The number of people living in rural continues to slide, according to the latest population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. People have left rural America in decades past. The big difference now is that the number of births in rural areas isn’t keeping pace with the number of deaths. […]
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No Elitist Farmers Market Here—Free Healthy Food and Profits for Farmers
At this moment in eastern Kentucky, many counties and communities are grappling with how to replace the revenue that the coal industry funneled into the area for decades. In Letcher County, people are struggling with higher than average rates of diabetes and other diet-related illnesses, and they have lower than […]
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In West Virginia, Getting People Back to Work is More Complicated than the Governor Says
Nearly two years ago, my wife was laid off from a high-paying job in the oil and gas industry. Every day she sits on the couch, her computer in her lap, and sifts through job listings, searching. She applies for positions she is qualified for — and many that she […]
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In Rural Tennessee, a Food Business Could Boost an Old Railroad Town
Johnny Lynch, the mayor of Unicoi, Tennessee, always wanted buffalo. Four years ago, he helped the town of 3,600 in the mountainous northeast corner of the state adopt the buffalo as its municipal brand as a kind of tribute: the animal once populated the region until it, along with the […]
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A Kentucky Town Aims to Shine Long After the Great American Eclipse
The small city of Hopkinsville had its day in the sun — and dark — on August 21, as an estimated 150,000 out-of-town guests swelled the city’s population by a factor of five. Having company is always a good incentive to spruce things up. Will the town’s careful planning for […]
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WV Flood Response Ready to Assist with Harvey as Relief Continues In State
As rain continues to fall throughout southeastern Texas from hurricane Harvey, Governor Jim Justice announced West Virginia is prepared to send resources to assist with emergency efforts, including members of the West Virginia National Guard. Meanwhile, disaster assistance continues in northern counties that experiences flooding in late July. “West Virginia […]
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