We Mapped Rural Data Center Development – and Opposition. Here’s What We Found
Though the majority of data centers are located in urban or suburban areas, rural communities face unique challenges in the data center development landscape.
Latest / Popular
Muskingum: The End of an Island Refuge’s Fossil Fuel Legacy
Throughout the Ohio River island’s history, flora and fauna have reacted and adjusted to human development like oil and gas wells. As humans abandoned the infrastructure, they’ve reclaimed their space.
Grammy Award-Winning Musician Tim O’Brien and the Next Generation of Appalachian Bluegrass
“Music kind of creates a community, and it’s an exalted position to be up on a stage and to be part of the thing that brings people together,” O’Brien said.
New Rural Landscape
Muskingum: The End of an Island Refuge’s Fossil Fuel Legacy
Throughout the Ohio River island’s history, flora and fauna have reacted and adjusted to human development like oil and gas wells. As humans abandoned the infrastructure, they’ve reclaimed their space.
The AI Boom Has Plunged a Small Pennsylvania Town Into Chaos
“This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” “I don’t like to see anyone upset,” said Nick Farris of Provident Real Estate Advisors. He was sitting in the front of a crowd of roughly 150 inside Valley View High […]
Are Data Centers the Next Frontier of Extraction in West Virginia?
Mingo County, West Virginia, was once thriving, but the coal industry’s decline left it one of the poorest counties in the US. Now, several data centers could be built in the region. Are data centers a new extractive industry, or will they provide a much-needed […]
The New Power Brokers: Big Tech, State Lawmakers, and the Grid
As opposition to data centers mounts locally in communities across the country, the decisive fights over AI’s infrastructure are unfolding in state legislatures.
‘We Know What It’s Like To Be Exploited’: Tucker County, W.Va., Grapples With Future-Defining AI-Infrastructure Proposal
To fully appreciate the beauty of Tucker County, you must visit. Nestled at 3,500 feet in the gorgeous Allegheny Mountains along the Blackwater River, the town of Davis is at the highest elevation of any municipality in West Virginia; it exudes a top-of-the-world vibe. The […]
Big Tech Comes to Tucker County, WV
Local officials say a new power plant proposal is clearly meant to support data centers. And these promises of economic development are all too familiar in a region where extractive industries have come at a significant cost to people, communities and a healthy environment.
Health
They Needed Treatment for Drug Addiction. The Company They Turned to May Have Used Them to Commit Fraud.
Many credit Addiction Recovery Care with playing a key role in their sobriety. But most also said they felt betrayed by the organization.
In Kanawha County, WV, Opioid Settlement Funding for Syringe Services Faces Barriers
In the early afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 17, emergency rooms in Charleston, West Virginia, began experiencing an influx of people in the throes of a drug overdose. By the following morning, some three dozen overdoses had been reported, many resulting in hospitalization and intubation. Emergency […]
Politically-Connected W.Va. GameChanger Program Receives Opioid Funds Amid Doubts from Experts
On a Tuesday afternoon, Michelle Allen is in her office in an empty Robert C. Byrd High School. Allen is the career and technical instructor at RCB and also runs GameChanger, the school’s prevention education club. In an empty classroom, Allen walks over to a […]
Religion
‘In the Boat Together’: Post-Helene, Faith Communities Have Been Central to NC’s Long-Term Recovery
In the year since the storm devastated parts of western North Carolina, religious congregations have provided food, housing and supplies — as well as a shared sense of community.
Mid-Ohio Valley Group Blends Religion, Politics to Affect Policy in Ohio and West Virginia
Quietly, over the past 15 years, small group Bible-study-style gatherings near Parkersburg, W.Va. have formed the foundation for a movement that punches above its weight in terms of political influence.
Reclaiming and Revitalizing Resources in West Virginia’s Southern Coalfields
The demand for clean water in McDowell County is but one element of a groundswell of community-based activism to reclaim and revitalize resources.
Generation Zeitgeist
Appalachian Tennessee Abortion Providers Are Still Fighting to Provide Care
Amid abortion bans across Southern Appalachia, it’s harder than ever for abortion providers in Tennessee to offer services.
From the Editor: “We’ve Seen The Future, It Looks Like Young Appalachia.”
I’ve been thinking about our efforts since 2016 to collectively rewrite a different future, one where Appalachia, especially young Appalachia, is fully cognizant of the dystopia and hopeful nonetheless.
Inside Election Night As A Student Journalist
Student journalists with The Post, an independent, award-winning, student-run news publication on Ohio University, take readers inside covering election night.
Culture
Grammy Award-Winning Musician Tim O’Brien and the Next Generation of Appalachian Bluegrass
“Music kind of creates a community, and it’s an exalted position to be up on a stage and to be part of the thing that brings people together,” O’Brien said.
Fasnacht in Helvetia, West Virginia
After 58 years, Helvetia’s Fasnacht celebration continues to stand as a testament to the Swiss roots of its earliest participants, while also becoming part of a uniquely Appalachian tradition.
For My Indian-American family, West Virginia Will Always Be Home
“West Virginia” is never what people are looking for when they ask where my family is from. The first week of January, my dad and I drove five hours from our house in North Carolina to visit his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, for a […]