A New Call for Pitches for a New Appalachian Era

By 100 Days in Appalachia / May 9, 2025

We continue to tell the stories of our region, with an eye toward deeply-reported modern-day stories of Appalachia’s challenges and triumphs. And if you’re a writer or journalist in the region, we want to hear from you. 

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Big Tech Comes to Tucker County, WV

By Laura Harbert Allen / April 25, 2025

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.

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Fasnacht in Helvetia, West Virginia

By P. Nick Curran & Griffin McMorrow / April 18, 2025

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.

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‘Hell or High Water’: Southern W.Va. Three Weeks After the Flood

By P. Nick Curran & Griffin McMorrow / April 3, 2025

On February 15, 2025, a catastrophic flood ravaged McDowell County, […]

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In North Carolina, Helene’s Destruction Underscores the Value of Homegrown Rural Health Care

By Taylor Sisk / March 20, 2025

In a region where many suffer from chronic conditions that require long-term medical care, cultural awareness can help provide a a firm foundation for doctor-patient relationships. 

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Mid-Ohio Valley Group Blends Religion, Politics to Affect Policy in Ohio and West Virginia

By Laura Harbert Allen, Keri Johnson and Dani Kington / February 28, 2025

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. 

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Reclaiming and Revitalizing Resources in West Virginia’s Southern Coalfields

By Laura Harbert Allen and Taylor Sisk / February 6, 2025

The demand for clean water in McDowell County is but one element of a groundswell of community-based activism to reclaim and revitalize resources. 

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In West Virginia’s Southern Coalfields, a Grassroots ‘Jubilee’

By Laura Harbert Allen and Taylor Sisk / February 5, 2025

Davis and Ware want to use the church that once divided McDowell County into miners and management to reclaim what has been taken from them.

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‘An Ecosystem of Dysfunction:’ West Virginia Still Has a Child Welfare Worker Shortage, and It’s Taking a Toll on Foster Kids and Families

By Erica Peterson, Mountain State Spotlight / January 30, 2025

As West Virginia’s foster care system struggles to hire and retain workers amid low pay and overwhelming caseloads, it stresses foster families and keeps kids from getting the attention they need.

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