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# Making Connections News

Diversifying Appalachia's Economy

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Public Health Is Public Safety](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2024/01/public-health-is-public-safety/) - The Public Health is Public Safety campaign works for more effective drug policies, substance abuse recovery programs and harm reduction efforts in Kentucky.
- [Buffalo Creek Flood 51rst Anniversary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2023/03/buffalo-creek-flood-51rst-anniversary/) - A look at the impact of the Buffalo Creek Disaster 10 years after the flood, followed by a powerful remembrance of this coal mining disaster by a survivor.
- [Scoping a Letcher County KY Prison](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/12/scoping-a-letcher-county-ky-prison/) - Comments, pro and con, regarding siting a federal prison in Letcher County, KY, from Nov. 17 public meeting at Letcher County Central High School.
- [Looking to the Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/08/looking-to-the-future/) - Diane Wilson on her book The Seed Keeper; Brian Anderson on the Biden Admin effort to ensure coal communities are not left behind in transition to clean energy.
- [Broadband, Mining Mess + Naomi Judd](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/06/broadband-mining-mess-naomijudd/) - A potpourri of topics on this episode, beginning with a look at the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program which has the potential to increase broadband access for millions of Americans. From there environmental reporter James Brugger talks with Tom Martin, from WEKU's Eastern Standard, about his research on lagging strip mine reclamation.et Sharing a story Listeners urged to spread the word about the Affordable Connectivity Program where millions of Americans could get free or reduced price internet, and more.
- [Anthony Flaccavento + bell hooks: Learn + Love](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/04/anthony-flaccavento-bell-hooks-learn-love/) - Farmer & rural advocate Anthony Flaccavento talks with Whitney Kimball Coe of Everywhere Radio; bell hooks is celebrated.
- [Diabetes Alert](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/03/diabetes-alert/) - East Kentuckians talk of reducing the risk of diabetes through participation in National Diabetes Prevention Programs and with lifestyle changes they made.
- [Congress Must Act To Secure Black Lung Fund](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/03/congress-must-act-to-secure-black-lung-fund/) - Appalachian leaders call on Congress to take immediate action to help disabled miners by restoring fees supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
- [Buffalo Creek Disaster Remembered](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/02/buffalo-creek-disaster-remembered/) - Feb. 26 is the 50th anniversary of WV's Buffalo Creek Flood, which killed 125, left 4000 homeless. What happened, why community never recovered is documented.
- [MLK, Black Lung, Invest In Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2022/01/mlk-black-lung-invest-in-appalachia/) - ML King as a disrupter; Miners and Advocates press Congress to reinstate Black Lung benefits excise fee; ReImagine Appalachia Summit sees economic potential.
- [Infrastructure 4 Us](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/12/infrastructure-4-us/) - Celebrating the positive impact of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act for Appalachia, and what Build Back Better would do for kids, families, communities.
- [Inspiring Appalachians](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/10/three-inspiring-appalachians/) - These amazing Appalachians - attorney John Rosenberg, Wayland Mayor Jerry Fultz, SW Virginian Lou Wallace - make their homes better places to live and thrive.
- [Lessons from Battle of Blair Mountain](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/09/lessons-from-battle-of-blair-mountain/) - Battle of Blair Mountain happened 100 years ago. What’s its significance? Historians, activists say it helps us understand challenges working people face today.
- [Black Lung Benefits Endangered](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/08/black-lung-benefits-endangered/) - Speakers at Aug. 13 Black Lung webinar urge listeners to join grassroots organizing effort to reduce the disease, provide healthcare for its victims.
- [Black Appalachian Coalition Launched](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/07/black-appalachian-coalition-launched/) - Listen to the June 18th launch of the Black Appalachian Coalition in partnership with the NAACP, featuring Frank X Walker and Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali.
- [Reclaim, Renew, Repurpose](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/06/reclaim-renew-repurpose/) - Appalachian advocates see brighter future with new energy policy, RECLAIM Act, AML Reauthorization, efforts to rebuild coalfields communities.
- [Remembering Eula Hall, Blair Mtn Battle](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/05/remembering-eula-hall-blair-mtn-battle/) - Remembering health care leader, "hillbilly activist" Eula Hall; labor historian Chuck Keeney describes importance of WV's Battle of Blair Mountain.
- [Vaccines, Jobs, Environmental Clean Up](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/04/vaccines-jobs-environmental-clean-up/) - Listen in as East Kentuckians dealing with diabetes and prediabetes describe the benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine; White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy talks about President Biden’s plans for investment in coal-dependent communities; and two newly-released studies show how Appalachia can tackle the climate crisis while creating thousands of local jobs by capping East Kentuckians with diabetes/prediabetes describe benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, White House's Gina McCarthy talks investment in coal-dependent communities, two studies show job potential from capping orphan gas wells, cleaning up abandoned mine lands.
- [AML Reauthorization, RECLAIM Act Introduced](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/03/aml-reauthorization-reclaim-act-introduced/) - This show features Rep. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Glenn Thompson, both from Pennsylvania coal mining districts, introducing the RECLAIM Act and legislation to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund at a March 10 Press Conference. Sponsors describe these bills as bipartisan, and state they could create 13,000 jobs immediately, while helping to ensure coal country Rep. Matt Cartwright and Appalachian advocates push RECLAIM Act, AML Reauthorization as bills that will put people to work, create new businesses in Appalachia.
- [A New Deal For Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/03/a-new-deal-for-appalachia/) - ReImagine Appalachia coalition leaders and Ohio Valley mayors promote a New Deal, investments to build a green economy with good paying jobs in Appalachia.Speakers at the January 12th ReImagine Appalachia Strategy Summit describe their policy blueprint for creating a New Deal - a green economy with good paying jobs in Appalachia, followed by comments from the mayors of Pittsburgh and Huntington who support a "Marshall Plan for Middle America" to redevelop the Ohio River Valley region. Several of
- [Black Lives Matter In KY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/03/black-lives-matter-in-ky/) - Rep. Attica Scott files Breonna's Law; Affrilachian author Crystal Wilkinson reads from "Birds of Opulence"; Pastor Edward Palmer seeks racial justice policies.
- [Chronic Empathy Needed To End Racism](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/02/chronic-empathy-needed-to-end-racism/) - Pastor Edward L. Palmer describes racism as a policy failure and addresses the differing impacts that Kentucky state policies have on African Americans.
- [Preventing Diabetes in East Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/01/preventing-diabetes-in-east-kentucky/) - As we think about ways to diversify our economy and improve our quality of life, our health is an essential part of the picture. Disease and mortality rates are considerably higher in central Appalachia than in the rest of the nation and in many ways limit our potential to work and live happily. Prevent Diabetes
- [Patsy Adams: Check Your Sugar!](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/02/patsy-adams-check-your-sugar/) - Letcher County's Patsy Adams tells of the hard road she has traveled since developing diabetes, encourages others to act to prevent or slow down the disease.
- [Willa Johnson: Diet Makes A Difference](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/03/willa-johnson-diet-makes-a-difference/) - Willa Johnson, single mom from East Kentucky, tells of her efforts to reduce her risk of Type 2 Diabetes after she found out her glucose level was rising.
- [Best Medicine May Be Walking](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/04/best-medicine-may-be-walking/) - Innovative walking program by the Letcher County Farmers' Market is showing results for folks with diabetes and prediabetes. It could be a model for the region.
- [Taylor Pratt: Youth Can Change](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/08/taylor-pratt-youth-can-change/) - Young people often believe that prediabetes, type2 diabetes are health problems they don't need to worry about. Taylor Pratt found out otherwise in high school.
- [Preventing Diabetes During COVID](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/10/preventing-diabetes-during-covid/) - Despite the spread of COVID-19, eastern Kentuckians are finding new ways to utilize the Diabetes Prevention Program to avoid diabetes and improve their health.
- [Prevent Diabetes EKY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/11/prevent-diabetes-eky/) - Stories of Eastern Kentuckians making lifestyle changes to improve their health and the National Diabetes Prevention Programs that support their efforts.
- [Tiffany Scott: Take That First Step](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/02/tiffany-scott-take-that-first-step/) - Diabetes prevention is possible. "Here in our area, nobody’s alone with diabetes. Any street corner you turn down, every grocery store aisle, every church pew— you know, you’ve probably got somebody sitting right there with you who is battling it, or a close family member who is," says Tiffany Scott. But, she adds, the Appalachians Diabetes is rampant in east Kentucky but the Diabetes Prevention programs run by Tiffany Scott show promising results. Learn about Appalachians in Control.
- [To Thrive We Have To Fight](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2021/01/to-thrive-we-have-to-fight/) - As 2020 was coming to an end, Kentuckians were experiencing unemployment, food insecurity, and housing evictions due to the coronavirus, and frightened about the looming cut off of many aid programs that were passed as part of the CARES Act last spring. At this Dec. 3 press conference many shared their stories. Although a federal Kentuckians experiencing unemployment, food insecurity, and housing evictions due to COVID19, express their concerns as they hope for federal aid.
- [A Model For Worker Training](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/12/a-model-for-worker-training/) - Brandon Dennison, Coalfield Development Corporation CEO, shares his organization's model for successful worker training, eduction, job creation in Appalachia.
- [Black Lives Matter In Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/11/black-lives-matter-in-appalachia/) - Joseph Palumbo talks about the strong support the Black Lives Matter march garnered in his eastern Kentucky home and the civic activities growing from it.
- [The NET Plan For Coal Communities](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/10/the-net-plan-for-coal-communities/) - Built on community driven solutions, the National Economic Transition Platform is a framework for large scale investments in the hardest hit coal communities.
- [We Can ReImagine Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/10/we-can-reimagine-appalachia/) - ReImagine Appalachia, a coalition of policy organizations, grassroots groups, individuals and activists, presents a Blueprint for revitalizing the region.
- [KY Workers Demand Federal Aid](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/09/ky-workers-call-for-federal-aid/) - Kentucky workers, union leaders, experts, policy makers call on Congress to provide the federal aid that workers, families and communities need during COVID-19.
- [Census 2020 (Still) Time To Be Counted](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/07/census-2020-still-time-to-be-counted/) - Census takers will begin door knocking in mid-August, but help out by self-responding at 2020census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020. A complete count is vital!
- [Federal Aid Urgently Needed For Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/07/federal-aid-urgently-needed-for-kentucky/) - Anna Baumann, Dep. Director of the KY Center for Economic Policy, describes the impact of the first federal stimulus funding and the urgent need for more.
- [Coal Miners Must Stay Vigilant](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/07/coal-miners-must-stay-vigilant/) - A report on efforts underway in east Kentucky to help protect miners with black lung and other respiratory diseases who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
- [Cecil Roberts: Miners Moved Congress](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/06/cecil-roberts-miners-moved-congress/) - UMWA President Cecil Roberts raises concerns about health of working and retired miners during COVID-19, calls on Congress to pass silica dust standards.
- [Census: Not Too Late To Be Counted](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/05/census-not-too-late-to-be-counted/) - The 2020 Census count is underway. Hear why it is so important for eastern Kentuckians to be counted.
- [More Than Mail - Rural Postal Service Threatened](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/05/postal-service-cuts-threaten-rural-communities-survival/) - This story was originally produced in December 2011 when rural mail service was threatened and many post offices were scheduled for closure. With the U.S. Postal Service again threatened, we bring back this report on the importance of the Post Office to so many in rural communities. (12-15-2011) As the U.S. Postal Service faces financial
- [Williamson: Taking a Leap to Reach 'Sustainable'](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/08/taking-a-leap-to-reach-sustainable/) - ARTICLE by Willie Davis: In 1931, the Williamson, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce released a booklet celebrating the town. The cover shows, embedded within a cartoon heart, a photograph of the Williamson skyline. We see a bustling, industrious town perched above the Tug River with a railroad shifting coal cars to and from the rest
- [Create Your State](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/03/create-your-state/) - A musical presentation telling the inspiring story of arts-driven community transformation in Princeton, WV, through the eyes of cultural entrepreneurs.
- [Leaving No One Behind](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/03/leaving-no-one-behind/) - At a recent conference in Charleston, WV speakers facilitated a conversation about what constitutes a “just transition” from the region's dependence on coal.
- [What Does Kentucky Value?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2020/02/what-does-kentucky-value/) - Can we revive eastern Kentucky without the state making basic investments in our people and land? We offer a deep dive into budget options for 2021-2022.
- [Portal 31 Opens Economic Prospects](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/12/portal-31-opens-economic-prospects/) - Portal 31, Harlan County, KY's heritage tourism site, is an example of economic revitalization projects that could be aided by the RECLAIM Act now in Congress.
- [Firestarters Inspire At Rural Women's Summit](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/11/firestarters-inspire-at-rural-womens-summit/) - The "Firestarters," six women from rural America, share stories of personal struggles and local victories as they work for change in their home communities.
- [High Hopes for Hemp Cooperatives](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/11/high-hopes-for-hemp-cooperatives/) - Many small farmers in the Ohio Valley are forming hemp cooperatives to give them a better shot in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
- [Woodbooger Legend Boosts Norton, VA Tourism](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/10/woodbooger-legend-boosts-norton-va-tourism/) - Tourists attracted to verdant mountain views and an abundance of nature and outdoor recreation opportunities are what city managers and others in Norton, VA are hoping will bring the next chapter in the economic history of this region that has depended on coal mining for the past 100 years.
- [Rethinking Retraining](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/10/rethinking-retraining/) - Critics say worker retraining programs have a poor record in actually connecting dislocated workers with local employment that pays a comparative wage.
- [We Needed New Industry Here Yesterday](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/10/we-needed-new-industry-here-yesterday/) - Scott Shoupe talks about mining coal in Kentucky and Alabama, and the transition away from work in this industry that he believes is inevitable.
- [After Six Years Will SOAR Lift Off?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/09/after-six-years-will-soar-lift-off/) - OVR's Sydney Boles reports from the annual meeting that SOAR's big bets on high speed internet, industrial development are experiencing challenges.
- [Pollinator Produce Partners](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/09/pollinator-produce-partners/) - Becca Holmes and Joe Gorman grow and sell heirloom seeds and endangered plants on a small Scott County, VA farm, and work to mitigate climate change.
- [Kentucky Can Do Better With Tax Reform](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/08/kentucky-can-do-better-with-tax-reform/) - Jason Bailey of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy describes state tax and budget issues that are holding us back, and offers solutions to move forward.
- [SNAP Cuts Hurt People And Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/07/snap-cuts-hurt-people-and-economy/) - Dustin Pugel, policy analyst at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, describes the negative impact changes to the SNAP have on families and the economy.
- [How to Shape Our Appalachian Future?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/06/how-to-shape-our-appalachian-future/) - As SOAR prepares for its 3rd gathering, an "Innovation Summit" on June 6 in Pikeville, WMMT spoke with Executive Director Jared Arnett about his vision for the organization's future, which includes focusing on creating a social network of people united in efforts to build the region's economy. For another perspective we spoke with Willa Johnson, a McRoberts,
- [Use AML Funds to Reclaim, Rebuild](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/07/use-aml-funds-to-reclaim-rebuild/) - Concrete examples, ideas for new economic opportunities in Appalachian states using AML Pilot Project funds and those from RECLAIM Act if passed by Congress.
- [Sarah Smarsh, Ken Ward on Rural Realities](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/07/sarah-smarsh-ken-ward-on-rural-realities/) - Two leading journalists share a conversation about media misrepresentations of rural people, what they see as the real concerns of those living in the country.
- [2018 Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/06/2018-great-mountain-mural-mega-fest/) - Can public art works stimulate economic growth? Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest taught mural making as art process, community revitalization, business opportunity.
- [Music Series Brings People Together](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/05/music-series-brings-people-together/) - The second Levitt AMP Whitesburg Music Series will start with Pound, VA native Kaitlyn Baker on May 30. Organizers say the free series helps rebuild downtown.
- [Appalachia's New Energy Interns](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/04/appalachias-new-energy-interns/) - Participants in MACED's New Energy Internship describe the benefits of learning new job skills and, at the same time, helping people their reduce power bills.
- [Hopes Rise With New RECLAIM Act](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/04/hopes-rise-with-new-reclaim-act/) - Congressional testimony from Eric Dixon, Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, and PA Rep. Matt Cartwright highlight potential economic impact of the RECLAIM Act.
- [Save Black Lung Benefits](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/10/saving-black-lung-benefits/) - Retired miners, a miners's widow, and her lawyer describe living with black lung disease, and the fight to keep benefits coming as black lung increases.
- [Tapping Into Tradition](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/03/tapping-into-tradition/) - Could maple syrup become an income generating crop in Appalachia? New technologies are making what used to be harvested for home use possible on a larger scale.
- [KVEC Proposes a Region's Way Forward](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/02/kvec-proposes-a-regions-way-forward/) - Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative leaders describe KVEC proposals to better serve disadvantaged rural students and improve the eastern Kentucky economy.
- [Reclaiming Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/01/reclaiming-appalachia/) - Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition members discuss a new report highlighting 20 projects across Appalachia that could create innovative economic opportunities.
- [Mountain Women Mean Business](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2019/01/mountain-women-mean-business/) - Local businesswomen organized an "uprising of women in Appalachia" in downtown Harlan, KY to connect, empower, and uplift entrepreneurial women in the region.
- [Fighting to Save the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/12/fighting-to-save-the-black-lung-disability-trust-fund/) - Disabled miners speak out at DC press conference about why they are urging their legislators to uphold the fees supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
- [Shading Out Solar in Ohio Valley](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/12/shading-out-solar-in-ohio-valley/) - Weak or nonexistent state policies to incentivize solar make it unlikely the region will attract jobs, economic benefits from with this fast-growing industry.
- [CANE in Action](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/11/cane-in-action/) - WMMT reports that Letcher County's new CANE kitchen is already in use by local farmers to develop new products and build their businesses.
- [Raising CANE For Local Foods](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/10/raising-cane-for-local-foods/) - Celebrating the grand opening of Whitesburg's CANE commercial kitchen which will allow east Kentucky farmers to increase availability of locally grown foods.
- [Why A Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/08/why-a-great-mountain-mural-mega-fest/) - SCTCS's SE KY Revitalization Project trained artists, community, development personnel in mural making as public arts projects that can revitalize communities.
- [Ronni Lundy: Listen to the People](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/08/ronni-lundy-listen-to-the-people/) - Lundy, whose book "Victuals" won the prestigious James Beard award, spoke at East KY Leadership Conference about Appalachia's abundance and resourceful people.
- [App Harvest Plans Massive Solar Greenhouse](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/07/app-harvest-plans-massive-solar-greenhouse/) - App Harvest has plans to build and operate a large-scale, high-tech solar greenhouse on a reclaimed stripmine in Pike County, KY to provide jobs and produce.
- [Taking Flight: Will Drones Bring Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/06/taking-flight-will-drones-bring-jobs/) - There’s a growing possibility that the skill set of building drones could prepare students not just for college, but also for finding a good job in Appalachia.
- [Derek Akal's Struggle to Stay](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/06/derek-akals-struggle-to-stay/) - Derek Akal, age 22, grew up in the Harlan County coalfields. Like many young Appalachians, he is torn between staying or leaving.
- [Who Owns Appalachia, Then and Now?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/03/who-owns-appalachia-then-and-now/) - Successful efforts to rebuild the Appalachian economy may depend on getting access to land. This story revisits the 1981 Appalachian Land Ownership Study which found that absentee mining corporations owned more than half of the land, and up to 70% of the mineral rights in Central Appalachia.
- [Western Front Hotel: Model Remodel](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/04/a-model-remodel-in-st-paul-va/) - Can a boutique hotel and restaurant in a former downtown department store spark an economic revival in St. Paul, VA, a coalfields town located on the Clinch River? A partnership of community members, private and public developers believes newly opened Western Front Hotel and Milton's Restaurant will be a catalyst.
- [ARC Study Highlights Appalachia's Tough Tasks Ahead](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/02/arc-study-highlights-appalachias-tough-tasks-ahead/) - Despite a recent increase in investment from the Appalachian Regional Commission. a new study indicates that the region still faces interlocking challenges to rebuilding the economy and providing much needed employment.
- [From Social Haunting to Community Healing](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/01/from-social-haunting-to-community-healing/) - WMMT's Mtn Talk explores the issue of social haunting, how troubles from the past may play a role in present-day community problems, with researchers and activists in northern England and a substance abuse expert from West Virginia.
- [Black Sheep Brick Oven Bakery](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/02/black-sheep-brick-oven-bakery/) - A new bakery established by folks at the Hemphill Community Center aims to provide Letcher County, KY residents with healthy, locally sourced breads and baked goods while supporting Drug Court participants in their journeys to recovery.
- [Changing Course: KVEC Schools Aim To Remake East Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/01/changing-course-kvec-schools-aim-to-remake-east-kentucky/) - KVEC schools use personalized learning, team projects, and an entrepreneurial attitude to make a difference in a region in need of change.
- [Tiny Houses Tackle Big Problems](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/01/tiny-houses-tackle-big-problems/) - Students in KVEC's eastern Kentucky schools are learning valuable construction skills and more as they design, build and market tiny houses.
- [A Pension Is A Promise](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2018/01/a-pension-is-a-promise/) - Letcher County, KY teachers rally, call on Governor and legislators to provide adequate support for pensions, education, public services through tax reform.
- [Don't Break the Internet Before Rural Gets It](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/12/dont-break-the-internet-before-rural-gets-it/) - Whitney Kimball Coe, coordinator of National Rural Assembly, voices concerns about rural impact of FCC vote to eliminate Title II Net Neutrality.
- [East Kentuckians Oppose KY Power Rate Increase](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/11/east-kentuckians-oppose-ky-power-rate-increase/) - Officials and residents voiced many concerns over proposed double-digit rate increases at Hazard, KY Public Service Commission meeting.
- [Appalachian Harvest Launches Herb Hub](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/11/appalachian-harvest-launches-herb-hub/) - A recently launched Herb Hub in Duffield, VA, is designed to help forest farmers earn more money on their herbs.
- [Internet in Rural America](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/09/internet-in-rural-america/) - Stories of rural people who need high speed Internet access, communities organizing to get it, and training projects using the Internet to create new jobs.
- [SOAR Calls For "Faith And Grit"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/08/soar-calls-for-faith-and-grit/) - At SOAR 2017, KY Gov. Matt Bevin, Rep. Hal Rogers, and UK Basketball Coach John Calipari lay out their visions for eastern Kentuckians.
- [Energy Transition in Germany and Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/08/energy-transition-in-germany-and-appalachia/) - What can Appalachia learn from Germany's transition from a coal mining and burning nation to use of renewable energy and community transformation.
- [Net Neutrality Repeal Has Rural Impact](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/07/net-neutrality-repeal-has-rural-impact/) - WMMT Mountain Talk explores impact FCC move to repeal Title II Net Neutrality could have on rural America, where the digital divide is already the largest.
- [BRIGHT Opportunities for Whitesburg](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/06/bright-opportunities-for-whitesburg/) - Could this east Kentucky coal town become a "Green Healthy Town?" UVA students present revitalization assessment for Environmental Law Institute BRIGHT program.
- [Earl Gohl: Appalachia Is Next Great Investment](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/06/earl-gohl-appalachia-is-next-great-investment/) - ARC co-chair Earl Gohl at annual East Kentucky Leadership Conference says Appalachians have come together to revitalize region. ARC has invested $92 million.
- [Mending Mining Communities](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/06/mending-mining-communities/) - Three bipartisan proposals now before Congress that could help miners and mining communities address economic, environmental, and health challenges.
- [Solar Farm in Pike County, KY?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/05/solar-farm-in-pike-county-ky/) - Is Pike County, where coal was king, about to embrace solar energy?
- [Mountains of Music on Crooked Road](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/06/mountains-of-music-on-crooked-road/) - Mountains of Music Homecoming celebrates while building Southwest Virginia economy through traditional music and more.
- [Old Ways Create New Markets at Appalachian Farm](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/04/old-ways-create-new-markets-at-appalachian-farm/) - At Indian Creek Settlement Farm, Tim and Becky Sanders have joined a growing number of coalfields Appalachians who are creating a new local food economy.
- [Life Without Broadband: "Losing Our Potential"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/04/life-without-broadband-losing-our-potential/) - Lack of reliable broadband in this rural east Kentucky community costs residents jobs, education, and the possible loss of the next generation.
- [An Appalachian Fellows Valentine](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/03/an-appalachian-fellows-valentine/) - For Valentine's Day, Hope Hart asked Appalachian Transition Fellows to describe what love in the context of working in a community means to them.
- [EKY Health, Wealth Expands with ACA, Medicaid](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/05/eky-health-and-wealth-expands-with-aca-medicaid/) - Did you know that newly covered Medicaid recipients were responsible for bringing in an additional $22.8 million in health care spending in Letcher County, KY, over a 20 month period? And over $257 million in the ten hardest hit eastern Kentucky coal mining counties? In this story we visit with staff at Mountain Comprehensive Health
- [Finding Futures in Forest Farming](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/03/finding-futures-in-forest-farming/) - Hear about the whys, hows, and whens of cultivating and selling medicinal herbs, edible mushrooms, and more that is found under the forest canopy.
- [Hazard, KY: Boom or Bust?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/02/hazard-ky-boom-or-bust/) - WMMT takes an in depth look at community efforts to revitalize downtown Hazard, in the heart of Perry County, KY.
- [FCC Chair Tom Wheeler: "This Is A Really Big Deal!"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/fcc-chair-tom-wheeler-this-is-a-really-big-deal/) - Amidst talk that new Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin would shelve or seriously reduce the scope of Kentucky Wired, the state-wide high speed Internet network currently in development, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler visited tiny McKee, KY, at the invitation of Rep. Hal Rogers. It is there that Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, PRTC, has built
- [Writer Ronni Lundy Explores Appalachian "Victuals"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/01/ronni-lundy-explores-appalachian-victuals/) - Acclaimed writer & Corbin, KY native, Lundy reads & discusses her new book "Victuals" covering foodways, cultural heritage and building local food economy.
- [Anthony Flaccavento on Bottom Up Economics](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/12/anthony-flaccavento-on-bottom-up-economics/) - Flaccavento describes six components to building a sustainable economy in regions going through economic hardship, including central Appalachia.
- [Talking Diversity for Coalfields Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2017/02/talking-diversity-for-coalfields-economy/) - Residents with varying perspectives discuss what it will take to diversify the economy of a small community once dependent on coal.
- [Jenkins Mural Is New Attraction](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/12/jenkins-mural-to-explore-heritage-attract-visitors/) - These public art projects encourage current residents and new visitors to explore the lived experiences and rich heritage that Jenkins embodies.
- [EDA Dir. Jay Williams: Youngstown & EKY Same Story](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/09/edas-jay-williams-youngstown-story-similar-to-east-kentucky/) - "Big Ideas Fest" featured speaker says Youngstown, OH had to look at assets and diversify after steel industry gone, like mining decline in Appalachia.
- [Neighbors Work To Revive An Appalachian Community](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/11/neighbors-work-to-revive-appalachian-community/) - Hemphill Community Center focuses on cultural heritage to increase well being and encourage efforts to reimagine and revitalize this east Kentucky coal town.
- [Young Appalachian Filmmakers Say  "Go Your Own Way"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/11/young-appalachian-filmmakers-say-go-your-own-way/) - New documentary from Appalachian Media Institute's youth filmmakers explores options for sustainable future in Appalachia.
- [An EPIC Education Opportunity](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/10/an-epic-education-opportunity/) - KCTCS EPIC online courses and IT certification program offers many avenues to job readiness.
- [Andrea Salina:"Citizens Against Spinoff Companies' Immoral Tactics"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/06/andrea-salina/) - Andrea Salina came home to north central West Virginia to raise her children. She found a community suffering the devastation of a boom and bust coal economy including the recent bankruptcy of Peabody's Patriot Coal. "Nothing is sadder than watching your father, after investing more than 40 years in Peabody Coal, open with shaking hands
- [Appalachian Youth Envision Their Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/09/appalachian-youth-envision-their-future/) - ~~The 2016 Appalachian Media Institute interns speak about their experiences in this year’s Summer Documentary Institute and thoughts about the region and their futures within it. Since 1988, Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) has provided opportunities for young people from central Appalachia to explore their communities and develop their creative skills through the arts and
- [Appalachian Culture as Hub for Growth](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/07/appalachian-culture-as-hub-for-growth/) - Can artists, dancers, actors, musicians and creative thinkers of all varieties contribute to the economic rebuilding of our Appalachian communities? WMMT's Kelli Haywood looked for answers to that question as she visited the 15th annual Cowan Creek Mountain Music School at the Cowan Community Center. The Center is one partner in a creative placemaking effort led
- [Proposed Medicaid Changes Criticized In Hazard](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/07/proposed-medicaid-changes-criticized-in-hazard/) - Over 30 people spoke out about KY Governor Matt Bevin's proposed changes to the state's Medicaid system that through its expansion has seen almost 500,000 low income Kentuckians find health care coverage. WMMT covered the July 7 Public Hearing in Hazard on the Section 11-15 Medicaid waiver that the Bevin Administration is seeking. This Mountain
- [Farmacy Increases Health, Local Foods Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/09/farmacy-increases-health-local-foods-economy/) - WMMT visits the Letcher County Farmers’ Market in Whitesburg, KY where an innovative program called Farmacy is improving health and getting nationwide attention. Formed through an unusual partnership between medical providers – area medical clinics, Medicaid insurance companies, doctors and nurses – and local farmers, the Farmers’ Market, and nonprofits such as Community Farm Alliance, the Farmacy
- [FCC Chair Tom Wheeler: Model Partnership Brings Gigabit Internet to Rural KY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/fcc-chair-tom-wheeler-on-gigabit-internet-impact-in-east-kentucky/) - FCC Chair Tom Wheeler speaking in tiny McKee, KY, on working together to ensure that all Americans have access to the potential of broadband.
- [A Clothesline of Quilts](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/10/a-clothesline-of-quilts/) - In the 1990s, Elliot County, KY was declared the poorest county in the nation. But rather than going the usual route and focusing efforts on recruiting outside companies to come in, leaders took a different approach to the problem, and looked to build on their own strengths. Two decades later these efforts led by the
- [Mountain Rose Winery: A Story To Be Proud Of](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/01/mountainrose-winery-a-story-to-be-proud-of/) - Wise County was once one of the largest apple growing areas in Virginia, but that industry declined as many orchard lands were mined. The Lawson family is bringing fruit growing back to the region, this time planting grapes on reclaimed strip jobs and making wine at MountainRose Winery. Many of their labels are named after
- ["A Marvelous Herb"  Glen Facemire on the Value of Ramp Cultivation](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/qa-marverlous-herbq-glen-facemire-on-the-value-of-ramp-cultivation/) - Ramps, sometimes called wild leeks, are a plant native to the mountains here in central Appalachia, and there is a long history of harvesting them for food. With their powerful garlic-like smell and a taste similar to onions, ramps are a staple in some traditional Appalachian recipes, and ramp festivals are held throughout the region
- [Celebrating Place with Poet George Ella Lyons](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/05/celebrating-place-with-poet-george-ella-lyons/) - Celebrating the place where we're from, and the people who hail from there, is an important step in recognizing and building on the many assets that can be used to revive and strengthen our communities. WMMT's Benny Becker travelled to Harlan, KY to join the George Ellabration, a community celebration of Kentucky poet laureate and eastern Kentucky
- [Celebrating New Clinch River State Park](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/05/celebrating-new-clinch-river-state-park/) - The communities of Cleveland, St. Paul and Dungannon, a "string of pearls" along the Clinch River in southwestern Virginia, have a lot to celebrate. A coalition of public and private groups worked over many years to convince Virginia regulators and legislators to designate 130 miles of the Clinch River and a patchwork of land along its
- [Appalachian Seed Swap Sows Sustainable Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/04/appalachian-seed-swap-sows-sustainable-economy/) - Can our rich and varied Appalachian food traditions become one source for a sustainable economy in the region? The 4th Annual Appalachian Seed Swap brought Joseph Simcox, from Gardens Across America, to Pikeville for the event. A modern-day "Johnny Appleseed," Simcox has traveled the world collecting and swapping seeds and believes that Appalachia can be a
- [Cushaw Sharing at Appalachian Seed Swap](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/04/cushaw-sharing-at-appalachian-seed-swap/)
- [Rural Up! Code Academy - Intro to Tech Careers](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/01/rural-up-code-academy-intro-to-tech-careers/) - Rural Up! Code Academy introduces Appalachian youth to computer sciences & tech careers.
- [EKCEP Director Jeff Whitehead: Connectivity = Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/excep-director-jeff-whitehead-connectivity-jobs/) - On Feb. 2, 2016, Jeff Whitehead, Executive Director of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), spoke about the job impact that the gigabit-speed fiber-optic network built by Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) is having in rural Jackson and Owsley Counties.
- [PRTC GM Keith Gabbard: We Are Gigabit Counties!](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/prtc-gm-keith-gabbard-we-are-gigabit-counties/) - Keith Gabbard, CEO and General Manager of Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, describes the PRTC service area - poor and rural Jackson and Owsley Counties in east Kentucky - and the company's investment in high-speed fiber optic Internet to improve the community's economy and quality of life.
- [Mountain Tech Media To Help Businesses Reach New Peaks](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/03/mountain-tech-media-to-help-businesses-reach-new-peaks/) - Can we build a "Silicon Holler" in central Appalachia? Mountain Tech Media launched in Letcher County on March 14 with plans to help area businesses and organizations maximize their use of computer technology, the Internet and social media. And its a new kind of business - a "social enterprise" structured as a cooperative to build a base of
- [FIREShare: The Holler Demonstrates Technology's Potential](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/04/fireshare-the-holler-demonstrates-technologys-potential/) - What is the future of education and employment in the mountains? Some, like University of Pikeville professor Bruce Parsons, believe it’s technology. The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative’s (KVEC) new FIREShare podcast interviewed Parsons, and he discussed his efforts at envisioning this technological future with The Holler – a website and physical space geared toward opening
- [Carl Chadband: Growing Food and Jobs in Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/03/carl-chadband-growing-food-and-jobs-in-appalachia/) - Interested in starting a food hub or another enterprise to help your community? This edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk features a presentation by Carl Chadband of KISRA (Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action) on how he got Paradise Farms near Charleston, WV, off the ground, and what he's learned about using social enterprise and agriculture to create
- [Kentuckians on Clean Energy Opportunities](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/02/kentuckians-on-clean-energy-opportunities/) - With the unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent, many people are looking towards clean energy, not only as a way to reduce electric bills, but to create new careers in the coalfields. On Monday, January 31, the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, composed of 34 organizations from across the state, came together in Lexington for a
- [Mountain Talk - Energy Options in Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/04/mountain-talk-energy-options-in-appalachia/) - Hosted by Mimi Pickering – April 27, 2011 Join us for this edition of Mountain Talk where we hear from Jason Bailey and Kristin Tracz of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) about the economics of coal, power rate hikes and new options for energy efficiency and the future of our region. [wpdm_file
- [Mountain Talk - Growing Appalachia Workshops](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/03/mountain-talk-growing-appalachia-workshops/) - Hosted by Sylvia Ryerson, March 30, 2011 - On this edition of Mountain Talk we hear from Tanya Turner and Beverly May about the upcoming Growing Appalachia workshops on sustainable mountain agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency for the central Appalachian coalfields. [wpdm_file id=99]
- [Severance Tax Funds for the Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/coal-funds-for-the-future/) - An old mountain song says, “What you gonna do when the weather gets cold? Do like a groundhog, hunt me a hole." Across the mountains, folks are asking something like this —what will our communities do when our finite natural resources, like coal, are finally gone? One proposal from the West Virginia Center on Budget
- ["Citizens Against Consolidation" Organize to Keep Community Schools Open](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/11/qcitizens-against-consolidationq-organize-to-keep-community-schools-open/) - On Monday, November 7, over one hundred people gathered at the Letcher County courthouse to protest a possible redistricting plan that would close two Letcher County elementary schools and consolidate the entire system into three middle schools. Calling themselves “Citizens Against Consolidation,” the group marched from the Courthouse to City Hall, and then back to the
- [Broadband: Crippled Without It?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/04/broadband-crippled-without-it/) - Access to high speed internet service, or broadband, is increasingly seen by many policymakers as a necessity for community vitality. This feature includes comments from Dee Davis, Center for Rural Strategy, on the center’s findings that rural communities will be economically crippled without access to high speed internet; a brief check in with Lisa Fanin
- [Conversations on the Porch: the Central Appalachia Regional Network Summit](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/08/conversations-on-the-porch-the-central-appalachian-regional-network-summit/) - On August 11-13, 2010, a diverse group of leaders from the Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, will come together in Charleston, WV for the first ever summit meeting of the Central Appalachia Regional Network or CARN. This feature talks about the ways in which the summit will bring together
- [Broadband Plan Will Aid Kentucky - An Opinion Piece by Mimi Pickering](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/06/broadband-plan-will-aid-kentucky-an-opinion-piece-by-mimi-pickering/) - Appalshop media producer Mimi Pickering reads her opinion piece that appeared in the Lexington-Herald Leader on June 4 about the importance of affordable, accessible internet to rural and urban Kentuckians. [wpdm_file id=91]
- [Attorney Wes Addington's Testimony to the U.S. Senate on Miner's Health and Safety](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/05/attorney-wes-addingtons-testimony-to-the-us-senate-on-miners-health-and-safety/) - In April, Attorney Wes Addington from the Appalachian Citizens Law Center here in Whitesburg, KY traveled to Washington D.C. to give testimony to the U.S. Senate regarding mine safety. The Hearing took place on April 27th, 2010, and was titled, "Putting Safety First: Strengthening Enforcement and Creating a Culture of Compliance at Mines and Other
- [Congressman Boucher on Internet Infrastructure](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/05/congressman-boucher-on-internet-infrastructure/) - An interview with Congressman Rick Boucher (VA-9) on the importance of broadband internet access to communities in his southwest Virginia district, and of the important role of government support in developing the internet “backbone” and ensuring wide access to it. [wpdm_file id=89]
- [Eastern Kentuckians Face Rising Electric Bills](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/03/eastern-kentuckians-face-rising-electric-bills/) - Residents throughout eastern Kentucky have been shocked by dramatically higher electric bills this winter, forcing many to make difficult decisions in order to keep their homes warm through the coldest months of the year. The situation has created a crisis for many Kentucky households. Residents and local officials alike are searching for answers as to
- [Home-scale Renewable Energy: Darrell & Pam Collier on Wind & Solar Power](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/12/home-scale-renewable-energy-darrell-a-pam-collier-on-wind-a-solar-power/) - With the weather growing colder as we head into winter, there’s a lot of talk about how people can keep their homes warm and well lit, without ending up with a huge energy bill each month. The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, or SAMS, a community group in Appalachia, VA, is working hard to provide some
- [Local Telephone Co-op Brings Broadband to Northeastern Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/11/local-telephone-co-op-brings-broadband-to-northeastern-kentucky/) - One obstacle many communities face as they work to generate employment and economic growth in the region, is a lack of good internet access. A while ago we reported on an initiative by the local telephone co-op in Scott County, Virginia. There's a similar story unfolding in northeastern Kentucky at the Mountain Telephone Cooperative.
- [After Coal, What? Appalachians Look to Wales for Answers](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/10/after-coal-what-appalachians-look-to-wales-for-answers/) - Scholars, community organizers, activists and students gathered at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., October 14-16 for “Appalachia and Wales: Coal and After Coal,” a symposium focused on the historical ties and parallel trends in production between coal-mining regions in Appalachia and Wales over the last century. [wpdm_file id=93]
- [Growing Appalachia: Moving Forward in the Mountains](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/04/growing-appalachia-moving-forward-in-the-mountains/) - On Saturday, April 24, people from throughout the region and the state came together at the Jenny Wiley convention center in Floyd County, Kentucky for a day of workshops on sustainable mountain agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency for the central Appalachian coalfields. The event was titled Growing Appalachia: Moving Forward in the Mountains, and
- [The Avian Aqua Miser: An Automatic Chicken Waterer](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/05/the-avian-aqua-miser-an-automatic-chicken-waterer/) - A portrait of Mark Hamilton and Anna Hess, farmers in Scott County, Virginia, who have used the internet to create a thriving market for their invention, an innovative device to provide water to chickens without creating an unsanitary mess. Their story underlines the importance of good Internet access to rural economic development. [wpdm_file id=88]
- [Dr. Gregory Wagner at the 34th Anniversary of the Scotia Mine Disaster](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/03/dr-gregory-wagner-at-the-34th-anniversary-of-the-scotia-mine-disaster/) - Dr. Gregory Wagner of the Mine Safety and Health Administration shares his thoughts at the 34th anniversary of the Scotia Mine Disaster and historical marker dedication ceremony taking place at Eoila in Letcher County, KY on March 9, 2010. [wpdm_file id=85]
- [Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony for the Scotia Mine Disaster of 1976](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2010/03/historical-marker-dedication-ceremony-for-the-scotia-mine-disaster-of-1976/) - In the spring of 1976, one of the worst mine disasters in U.S. history unfolded in Letcher County, KY, in Eolia just over Pine Mountain from Whitesburg. On March 9, an underground locomotive used for transporting coal ignited methane gas that had accumulated due to poor ventilation causing an explosion that took the lives of
- [Hindman, KY Building on Strengths of History, Place](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/hindman-ky-building-on-strengths-of-history-place/) - In Part II of the this WMMT series on efforts in Hindman, Kentucky, to use the community's cultural assets to rebuild the economy, reporter Kelli Haywood joins staff of the century old Hindman Settlement School to discuss their place within the community and how they use their historical perspective to envision the future. Jessica Evans,
- [Hindman Promoting Cultural Heritage to Revive Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/02/hindman-promoting-cultural-heritage-to-revive-economy/) - In 2014, the tourism and travel industry contributed over $13 billion to Kentucky’s economy and its impact is growing. Eastern Kentucky's coalfield towns are increasingly looking to tourism as a possible way to diversify their economies. In this feature, WMMT reporter Kelli Haywood visits the city of Hindman, the Knott County seat, to witness the efforts being
- [Wind Farm Replaces Coal in South Wales](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/01/wind-farm-replaces-coal-in-south-wales/) - Coal communities around the world are coping with a downturn in the global coal market. In some places, such as Great Britain, most mining shut down decades ago. This report, produced by Melanie Harsha for the After Coal Project at Appalachian State University, looks at the construction of the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm being build
- [Can Elk Help Build East Kentucky Economy?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2016/01/can-elk-help-build-east-kentucky-economy/) - In 1997, seven elk were released within eastern Kentucky’s 16 county Elk Restoration Zone, an area that includes Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Perry, Pike, and Whitley counties. Since then, the elk have thrived and Kentucky now has the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi River
- [Appal-TREE Cooking Classes Increase Healthy Eating](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/12/appal-tree-cooking-classes-increase-healthy-eating/) - Many Americans don't have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food, and sometimes lack knowledge in how to prepare healthy meals. In much of Appalachia, including eastern Kentucky, children and adults are suffering the health consequences of eating poorly. However, in Letcher County, Kentucky, the Appal-TREE Project is an unusual community-university partnership working to change that. In this
- [Fitness Businesses Revitalize Health and Job Market](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/12/fitness-businesses-revitalize-health-and-job-market/) - In this WMMT story, two Pike County entrepreneurs share how they came to open their fitness businesses and their passion for fitness as a means to enrich their community by providing a pathway to better health, and also by creating jobs.
- [ARI Student Senate Supports POWER+ Plan](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/12/ari-student-senate-supports-power-plan/) - Junior and senior high school students representing the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) Student Senate passed a resolution in favor of the White House's proposed POWER+ Plan to invest in the region. ARI Student Senate is a part of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's Race to the Top Grant supporting innovative education in 17 rural eastern Kentucky school districts
- [Collaboration is Key To Elkhorn City Eco-Tourism](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/12/collaboration-is-key-to-elkhorn-city-eco-tourism/) - Elkhorn City, nestled on the banks of the Russell Fork River and just down the mountain from Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia border, was once a thriving tourist town as well as a railroad hub. Tim Belcher and Steve Ruth, volunteers with the Elkhorn City Area Heritage Council, and Stephanie Richards from Artists Collaborative
- [Accelerating Appalachia For Sustainable Businesses](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/11/accelerating-appalachia-for-sustainable-businesses/) - Accelerating Appalachia is looking for nature-based businesses and entrepreneurs interested in “scaling up” and taking their business to the next level of success.
- [A "Renaissance" of Promising Practices in EKY Schools](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/11/a-renaissance-of-promising-practices-in-eky-schools/) - It may not be well known outside the schoolroom, but the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative and 17 eastern Kentucky school districts are employing some of the most innovative and technologically advanced teaching approaches to give students in this rural region the skills they need to succeed in the global economy. In this WMMT report, KVEC
- [Solar Helps Sustain Williamson, WV](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/02/solar-helps-sustain-williamson-wv/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yds1-sNvSds The Jobs Project, a local group dedicated to creating local jobs by bringing renewable energy projects to the area, has been working with the city of Williamson and other partners to bring solar technology to the area. Mountain View Solar & Wind trained residents in solar installation technology while completing the project. Eric Mathis
- [Education & the Internet: Key to Rural Future?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/education-a-the-internet-key-to-rural-future/) - http://vimeo.com/30705918 Educators, librarians and students from throughout East Kentucky talk about how using the Internet and going online is increasingly an essential part of teaching and learning here in the mountains, the challenges when schools and students don't have quality broadband, and what access to the latest technology could mean to the future of our
- [How$martKY: Efficient Energy for Everyone](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/01/howmartky/) - http://vimeo.com/35228003 This video takes a look at How$martKY, a pilot program of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) and four rural electric cooperatives in eastern Kentucky. Bruce Davis from Big Sandy RECC and Chris Woolery from MACED conduct an energy audit of Garland and Judith Howard's Johnson County, KY home to determine where
- [Justin Maxson - What A Just Transition Looks Like](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/05/justin-maxson-what-a-just-transition-looks-like-2/) - Justin Maxson, President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), spoke at the Appalachia's Bright Future conference on what is needed to make a transition to a diversified mountain economy that supports healthy, prosperous families.
- [Brendan Smith - Lessons from Newfoundland](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/06/brendan-smith-lessons-from-newfoundland/) - Fishermen in the Northeast have been making a transition from work as cod fisherman -- an industry that has been part of the region's heritage for generations. Brendan Smith shared valuable lessons on what has been a sometimes difficult transition for these folks at the Appalachia's Bright Future Conference.
- [Todd Howard-Transition Starts With Me & With You](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/06/todd-howard-transition-starts-with-me-with-you/) - Todd Howard used to work in the coal industry. He now farms and helps run the Floyd County, KY Farmers Market. Todd spoke at the Appalachia's Bright Future conference and his message was that transition to a more diverse economy isn't going to come from outside -- "It needs to start in my community of
- [Appalachia Speaks: Gwenda Johnson - Rebuilding Community](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/07/appalachia-speaks-gwenda-johnson-rebuilding-community/) - "Appalachia Speaks" is a new series of video shorts featuring the voices and visions of grassroots leaders in this region. Gwenda Huff Johnson grew up in Eastern Kentucky, one of nine children on a small farm just off a dirt road. As Elliott County Extension Agent for family and consumer science, she teaches about the streams
- [Appalachia Speaks: Gerry Roll - Investment Needed](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/08/appalachia-speaks-gerry-roll-investment-needed/) - Gerry Roll, Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, calls for "disaster relief," investment to enable central Appalachia to recover and rebuild from an economic storm.
- [Farm Life in Lee County](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/07/farm-life-in-lee-county/) - Nestled at the base of Powell Mountain in Lee County, Virginia, sits a small farm that has become a staple of the growing local food economy in southwest Virginia. It’s owned by Kirsty Zahnke, who bought the land and began farming here just under a decade ago. Kirsti calls her farm Farmlife. It’s about 25
- [Mountain Talk - The Rural Broadband Hearing](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/the-rural-broadband-hearing/) - On October 12 a group gathered at Appalshop to talk about the importance of accessible, affordable high-speed Internet in Appalachian communities. Residents from across the region came to share their concerns and ideas with special guests Jonathan Adelstein, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service in the US Dept. of Agriculture, and Mark DeFalco from the Appalachian Regional
- ["Ninety-Nine and Half Won't Do" Broadband for All](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/qninety-nine-and-half-wont-doq-appalachians-on-the-need-for-broadband-for-all/) - On October 12 people gathered at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky to talk about the importance of broadband Internet access in our rural communities. With it, we can connect to anyone in the world, send and receive information, take classes, start businesses, compete with the world. Without it, we are condemned to fall further and further behind. This
- [Rural Counties Most Dependent on Social Security](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/11/rural-counties-most-dependent-on-social-security/) - In this election season, we’ve been hearing a lot about big government, deficits, and entitlement programs like Social Security. The Congressional “supercommittee” may end up making cuts in Social Security at the end of this month. But what does Social Security mean for folks here? A recent article in the on-line newspaper the Daily Yonder
- [Mountain Talk - School Consolidation in the County](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/11/mountain-talk-school-consolidation-in-the-county/) - Letcher County parents, students and officials joined host Sylvia Ryerson and engineer Brett Ratliff in an hour-long discussion of a proposal to consolidate the county's elementary school system into three middle schools. In this program we hear from concerned citizens about what small schools mean for their children and their community's survival. [wpdm_file id=38]
- [Visiting Creech Orchard](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/06/a-visit-to-creech-orchard/) - Terry Creech is a rare breed – a second generation apple grower in Harlan County, KY. Jeremy Williams, Harlan County Extension Agent, and Mitch Whitaker from the Letcher County office led a tour to one of the Creech Orchards. Situated at 4,100 feet at the highest point on Black Mountain, the orchard has a climate
- ["Stop and Listen to West Virginians"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/07/qstop-and-listen-to-west-virginiansq/) - Last December the Environmental Protection Agency issued rules that limit the amount of mercury that coal-burning power plants can put into the air. Mercury is a nerve toxin, especially dangerous to children and the unborn, and the mercury rules had been a long time in the making. Like other actions of the Environmental Protection Agency,
- [New Energy Abundance in EKY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/07/new-energy-abundance-in-eky/) - As the debate surrounding the continued operation of aging coal burning power plants continues, many are trying to figure out what our other options are for supplying all our energy needs. Downstream Strategies, an environmental consulting organization based in West Virginia, just released a report addressing this very question, "The Opportunities for Distributed Renewable Energy
- [Mining Communities in Times of Change](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/07/mining-communities-in-times-of-change/) - In the 1960s Anthropologist Helen Lewis established one of the first Appalachian Studies programs in the country, at what was then Clinch Valley College in Wise County, Virginia. Here Helen joins one of her former undergraduate students, lawyer and community leader Frank Kilgore of St. Paul, Virginia, at the site of the new Dominion energy
- [Benefits Fair - Help in Hard Times](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/08/benefits-fair-help-in-hard-times/) - Eastern Kentucky, like much of central Appalachia, has been hard hit by lay offs in the coal industry in recent months. Since the first of 2012, hundreds have lost their jobs. But in the midst of such uncertain and trying times, our communities have also been pulling together to support each other. That was clear
- [Pay It Forward - WV Future Fund](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/09/wv-future-fund/) - Coal production has been declining lately, and many counties in our listening area are concerned that they will be short on much needed revenue as less coal mined means fewer severance tax dollars coming in. In this report Ted Boettner and Paul Miller of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy describe the West
- [A Morgan Sorghum Success!](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/10/a-sorghum-success/) - The last weekend of September marked the 42nd annual Morgan County Sorghum Festival, complete with the Sorghum Bowl football game, the crowning of the Sorghum Queen and over 100 arts and crafts displays in downtown West Liberty. Many said they though this year's might have been the biggest Sorghum Festival ever. But just a few
- [White Oak Pumpkin Barn](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/11/white-oak-pumpkin-barn/) - The Howard-Oldfield family has been farming in Morgan County, KY for over 100 hundred years. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to try something new. Last year Ashley Oldfield and her husband John experimented with planting half an acre of pumpkins. They sold some to the local IGA and a few places in White
- [Like a Car Settin' on Blocks - Broadband in Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/11/like-a-car-settin-on-blocks-broadband-in-appalachia/) - The Federal Communications Commission’s Eighth Broadband Progress Report finds approximately 19 million Americans, mostly rural, lack access to high-speed Internet. In Central Appalachia the digital divide is stark: in West Virginia’s McDowell and Mingo Counties, upwards of three-quarters of the population do not have access; in East Kentucky over 50% in Leslie and Breathitt Counties
- [Crooked Road Builds Music Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/12/a-crooked-road-to-some-fine-picking/) - All Appalachians know our region is rich in music - but this doesn't always translate in to money for local residents. Yet the Crooked Road, southwestern Virginia’s heritage music trail, is working to change that. In recent years, through careful planning focused on local culture and decision making, this project has helped the region’s traditional
- [Arbor Day in Southwest Virginia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/04/arbor-day-in-southwest-virginia/) - Coverage of an Arbor Day event on Friday, April 15, on a former strip mine on the Wise – Dickenson County line. We hear from some of the sponsors representing the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Office of Surface Mining, and Alpha Natural Resources, as well as
- [Mountain Talk - Farmers Markets and Growing a Local Food Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/05/mountain-talk-farmers-markets-and-growing-a-local-food-economy/) - Hosted by Sylvia Ryerson – With the growing season underway,now is the time to enjoy the fresh local produce of our mountains. On this week’s Mountain Talk we talked about where we can get it – at the farmers’ markets throughout our region. We heard from guests Todd Howard, Carrie Troud, Martin Richards and Carmen Cantrell about some of
- [Dean Hill Photography: Shooting Local Going Global](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/06/dean-hill-photography-shooting-local-going-global/) - Rural communities nationwide are far more likely than their urban counterparts to have slower download speeds, only one choice in provider and a lack of adequate broadband infrastructure. Yet in places like eastern Kentucky, the economic future of the region depends greatly on closing this digital divide. Dean and Karen Hill run Dean Hill photography
- [Chickens, Internet & Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/06/chickens-internet-a-entrepreneurs/) - ARTICLE by Wille Davis: Scott County, Virginia was once a hub for big tobacco farms, and its location €”nestled between two coal rich areas provided an opportunity for residents to work in the mines. Once the income from the tobacco industry and the coal companies dried up, however, the county suffered. The population has been
- ["Be Smart, Live Simple": A WMMT Report](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/07/qbe-smart-live-simpleq-a-wmmt-report/) - At the top of a winding Leslie county road, right on the edge of the Daniel Boone National forest, one innovative couple is proving that solar power does work here in the narrow hollows of eastern Kentucky. Over the past decade Elijah and Guylaine Collett have been slowly accumulating solar panels on the south facing
- [Getting Ahead Online: Education & the Internet](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/08/getting-ahead-online-education-a-the-internet/) - The school year just kicked off here in Letcher County, and opening day is right around the corner for many other students in eastern Kentucky. As young people throughout the region head back to the classroom, there is one tool they’ll be using that wasn’t around for generations past: the Internet. WMMT’s Sylvia Ryerson talked
- [Solar By Necessity: Elijah & Guylaine Collett](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/09/solar-by-necessity-elijah-and-guylaine-collett/) - ARTICLE by Willie Davis: In 1999, after a hard day of working as a freelance electrician, Elijah Collett turned on his computer. His son was teaching him how to use the Internet, but aside from a few religious websites, he didn't have much interest in it. That evening, however, he decided to try his hand
- [Sweet Corn and Fresh Ideas](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/08/sweet-corn-and-fresh-ideas/) - August 9th marked the opening day of the Floyd County Farmers’ Market. Now in its second year, the market has relocated from downtown Prestonsburg to out on the side of Route 114, just past the Mountain Arts Center.  In a particularly difficult growing season, growers and customers alike were excited to be there. The Floyd
- [Principles Critical to Effective Tax Reform](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/12/principles-of-tax-reform-jason/) - The Kentucky General Assembly meets again in January and Governor Steve Beshear has made tax reform a priority for his second term in office. Jason Bailey, director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, agrees that now is the time to address Kentucky's long term financial woes. In this opinion piece originally published in the
- [Keep Warm & Cut Your Costs: How$martKY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/01/keep-warm-and-cut-your-costs-howmartky/) - Because of historically cheap energy rates and lots of poorly insulated housing, Kentuckians’ average home electricity use is one of the highest in the nation – 24 percent more than the national average. This WMMT report follows energy specialists on a home energy audit through How$martKY, a pilot program that lets homeowners and businesses make
- [Goods from the Woods](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/02/goods-from-the-woods/) - February is the time of year when most farmer’s markets here in the mountains go into hibernation, and fresh local produce can be hard to find. But one organization is working away during these winter months to help farmers and families prepare for the season to come. Appalachian Sustainable Development, or ASD, is working with residents
- [Richard Trumka on Good Jobs & a Cleaner Planet](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/02/creating-good-jobs-and-a-cleaner-planet/) - The winter of 2012 so far has been unseasonably warm. It comes as the Appalachian coal industry faces a time of change, and amid a debate between people who say that coal is helping cause global warming and those who say there’s no such thing. Richard Trumka addressed this question recently. He is the president of America’s
- [Mountain Talk - Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency for KY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/02/mountain-talk-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiencey-for-eastern-kentucky/) - Hosts Sylvia Ryerson and Mimi Pickering discuss clean energy opportunuties for eastern Kentucky with guests Nathan Hall of Floyd County, who built his own mobile biodiesal conversion system, and Matt Partymiller, co-founder and operating partner of Solar Energy Solutions in Lexington. In this show we hear from Nathan and Matt on how growing our clean
- [Planning for Planting](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/03/planning-for-planting/) - It’s been an unusually mild winter here in the mountains, and many are wondering how this will affect our growing season. On Friday, February 17, growers from throughout the region came together to discuss this and more at the east Kentucky fruit and vegetable conference. The day-long conference was held at the Letcher County Extension
- [A Safe Haven for Injured Birds of Prey](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/04/a-safe-haven-for-injured-birds-of-prey/) - Letcher County is now home to the only raptor rehabilitation center in southeastern Kentucky. The new facility opened last month at the Letcher County Extension Office, and will serve as a home for injured and recovering birds of prey rescued throughout the region. At the ribbon cutting ceremony in early March, Letcher countians got to
- [Laid Off and Looking for Answers](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/10/laid-off-and-looking-for-answers/) - Since January, thousands of coal miners have been laid off in Central Appalachia. We'€™ve heard a lot of opinions about the causes of this decline and what the future holds - from industry leaders, elected officials and even the presidential candidates. But what do those who mined the coal have to say? Letcher County underground
- [The Town Too Tough To Die Leads Kentucky Towards LGBT Fairness](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/01/the-town-too-tough-to-die-leads-kentucky-towards-lgbt-fairness/) - Vicco, Kentucky, in the southern corner of Perry County, is known by its town slogans as a little town with a big heart, and the town too tough to die. On Jan.14, 2013, in a 3 to 1 vote by the city'€™s commissioners, it made another name for itself by becoming the first municipality in
- [The Future of Landline Service in Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/02/the-future-of-landline-service-in-kentucky/) - The future of landline phone service in Kentucky is once again up for debate in the state legislature. On Thursday, February 14 Senate Bill 88 passed out of the senate in a 24-13 vote. The bill will now move to a house committee for review.Titled the New Economy Communications Act by bill proponents - Senate
- [Building Business from the Ground Up](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/03/building-business-from-the-ground-up/) - The Southeast Kentucky Development Corporation, better known as SKED, is offering entrepreneurial training courses throughout 2013 in Corbin, Prestonsburg, Somerset, Hindmen, Liberty and Pikeville. We spoke with Pat Bradley, the small business training specialist for the program, to hear more about what is offered through the course and how one can get involved. The entrepreneurial
- [Mountain Talk: Growing Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/03/mountain-talk-growing-appalachia-2/) - In this edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk, we discuss small-scale farming and local foods, energy efficiency, and renewables in the mountains with special guests Fern Nafziger, Cody Montgomery, Paul Wiediger and Will Bowling. All of our guests are deeply involved in this work in eastern Kentucky, and are all presenters at this weekend's fourth annual Growing Appalachia day
- [Appalachian Funders Network - Leveraging Local Assets](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/03/appalachian-funders-network-leveraging-local-assets/) - Interested in Appalachian economic transition ideas, local entrepreneurship efforts, or the impact of community foundations in the coalfields? WMMT's Mountain Talk hosted a discussion with members of the Appalachian Funders Network, a group of public and private grant-makers working toward a diversified Appalachian economy, based on assets within the region. Guests include Ray Daffner of
- [New Opportunity School for Women - Bringing Out Potential](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/03/new-opportunity-school-for-women-bringing-out-potential/) - Women in Central Appalachia are more likely to struggle with unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities than are their male counterparts or than women in many other parts of the country. But a small non-profit called the New Opportunity School for Women has spent the past quarter century working to assist women from Central
- [Clinch River Protection to Boost Local Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/03/clinch-river-protection-to-boost-local-economy/) - Though we often hear in the coalfields that job creation and environmental protection are two things that cant happen at the same time, a growing coalition of individuals and organizations believes that the Clinch River, €”one of the most biodiverse river systems in North America, €”could itself be the backbone of a brand-new economy in
- [After Coal: Wales & Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/04/after-coal-wales-appalachia/) - Over 4,000 eastern Kentucky miners have lost their jobs since 2011, and many fear these coal jobs aren'€™t coming back. Now folks in the coalfields are asking the question, what comes next? Scholars at Appalachian State University think there are lessons to be learned from South Wales, a major coal producing region which faced a
- [Building Appalachia's Bright Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/04/building-appalachias-bright-future/) - In late April, leaders from across eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia came together in the heart of Harlan County, at the Harlan Convention Center, to talk about the future of mountain communities. Called Appalachia’s Bright Future, the conference was sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and aimed to build a new conversation about the unique opportunities
- [Cory Coots: Invest in Future for Appalachian Youth](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/08/cory-coots/) - Cory Coots hails from Viper, KY and will soon be a senior at Hazard High School. Speaking as a young person who wants to have a future in the region, he calls for new ways to invest our serverance tax funds. Cory has just finished working as a peer trainer in Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute
- [Keeping Carcassonne](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/08/keeping-carcassonne/) - In this report from Sara Soltau we hear about efforts currently underfoot to sustain and keep alive the Carcassonne Community Center near Blackey, home to the longest continuously-running square dance in the state of Kentucky and a former school house that is a focus for local folks. [wpdm_file id=52]
- [How$martKY Powers On](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/08/howmartky-powers-on/) - The Kentucky Public Service Commission announced some big news on August 26, granting permanent status to a 2-year pilot program which provides on-bill financing for energy efficiency upgrades for homes and businesses. Titled How$martKY, it’s the first of its kind to get such approval in the state of Kentucky. Operated by the Mountain Association for Community
- [Connection Lost - Appalachian Youths' Perspectives on Broadband](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/09/connection-lost-youth-perspectives-on-broadband-in-appalachia/) - This past August, Appalshop's youth media project, the Appalachian Media Institute (AMI), hosted a month-long digital citizenship lab that explored the realities of limited broadband access in the coalfields, and the obstacles people here face because of our lack of high-speed Internet availability. The following is a radio adaptation of the pieces produced by Brandon
- [West Virginians Look Towards the Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/09/west-virginia-looks-towards-the-future/) - Bright Economic Future for the Mountain State, a West Virginia gathering held over labor day weekend, brought together entrepreneurs, policy experts, and grassroots organizations and leaders from across the state to address the urgent need for job creation and economic transition in the southern coalfields. The conference was modeled in part after Appalachia’s Bright Future,
- [Riding with the UMWA in a Fight for Healthcare](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/09/riding-with-the-umwa-in-a-fight-for-healthcare/) - For several months now, buses full of retired UMWA miners from all over the country have regularly converged upon St. Louis for protests against Peabody Energy and Arch Coal. Peabody and Arch transferred responsibility for the guaranteed lifetime health and pension benefits owed to some 22,000 miners, retired miners, and their families into a third
- [East Kentuckians Are Ready for SOAR](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/12/east-kentuckians-are-ready-for-soar/) - East Kentuckians appear to be plenty ready to create a more diverse and prosperous economy for the people of the region. Over 1,500 have registered to attend the Dec. 9 bi-partisan SOAR meeting in Pikeville where the agenda is sharing ideas for moving the region forward. WMMT spoke with Justin Maxson, President of MACED and
- [SOAR - What Happens Next?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/12/soar-forward/) - Over 1,500 East Kentuckians were ready to talk about solutions for transforming the region's sagging economy when they showed up in Pikeville on Dec. 9th to take part in the SOAR - Shaping Our Appalachian Region - Summit. A highlight for many was Joe and Tony Sertich's presentation about revitalization efforts in Minnesota's Iron Range,
- [Eula Hall Fights for Mud Creek Medicine](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/01/eula-hall-fights-for-mud-creek-medicine/) - Eula Hall from Mud Creek in Floyd County, KY is nationally recognized for a lifetime fighting for the rights of mountain people, especially for access to good health care. Eula and the Mud Creek Clinic she founded are the subject of a new book by Kiran Bhatrajn. In December 2013, Eula and Kiran visited Appalshop
- [Morris Creek: Reviving Creek for Community](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/01/morris-creek/) - Streams turned bright-orange from Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) are a common sight throughout the coalfields. The orange is essentially iron that comes with the water flowing out of old mines and it often smothers aquatic life. Mike King and other folks living along Morris Creek near Montgomery, WV, came together to see if they could
- [Solar Energy Can Brighten West Virginia's Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/02/solar-energy-can-brighten-west-virginias-future/) - Our region is known for producing energy. Historically that has been coal and more recently natural gas. Another source that could bring jobs, lower electric bills, and energy self-sufficiency is solar. A new white paper from the Mountain Institute and Downstream Strategies examines the potential of solar power for West Virginians. The authors plan to
- [East Kentucky Schools "Race to the Top"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/03/eky-schools-racing-to-the-top/) - In Dec. 2013, the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) received a $30 million Race to the Top grant from the US Department of Education to carry out the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative. ARI is a collaboration between 17 school districts and numerous regional organizations all committed to putting students first, improving educational outcomes, and developing a
- [Remembering 1907 Monongah Disaster](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/04/remembering-1907-monongah-disaster/) - March 9 & 13 marked the anniversary of the Scotia Mine Disaster in Letcher County, KY in 1976, and April 5 was the 4th year since 29 miners were killed at Upper Big Branch in West Virginia. As part of a commemoration of these events, WMMT looked back at the nation's worst mine disaster -
- [Remembering the Miners at Upper Big Branch](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/04/remembering-the-miners-at-upper-big-branch/) - April 5 marked the 4th anniversary of the deadly explosion at then-Massey Coal's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, WV. As a way to remember, the WMMT family recorded these short portraits of the 29 men who so needlessly lost their lives. Their stories come from the Report to the Governor by the Governor's
- [SOAR Takes Off](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/05/soar-takes-off/) - It’s been four months now since Gov. Steve Beshear and Rep. Hal Rogers kicked off the SOAR – Shaping Our Appalachian Region - initiative with a December summit in Pikeville that attracted over 1,500 people. WMMT reports on the first meeting of the ten SOAR working groups, at the East Kentucky Leadership Conference on April
- [Work Together with Worker Cooperatives](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/05/work-together-with-worker-cooperatives/) - Could Worker Cooperatives be a solution for getting new businesses going in our region? In this WMMT Mountain Talk we sat down with Joe Rinehart, Rural Technical Assistance Coordinator for the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and Whitesburg, KY residents Jonathan Hootman and Sara Pennington to talk about the growth of Worker Cooperatives around the country and ways
- [Its "Growing Appalachia" Time](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/05/its-growing-appalachia-time/) - It is springtime in the mountains again and local gardens are starting to come in. WMMT reports on the annual Growing Appalachia Conference which was held in March at Jenny Wiley State Park. In addition to talk of grassfed beef, herb gathering, and vegetable production, there was plenty of discussion of a variety of ways
- [Imagining Appalachia 2050](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/05/imagining-appalachia-2050/) - Fifty years after the War on Poverty began much has been accomplished in Appalachia, but more remains to be done. Floyd Co journalist, and now filmmaker, Ralph B. Davis visited WMMT’s Mountain Talk to discus and share clips from his documentary Appalachia 2050, in which residents of the region talk about what is needed to finish
- [Ending Black Lung Forever?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/05/ending-black-lung-forever/) - On April 23rd, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, passed a long awaited rule that will lower the amount of respirable coal dust in all U.S. underground coal mines. The new standard reduces dust levels from 2 miligrams per cubic meter to 1.5 miligrams per cubic meter. This new standard aims to reduce
- [Hollow: McDowell County, WV Tells Its Stories](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/07/hollow-mcdowell-county-wv-tells-its-stories/) - Elaine McMillion, director of the award-winning interactive documentary Hollow, visited WMMT's Mountain Talk to discuss this multimedia project in which Elaine and McDowell County, WV, residents use video, photography, audio and writing to explore the joys and challenges of living in and rebuilding this hard hit Appalachian coal community. Linda McKinney, who runs the Five Loaves &
- [Dust in the Bottomland: Monodrama for Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/06/dust-in-the-bottomland-monodrama-for-appalachia/) - WMMT's Mountain Talk is pleased to present "Dust in the Bottomland," an original musical monodrama (miniature opera) that paints a complex and moving portrait of modern Appalachia. The recording is followed by an interview with West Virginia composer/lyricist Nate May and singer Andrew Munn on the experiences that inform the story, and the power of
- [Appalachian Food Summit A Success](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/06/appalachian-food-summit-a-success/) - Pike County food writer Joyce Pinson, Valerie Horn with Community Farm Alliance, Grow Appalachia and AppalTree, and Lora Smith, one of the organizers of the very first Appalachian Food Summit, discuss this delicious and delectable event and the potential that growing and eating our own foods holds for improving the health and economy of our
- [Seeds & Ancestors: Appalachian Food Summit](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/07/seeds-ancestors-appalachian-food-summit/) - Appalachian Food Summit discusses local foods as heritage and part of sustainable future.
- [Broadband Basics for Rural Region](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/07/broadband-basics-for-rural-region/) - The debate about an open Internet, sometimes called "Net Neutrality," and what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will decide is a hot topic right now. But because Internet access and affordability issues of all kinds affect how well our rural communities fare now and in the future, the Central Appalachia Regional Network (CARN) created some easy
- [Appalachian Transition Fellows](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/08/appalachian-transition-fellows/) - Encouraging a new generation of Appalachian leaders while working to diversify the regional economy? That is the goal of the Appalachian Transition Fellowship Program. The first class of Fellows, fourteen young people from throughout the region, recently started working with nonprofits, governments and businesses in six states on projects that create jobs and livelihoods. Mountain Talk host Mimi
- [Letcher Farmers' Market Summer Feeding Site First in Nation](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/08/letcher-farmers-market-feeding-program-first-in-nation/) - The Letcher County Farmers' Market is the first in Kentucky, and likely the first in the entire country, to offer free meals cooked on site from market vegetables to children 18 and under. The Farmers' Market celebrated with its many partners including the Letcher County School System, US Department of Agriculture, KY Department of Education,
- [SOAR Listens to Letcher County Farm & Food Ideas](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/07/soar-listens-to-letcher-county-ag-ideas/) - The SOAR Working Group on Agriculture, Community and Regional Foods, and Natural Resources held a Listening Session in Letcher County, KY on June 19. After a discussion of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for economic development and job creation in local foods and forestry, folks in the group offered their ideas for what would help the area.[wpdm_file
- [Environmental Education Model in Coalfields Virginia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/07/environmental-education-model-in-coalfields-virginia/) - St. Paul, VA, high school students at the Wetlands Estonoa Learning Center are steeped every day in a rich, interactive, learning environment through a long-running, student-driven project that doubles as both an outdoor classroom and a functioning wetland that helps maintain clean water in the Clinch River watershed, one of the most biodiverse river systems in North America.
- [KY Innovation Network - New Help for EKY Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/08/ky-innovation-network-new-help-for-eky-entrepreneurs/) - The statewide Kentucky Innovation Network recently set up the Pikeville Innovation Office to serve eight Eastern Kentucky counties. Assistant Director Justin Prater stopped by WMMT to talk about various ways the network can assist small businesses and entrepreneurs to start up or improve their current operations, including participating in pitch sessions with Angel Investors. [wpdm_file
- [Clinch River Runs Cleveland, VA Rebuilding](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/09/clinch-river-runs-cleveland-va-rebuilding/) - In Cleveland, VA, residents are focusing on the Clinch River and eco-tourism as building blocks for their community's growth.
- [Welsh Eco-Tourism Model Excites Elkhorn City, KY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/09/eco-tourism-works-in-wales-uk-elkhorn-city-ky/) - The After Coal: Wales and Appalachia Project visited Elkhorn City recently to talk about eco-tourism in Wales and how what has happened there could apply to this town on the banks of the Russell Fork River in Pike County, KY.
- [SOAR - Improve Health Through Heritage?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/10/soar-improve-health-through-heritage/) - Dr. Nikki Stone, Chair of SOAR Health Working Group, asks if region's heritage of strong, resilient mountaineers can help us improve East Kentucky area's very poor health.
- [Wales To Appalachia - Use Opportunity For New Beginning](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/10/wales-to-appalachia-use-opportunity-for-new-beginning/) - Folks from throughout the region came to Appalshop on Oct. 7 to listen to stories about economic renewal in the Welsh coalfields, and to talk together about what it will take to rebuild the Appalachian economy. Education and re-training, environmental reclamation, and increased investment by local and national partners were common themes. Dr. Helen Lewis,
- [New Technology on the Clinch River](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/10/new-technology-on-the-clinch-river/) - “Welcome to the Clinch! Even though this river may look tranquil and calm, did you know that you are actually floating one of the most bio-diverse rivers in all of North America?” And so begins the groundbreaking new virtual audio tour of the Clinch River. A student-led citizen science initiative at UVA-Wise, the guided river
- [EKY Small Businesses Needed - Help Available](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/11/eky-small-businesses-needed-help-available/) - Most businesses powering the Kentucky economy are small - less than 50 employees. Increasing entrepreneurship and the growth of local businesses could be key to rebuilding east Kentucky. However 80% of small businesses fail in the first five years. This Making Connections News report focuses on the resources available in our region that dramatically improve
- [Gerry Roll-Help Us Build New Coalfields Economy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/11/gerry-roll-help-us-build-new-coalfields-economy/) - Gerry Roll of Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky describes the community efforts and outside investment she believes will be needed to rebuild the coalfields
- [Evan Smith - Don't Forget Coalfields That Built Nation](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/12/evan-smith-dont-forget-coalfields-that-built-nation/) - East KY lawyer Evan Smith calls for freeing up funds, like AML Fund, and investing in coalfield communities that have contributed much to the nation.
- [Jason Bailey - Support Workers to Grow KY Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2014/12/jason-bailey-support-workers-to-grow-ky-jobs/) - The Kentucky Center for Budget Policy has released the 2014 State of Working Kentucky Report and the news is not good. KCEP Director Jason Bailey says that Kentucky is still feeling the effects of the 2007 recession with fewer jobs, slow growth, and declining wages. In this Making Connections News story, Bailey makes a number of
- [War On Poverty Lessons for SOAR](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/02/war-on-poverty-lessons-for-soar/) - Retired War on Poverty staff Robert Shaffer & Hollis West recall building successful east KY programs with "maximum feasible participation of the poor" & recommend SOAR empower poor for results
- [POWER+ Plan for Appalachian Renewal](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/02/power-plan-for-appalachian-renewal/) - President Obama's 2016 budget includes significant funds for economic renewal in Central Appalachia. The POWER+ Plan calls for investing in coal communities, workers and technology. Eric Dixon, Dee Davis, and Jason Bailey comment on the possible impact in the region.
- [Challenge for EKY Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/03/challenge-for-eky-entrepreneurs/) - $10,000 for entrepreneurs in eastern Kentucky! Justin Prater came by WMMT to tell our listeners about the UPIKE Startup Challenge the Kentucky Innovation Network is offering to eastern Kentuckians with a bright idea for a business. If you live in Eastern Kentucky (east of i75, south of i64), you are eligible to enter the competition. Anyone is
- [Growing At School: Pikeville Elementary Garden](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/03/growing-at-school-pikeville-elementary/) - Pikeville Elementary's "Plant It for the Planet" school garden project, as well as the impact that local food and farming can have on our health and economy, are the topics of this WMMT Mountain Talk discussion. Mark Kidd hosts for the Community Farm Alliance's Breaking Beans project and guests include 6th grade gardener Sarah Belcher, her
- [Growing Appalachia 2015](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/04/growing-appalachia-2015/) - The buzz keeps building about growing, eating and selling local foods, and the annual Growing Appalachia conference was once again the place to be for those wanting to learn and share. WMMT's Rance Garrison reports on this Floyd County, KY event that brought together a wide range of folks from across southeast Kentucky for a series of workshops
- [Are We SOAR-ing Yet?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/05/are-we-soar-ing-yet/) - Second SOAR Summit gets mixed reviews, calls for more youth participation.
- [Appalachian Seed Swap A Success](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/06/appalachian-seed-swap-a-success/) - The 3rd Annual Appalachian Seed Swap was held earlier this spring in Pikeville, KY. A celebration of Appalachia's unique agricultural heritage, the Seed Swap brought folks together from throughout the region to trade heirloom seeds and to learn more in general about planting, harvesting and processing those home grown fruits and veggies into family foods and
- [Reclaiming KY River As A Community Resource](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/07/reclaiming-river/) - Architecture graduate Hazel Ryerson created a design for downtown Whitesburg, KY, that shows how cleaning our water could also create public spaces to re-connect us to our Appalachian waterways.
- [AML Program: A Regional Investment Opportunity](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/07/aml-program-a-regional-investment-opportunity/) - Kendall Bilbrey and Eric Dixon speak about their new research report on the Abandoned Mine Lands Program, which includes input from a broad range of stakeholders across the Appalachian region. The report analyzes the history and impact of the AML Program and identifies potential improvements that could provide jobs and other economic benefits in the
- [A Startup Challenge for EKY Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/10/a-startup-challenge-for-eky-entrepreneurs/) - Justin Prater talks about growing interest in entrepreneurship in eastern Kentucky and the upcoming Dec. 5th Startup Challenge at University of Pikeville.
- [Will KY I-WAY Reach My Way?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/09/will-ky-i-way-reach-my-way/) - On Aug 31rst, a kickoff was held in Hazard for Kentucky WIRED, or the "KY I-Way" as Rep. Hal Rogers likes to call it. Access to reliable and affordable high speed Internet is a problem for many residents and businesses throughout central Appalachia. Kentucky, in fact, ranks near the bottom in the nation in average
- [TeleworksUSA: Connecting People & Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/08/teleworks-connecting-people-jobs/) - Did you know that there are over 700 job openings listed at TeleworksUSA ? This program, formerly Kentucky Teleworks, is run by Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) in Hazard. TeleworksUSA connects people with opportunities to work from home here in the Appalachian Mountains, no matter where their employer might be. WMMT attended an open house to
- [Appalachian Youth: On The Great And Not So Great In Our Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/08/appalachian-youth-on-the-great-and-not-so-great-in-our-appalachia/) - Three Appalachian youth share perspectives on what it's like to be young in the region right now - including the great parts & not so great parts - and talk about why they love this place so deeply.
- [Beth Bingman: Support POWER+ Plan, Help SW Virginia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/08/beth-bingman-support-power-plan-help-sw-virginia/) - Beth Bingman, community educator from Dungannon, VA, speaks on ways the coalfields could benefit from the POWER+ Plan, encourages legislators to support.
- [Poverty Warriors and "Maximum Feasible Participation of the Poor"](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/09/poverty-warriors-and-maximum-feasible-participation-of-the-poor/) - In this special edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk, Hollis West and Robert Shaffer describe their sometimes controversial, often successful, efforts to develop an anti-poverty program in Knox County, KY in the 1960s and '70s that put into practice the War on Poverty Program's call for "maximum feasible participation of the poor." Their story is followed
- [Appalachian Youth: Coal Helped, It's Not Our Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/08/appalachian-youth-coal-helped-its-not-our-future/) - Appalachian young people speak on the past and present impact of the coal industry and their hopes for the future.
- [McAteer - Mines No Safer After Upper Big Branch](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2015/05/mcateer-mines-no-safer-after-upper-big-branch/) - At the 5th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, J. Davitt McAteer says little has been done to improve safety & it could happen again.
- [Sharing the Spirit of Appalachian Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/07/sharing-the-spirit-of-appalachia/) - http://vimeo.com/26607226 A video visit with Morgan County, KY photographer Dean Hill and his wife and partner Karen who are able to run a successful art photography business from their lovely, but isolated rural home with the help of high-speed Internet access.
- [A Tour of Creech Orchard](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/08/a-tour-of-creech-orchard/) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFUsKTLnTac A companion to our WMMT report, this video visits Terry Creech and his orchard atop Black Mountain, Kentucky's highest peak at 4,100 ft. Creech is a rare breed, a second generation commercial apple grower in Harlan Conty, KY. In the fall Jeremy Williams, Harlan County Extension Agent, and Mitch Whitaker from the Letcher County
- [The Stickneys of Estill County: Landowners Are The Best Fertilizer](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/10/the-stickneys-of-estill-county-landowners-are-the-best-fertilizer/) - Jack and Teresa Stickney with their son Caleb are revitalizing an old Kentucky homestead near the Red River. The Stickneys grow and market shitake mushrooms as well as lead workshops on their use. They also participate in the Appalachian Carbon Partnership -- they manage their woodlands in a sustainable manner, thereby sequestering carbon in their
- [Healthcare Reform Helps Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/06/healthcare-reform-helps-entrepreneurs/) - While small business owners are key to building the local economy here in the mountains, not being able to afford health insurance is a huge challenge faced by many. The Affordable Care Act - some call it "Obamacare"- will offer tax credits for businesses with less than 25 employees to help with the cost of
- [Building Businesses with Bee-Keeping and Paintballs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/06/bee-keeping-and-paintball-planning/) - What do an eastern Kentucky bee-keeper and a paintball entrepreneur have in common? Well, they're both small business owners! And on a sunny evening in mid May, just outside of downtown Hindman, these two came together with others to learn more about how to make their ventures a financial success. The evening marked the first of four
- [Keeping Up with the Digital Revolution](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/07/keeping-up-with-the-digital-revolution/) - Despite public and private efforts to increase high speed Internet access in central Appalachian states, too many communities still face enormous barriers to full participation in today’s online world. But one dedicated group of people from across the region are working together to change that. The Central Appalachia Regional Network, or CARN, recently released a
- [Building Back a Forest](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/07/building-back-a-forest/) - In Appalachia, the total area of surface mined land is estimated to be around 1.5 million acres. Much of this land is non-forested and unused. But the American Chestnut Foundation and Green Forest Works are two organizations developing an innovative approach -- planting hardwood trees including the threatened American Chestnut -- for making these vast
- [Appalachian Carbon Partnership - Forests For The Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2013/05/appalachian-carbon-partnership-forests-for-the-future/) - Central Appalachia loses more than 130 acres of forestland everyday, as economic pressures force families to clear their land. Nearly 90 percent of forestland is privately owned and less than 5 percent of that land is under sustainable management. An innovative pilot program called the Appalachian Carbon Partnership is working to reverse this trend. A
- [Prison Progress: a WMMT Radio Documentary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/prison-progress-a-wmmt-radio-documentary/) - Part Three of Prison Progress, a WMMT radio documentary series on the rapid growth of new prisons in the coalfields of Central Appalachia. In this episode we’ll hear about the social and cultural affects prisons have had on the mountain communities that host them and on the people who work in them.
- [Prison Progress: a WMMT Radio Documentary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/prison-progress-a-wmmt-radio-documentary-3/) - Part One of Prison Progress, a WMMT radio documentary series on the rapid growth of new prisons in the coalfields of Central Appalachia. Â In this episode we'll hear about how the idea of prisons as economic development first came to the mountains in the 1980s.
- [Prison Progress: a WMMT Radio Documentary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/prison-progress-a-wmmt-radio-documentary-2/) - Part Two of Prison Progress, a WMMT radio documentary series on the rapid growth of new prisons in the coalfields of Central Appalachia. In this episode we’ll hear about what happened in our neighboring counties after the prisons opened.
- [Using Ingenuity & Internet to Stay on the Farm](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2011/10/using-ingenuity-a-internet-to-stay-on-the-farm/) - http://vimeo.com/34312825 A video portrait of Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton, farmers in Scott County, Virginia, who have used the Internet to create a thriving market for their invention, the Avian Aqua Miser. This innovative device provides a steady source of water to chickens without creating an unsanitary mess. Their story underlines the importance of access
- [Mountain Talk - Growing Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/04/mountain-talk-growing-appalachia/) - In this edition of Mountain Talk host Sylvia Ryerson talks with special guests Todd Howard, Fern Nafziger and Nathan Hall about the upcoming Growing Appalachia day of free workshops, which will take place this Saturday, April 14 at the Jenny Wiley State Park near Prestonsburg, KY. The workshops will cover a broad range of ways to save and earn
- [An Idea Bank for the Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/2012/05/eklc/) - A WMMT report from the East Kentucky Leadership Conference, recently held in Prestonsburg, KY. One conference session engaged participants in discussion of a number of possibilities for the region's economic and social future, including the establishment of permanent severance tax funds to support economic transition in the coalfields, Helen Lewis’s vision of “a clean glass

## Pages

- [Making Connections News](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/) - A Storybank Sharing New Ideas, Opportunities & Challenges For Diversifying Appalachia's Economy & Renewing Her Communities
- [Making Connections News](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/) - A Storybank Sharing New Ideas, Opportunities & Challenges For Diversifying Appalachia's Economy & Renewing Her Communities
- [About](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/about/) - Making Connections News shares multimedia stories, news and information highlighting opportunities and challenges for diversifying Appalachia's economy and building a just and healthy future for the region's people and land. While coal mining will play a role in the central Appalachian economy for many years to come, other fuels are rapidly replacing coal and the
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- [Resources](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/resources/) - Sustainable Economic Development Appalachian Transition Initiative A highly recommended site for all sorts of news and information on building a more healthy and prosperous region. Appalachian Center for Economic Networks Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Appalachian Sustainable Development Center for Economic Options Community Farm Alliance JOBS Project Mountain Association for Community Economic
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## Downloads

- [Appalachian Culture Hub](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-culture-hub/)
- [How To Shape Our Appalachian Future?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/how-to-shape-our-appalachian-future/)
- [EKY Health and Wealth Expands](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/eky-health-and-wealth-expands/)
- [Celebrating Place with George Ella Lyons](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/celebrating-place-with-george-ella-lyons/)
- [Celebrating Clinch River State Park](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/celebrating-clinch-river-state-park/)
- [Appalachian Seed Swap](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-seed-swap/)
- [Fireshare Features The Holler](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/fireshare-features-the-holler/)
- [Mountain Tech Media](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mountain-tech-media/)
- [2016 Growing Appalachia - Carl Chadband](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/2016-growing-appalachia-carl-chadband/)
- [2010 Scotia Marker Dedication](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/2010-scotia-marker-dedication/)
- [Hindman KY Part II](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/hindman-ky-part-ii/)
- [FCC Chair Wheeler in McKee](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/fcc-chair-wheeler-in-mckee/)
- [Hindman Creative Economy 1](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/hindman-creative-economy-1/)
- [Wind farm South Wales 2](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/wind-farm-south-wales-2/)
- [Windfarm in So Wales](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/windfarm-in-so-wales/)
- [Elk At the Table](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/elk-at-the-table/)
- [Appalachians Eating Together Class](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachians-eating-together-class/)
- [Pikeville Wellness Businesses](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/pikeville-wellness-businesses/)
- [ARI Student Senate POWER+](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ari-student-senate-power/)
- [Elkhorn City](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/elkhorn-city/)
- [2015-11-19 Accelerating Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/2015-11-19-accelerating-appalachia/)
- [ARI Promising Practices For EKY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ari-promising-practices-for-eky/)
- [ARI Promising Practices](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ari-promising-practices/)
- [A Challenge for EKY Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/a-challenge-for-eky-entrepreneurs/)
- [KY WIRED](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ky-wired/)
- [Mountain Talk Poverty Warriors](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mountain-talk-poverty-warriors/)
- [Beth Bingman: POWER+ Plan](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/beth-bingman-power-plan/)
- [Appalachian Youth: Coal Helped, Not Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-youth-coal-helped-not-future/)
- [Appalachian Youth Speak Prt 1](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-youth-speak-prt-1/)
- [Teleworks-Connecting People & Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/teleworks-connecting-people-jobs/)
- [Reclaiming the River](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/reclaiming-the-river/)
- [Appalachian Seed Swap](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-seed-swap-2/)
- [SOAR-ing Yet?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-ing-yet/)
- [McAteer - Mines No Safer](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mcateer-mines-no-safer/)
- [Growing Appalachia 2015](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-appalachia-2015/)
- [Growing at School](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-at-school/)
- [Challenge for EKY Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/challenge-for-eky-entrepreneurs/)
- [War on Poverty Lessons for SOAR](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/war-on-poverty-lessons-for-soar/)
- [POWER+ Plan](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/power-plan/)
- [Evan Smith- MC News Commentary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/evan-smith-mc-news-commentary/)
- [Rural Up! Code Academy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/rural-up-code-academy/)
- [Jason Bailey - Support Workers to Grow KY Jobs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/jason-bailey-support-workers-to-grow-ky-jobs/)
- [Eastern Kentuckians Face Rising Electric Bills](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/eastern-kentuckians-face-rising-electric-bills/)
- [Mountain Talk - Growing Appalachia Workshops](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mountain-talk-growing-appalachia-workshops/)
- [Broadband: Crippled Without It?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/broadband-crippled-without-it/)
- [Arbor Day in Southwest Virginia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/arbor-day-in-southwest-virginia/)
- [Mountain Talk - Farmer\'s Markets](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mountain-talk-farmers-markets/)
- [Dean Hill Photography](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/dean-hill-photography/)
- [Sweet Corn and Fresh Ideas](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/sweet-corn-and-fresh-ideas/)
- [Getting Ahead Online](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/getting-ahead-online/)
- [MT - Rural Broadband Hearing](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mt-rural-broadband-hearing/)
- [How$martKY](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/howmartky/)
- [A Tour of Creech Orchard](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/a-tour-of-creech-orchard/)
- [Energy Options](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/energy-options/)
- [Farm Life -Zahnke](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/farm-life-zahnke/)
- [Be Smart, Live Simple -Colletts](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/be-smart-live-simple-colletts/)
- [Dean Hill Photo](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/dean-hill-photo/)
- [Letcher Summer Feeding Program](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/letcher-summer-feeding-program/)
- [Appal Transition Fellows](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appal-transition-fellows/)
- [Justin Prater-KY Innovation Net](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/justin-prater-ky-innovation-net/)
- [Cleveland Va Builds with River](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/cleveland-va-builds-with-river/)
- [Elkhorn City - Wales](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/elkhorn-city-wales/)
- [SOAR Health - Dr. Stone](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-health-dr-stone/)
- [Wales to Appalachia @ Appalshop](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/wales-to-appalachia-appalshop/)
- [Clinch River App](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/clinch-river-app/)
- [Entrepreneurship Support](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/entrepreneurship-support/)
- [Gerry Roll Commentary](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/gerry-roll-commentary/)
- [After Coal, What?](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/after-coal-what/)
- [Local Telephone Co-op Brings Broadband](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/local-telephone-co-op-brings-broadband/)
- [SOAR AG Listening in Letcher](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-ag-listening-in-letcher/)
- [Home-scale Renewable Energy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/home-scale-renewable-energy/)
- [Kentuckians on Clean Energy Opportunities](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/kentuckians-on-clean-energy-opportunities/)
- [MountainRose](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mountainrose/)
- [Eula Hall-Mud Crk Medicine](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/eula-hall-mud-crk-medicine/)
- [Morris Creek](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/morris-creek/)
- [WV Solar](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/wv-solar/)
- [KY Forward-Backward](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ky-forward-backward/)
- [KVEC Race to Top](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/kvec-race-to-top/)
- [Monongah 1907](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/monongah-1907/)
- [UBB Remebrance](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ubb-remebrance/)
- [SOAR EKLC Mtg April 2014](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-eklc-mtg-april-2014/)
- [SOAR April 2014](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-april-2014/)
- [Worker Cooperatives](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/worker-cooperatives/)
- [Growing Appalachia 2014](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-appalachia-2014/)
- [Appalachia 2050](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachia-2050/)
- [Black Lung Regs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/black-lung-regs/)
- [Dust in Bottomland](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/dust-in-bottomland/)
- [Mtn Talk- App Food Summit](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mtn-talk-app-food-summit/)
- [Hollow-McDowell Co Stories](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/hollow-mcdowell-co-stories/)
- [Seeds & Ancestors: Appalachian Food Summit](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/seeds-ancestors-appalachian-food-summit/)
- [Estonoa Environmental Learning](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/estonoa-environmental-learning/)
- [Dr Greg Wagner - Scotia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/dr-greg-wagner-scotia/)
- [Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/historical-marker-dedication-ceremony/)
- [Growing Appalachia: Moving Forward in the Mountains](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-appalachia-moving-forward-in-the-mountains/)
- [Avian Aqua Miser](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/avian-aqua-miser/)
- [Congressman Boucher on Internet Infrastructure](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/congressman-boucher-on-internet-infrastructure/)
- [Attorney Wes Addington\'s Testimony](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/attorney-wes-addingtons-testimony/)
- [Broadband Plan Will Aid Kentucky](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/broadband-plan-will-aid-kentucky/)
- [Conversations on the Porch](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/conversations-on-the-porch/)
- [broadband v2 -2012](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/broadband-v2-2012/)
- [Pumpkin Patch](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/pumpkin-patch/)
- [Gary Bentley](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/gary-bentley/)
- [Sorghum Festival](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/sorghum-festival/)
- [Ted Boettner-Future Fund](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ted-boettner-future-fund/)
- [Enter title here](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/enter-title-here/)
- [Benefits Fair](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/benefits-fair/)
- [Enter title here](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/enter-title-here-2/)
- [Growing Appalachia Mtn Talk 2013-03](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-appalachia-mtn-talk-2013-03/)
- [Growing Appalachia Mtn Talk 2013-03](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/growing-appalachia-mtn-talk-2013-03-2/)
- [Mining Communities Face Change-Frank & Helen](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mining-communities-face-change-frank-helen/)
- [New Energy Abundance](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/new-energy-abundance/)
- [Stop & Listen- Rockefeller](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/stop-listen-rockefeller/)
- [Creech Orchard WMMT report](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/creech-orchard-wmmt-report/)
- [Idea Bank -EKLC](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/idea-bank-eklc/)
- [MtnTalk-Grow Appalachia 2012](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mtntalk-grow-appalachia-2012/)
- [Raptor center](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/raptor-center/)
- [Planning for Planting Mtg](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/planning-for-planting-mtg/)
- [MtnTalk - Clean Renewable Energy](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mtntalk-clean-renewable-energy/)
- [Frank Taylor -Trumka Speech](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/frank-taylor-trumka-speech/)
- [Goods from the Woods - ASD](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/goods-from-the-woods-asd/)
- [Stay Warm- How$mart](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/stay-warm-howmart/)
- [Principles Critical to Tax Reform](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/principles-critical-to-tax-reform/)
- [Rural Post Office Threatened](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/rural-post-office-threatened/)
- [MT- School Consolidation](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mt-school-consolidation/)
- [School Consolidation](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/school-consolidation/)
- [Dependent on Social Security](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/dependent-on-social-security/)
- [Severance Tax Funds for Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/severance-tax-funds-for-future/)
- [Ramps @ ASD](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ramps-asd/)
- [Broadband Hearing](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/broadband-hearing/)
- [MT Broadband Hearing](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mt-broadband-hearing/)
- [ACP-Forests for Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/acp-forests-for-future/)
- [Healthcare Reform Helps Entrepreneurs](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/healthcare-reform-helps-entrepreneurs/)
- [Beekeepers and Paintball](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/beekeepers-and-paintball/)
- [Carbon offset](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/carbon-offset/)
- [Keeping Up with the Digital Revolution](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/keeping-up-with-the-digital-revolution/)
- [Building Back a Forest](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/building-back-a-forest/)
- [Cory Coots](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/cory-coots/)
- [Carcassonne](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/carcassonne/)
- [howsmartky powers on 2013](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/howsmartky-powers-on-2013/)
- [AMI broadband](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ami-broadband/)
- [AMI broadband 2](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/ami-broadband-2/)
- [WV Bright Economic Future](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/wv-bright-economic-future/)
- [UMWA](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/umwa/)
- [Elliot County](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/elliot-county/)
- [SOAR](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar/)
- [SOAR après](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/soar-apres/)
- [SB 88 for Making Connections](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/sb-88-for-making-connections/)
- [Appalachian Funders Network](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/appalachian-funders-network/)
- [New Opportunity School for Women](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/new-opportunity-school-for-women/)
- [Clinch River Protection](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/clinch-river-protection/)
- [After Coal 04-2013](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/after-coal-04-2013/)
- [ABF 2013](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/abf-2013/)
- [SKED](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/sked/)
- [Mtn Talk-Grow Appalachia](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/mtn-talk-grow-appalachia/)
- [Vicco Ordinance](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/vicco-ordinance/)
- [Crooked Road](https://www.makingconnectionsnews.org/download/crooked-road/)

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