New research this month shows that West Virginia and Kentucky have some of the nation’s worst rates of student loan defaults. West Virginia had the highest and Kentucky the fourth-highest rate of student loan defaults, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education. In West Virginia, 17.7 percent […]

If Kentucky unions win their case before the state supreme court, we might see copycat lawsuits in the states with similar anti-labor laws. Kentucky last year became the latest state to pass a so-called right-to-work law, after Republican legislators took control of the state house for the first time in almost 100 […]

Heavy rains following Hurricane Florence has led to the release of toxic materials in North Carolina. A breached dam caused the shutdown of a power plant and the release of coal ash – the byproduct of burning coal – stored at the plant into the Cape Fear River. The state […]

Mississippi is the manufacturing anchor of Appalachia. At least, that’s how Tim Thomas sees it. Thomas is the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, the government agency that oversees economic development for the region. This year, the commission held its annual summit in Tupelo, Mississippi, known for being the […]

In the wake of the opioid crisis, kinship and foster care systems in Kentucky have been stretched to the limit, with the number of children in the homes of relatives or close family friends rising by over 50 percent. It is not clear how elderly kin will afford to care […]