Appalachia

West Virginia’s annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival is not just about old-time fiddle and banjo music. Flatfoot dancing goes along with those tunes like peanut butter goes with jelly, maybe even more so. There’s more than a few seasoned flatfooters who will talk about a dance step that’s been shuffling through our hills and hollows since this land was first settled. Flatfoot dancing is tough to define. An elderly West Virginia flatfooter of note once said “The music just goes in your ear, down through your soul, and comes out through your feet.” The Appalachian String Band Music Festival’s... View Article

Congress is considering major cuts to SNAP food assistance benefits. They could have an outsized impact in Appalachian Kentucky, where more than one in five rely on the benefits.

The Appalachian Regional Commission awarded more than $7.4 million to "Backroads of Appalachia." The eastern Kentucky nonprofit promotes scenic drives on existing roads.

Rare blue-ghost fireflies are generally associated with the southern Appalachian region, but researchers say their range is likely bigger than that — expanding all the way to north central Kentucky.

Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” is estimated to kick millions of people off Medicaid, causing concern for health care providers in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, a region especially dependent on the federal program.

Organizations penned a letter to Congress saying federal cuts are putting their towns at risk.

Cuts to federal agencies and grants for museums and libraries will have a large impact on the Kentucky Humanities Council and the ability of Appalshop to preserve its flood-damaged historic archives of the region.

For much of central Appalachia, 2024 was a year marked by drought conditions followed by intense, catastrophic rain. For many places it was also the hottest year on record. Scientists say extremes like these are likely symptoms of a changing climate.

ReImagine Appalachia analyzed data showing the region already has an outsized role in some manufacturing sectors. Armed with that knowledge, they say communities could attract similar green manufacturing companies and add good paying jobs.

For author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, writing is an opportunity to give voice to the diverse narratives of Appalachia.