Indian Creek in Letcher County, KY, from Arizona to retire and live a self sufficient lifestyle. It wasn’t long, though, before neighbors and passersby were stopping and asking about the animals they were tending. And naturally, seeing the heritage breeds of pigs, […]