Shading Out Solar in Ohio Valley

In Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio, weak or nonexistent state policies make it harder for residents and businesses to afford to install a solar system and make it less likely that the region will attract jobs and economic benefits associated with this fast-growing industry. And as electricity bills continue to shoot up, boosting the ability […]

Why A Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest?

What makes a town or small community a place where people want to live? Where strangers want to move to? WMMT reports on the Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest organized by the Southeast Kentucky Revitalization Project, which is coordinated by the Appalachian Studies Program at Harlan County’s Southeast Community and Technical College. The goal of […]

Taking Flight: Will Drones Bring Jobs

Student teams from across the eastern Kentucky coalfields came together at the Knott County Sportsplex, bringing with them drones that they themselves had built. It was time for the climax of this year-long project supported by the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The Ohio Valley has been a leader in aerospace engineering. Now there’s a […]

Derek Akal’s Struggle to Stay

Derek Akal, 22, grew up in the famed coalfields of Harlan County, Kentucky. He’s a bit over six feet tall, he’s black, and he has an athlete’s build. Like many young people in central Appalachia, he is torn between a desire to find work at home where he can be close to family and the […]