Culture

The Evolving Culture of W.Va. River Guides

Just about any search on Google for “best white water rafting” includes West Virginia. Around 150,000 people commercially raft a West Virginia river each year, mostly on the New River and Gauley River, which are near Fayetteville, West Virginia. At one point there were just less than 30 rafting companies in the […]

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Thomas, W.Va.: The Town the Arts (Re) Built

The downtown of this town of 600 sat nearly vacant until a music venue and artists began to create a new economic future for the former coal town. A new guide from the National Association of Governors says arts and culture can be part of rebuilding economies in rural communities. The […]

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Telling the Story of Small-town America, without Donald Trump

When two Minnesota writers busted a star reporter for German magazine Der Spiegel for skewering their town with fabrications, it affirmed the worst stereotypes about condescending city journalists wading into the heartland. But you don’t have to make stuff up to worry about how your reporting on small-town America is […]

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Q&A: Music Professor and Geologist Share How Geology Shaped W.Va.

A geology professor and music professor spent four years together traveling through West Virginia thinking about rocks. Their journey is documented a new book titled “Roadside Geology of West Virginia.” West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s energy and environment reporter Brittany Patterson sat down with the authors, West Virginia University music professor […]

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For Farmers, the Impact of Florence Will Linger for Years

While the storm strikes and when recovery begins, we’ll hear a lot about Hurricane Florence. But the toughest times for the region’s farmers will likely come long after the reporters and TV cameras have gone home. Scott Marlow, a “farm-crisis advocate” who has worked with farmers after 16 previous hurricanes, […]

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