podcast Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

*/ ?>

Latest Episodes:

Efforts To Retain Name On Aircraft Carrier For W.Va. Cook, This West Virginia Morning Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Morning, many West Virginians may not remember the name Doris “Dorie” Miller, but he served on the USS West Virginia when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Miller was a cook and had never been trained to fight on the warship. But on the morning of Dec. 7, he raced to the deck, manned a machine gun and engaged the enemy, shooting down at least one enemy airplane. He was later awarded the Navy Cross, the first Black man to receive the honor.

The U.S. Navy commissioned a new aircraft carrier, CVN-81, and chose to name it after Miller, but stories have surfaced recently of discussions about renaming it after President Donald Trump. News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Scott Womack, the commander of American Legion Post 100 in Monroe, West Virginia, to discuss the group’s recent resolution that the Navy should retain Millier’s name on the ship.

Also, with parts of the state still recovering from severe storms and flooding last month, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Donald Trump.

And, National Save A Life Day is just 10 days away – but already, there are 900 events and counting scheduled across the country.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

West Virginia Hopes For Nuclear Investment And 9/11 Remembered Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Week, the state signs a memorandum of understanding about nuclear energy, the Public Service Commission (PSC) disputes need for a transmission line, and 9/11 is remembered.

Bill Lynch is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week's biggest news in the Mountain State. It's produced with help from Bill Lynch, Chris Schulz, Eric Douglas and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

A book cover with the title, "Tore All To Pieces." There is a photo of a young girl with red hair. The author's name is "Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr." — **Encore: Willie Carver Jr. And Marina Waters, Inside Appalachia** Sep 11, 2026
Show notes

In author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend.

Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause.

And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.

You'll hear this story and more this week, *Inside Appalachia*.

**In This Episode:**

Willie Carver Jr.'s Novel *Tore All To Pieces*

**Healthcare Hollow In Tennessee**

**Childhood Cancer Rates Rise In Scott County, Virginia**

**Preserving Little Green Apples**

**Air Pollution Can Cause Lung Cancer**

**Asheville's New Puppet Correspondent**

Willie Carver Jr.'s Novel *Tore All To Pieces*

The cover of *Tore All to Pieces* by Willie Carver Jr.
*Courtesy of University Press of Kentucky*

Kentucky writer and educator Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. has a new book. It’s a mosaic novel that draws from his upbringing, and his experiences as a gay man in Appalachia. The title is *Tore All To Pieces*, and it weaves together poetry and short stories into a narrative about people and place.

Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Carver about the book, and about the joys of bologna gravy.

Healthcare Hollow In Tennessee

The Perry County Community Hospital shuttered in 2020, and sat vacant for years. It reopened under new owners in September 2025.
*Photo Credit: LaTonya Turner/WPLN News*

Hospitals in rural America are closing at an alarming pace, and Tennessee has the highest closure rate.

WPLN in Nashville is looking at the trend, and what's being done to reverse course.

Reporter Catherine Sweeney went to Linden, a Tennessee town that watched its hospital go dark but is now on the path to recovery.

Childhood Cancer Rates Rise In Scott County, Virginia

Andryk Williams is joined by a therapy dog.
*Photo courtesy of Kelsey Williams*

A cancer diagnosis can be devastating. And tragic when it happens to a child.

But when multiple childhood cancer cases appear in a community, folks start asking questions. That’s what’s happening in Scott County, Virginia. Scott County has seen a dramatic rise in childhood cancer diagnoses.

Marina Waters is a reporter who’s been covering the issue. Host Mason Adams spoke with her.

Preserving Little Green Apples

Early transparent green apples from the market ready to be cut up for freezing.
*Photo Credit: Connie Bailey Kitts/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Fruit trees in much of central Appalachia are just coming off their spring bloom. Their fruit won’t be ripe until late summer, early fall, but some varieties of apples show up early. Some folks call them June Apples, June transparent apples or even early transparents. The growing season and flavor of this fruit set it apart. And generations of Appalachians have kept these apple trees alive.

In one of our early Folkways stories, from 2020, reporter Connie Kitts discovered that these early apples were in danger of disappearing.

Air Pollution Can Cause Lung Cancer

For decades, we’ve known smoking can lead to lung cancer. Public health messages usually focus on personal behavior and that the only way to prevent lung cancer is for people to stop smoking. But new research finds a connection between lung cancer and air pollution, particularly in urban areas.

The Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant spoke with researchers about reducing cancer rates through environmental policy.

Asheville's New Puppet Correspondent

Little Ginger at the BPR studio on March 6, 2026.
*Photo Credit: Laura Hackett/BPR*

There’s a new “voice for the people” in Asheville. He’s a blue puppet with bright red hair. His name is Little Ginger and you can find him on Instagram. He’s a crusading reporter, taking on potholes and local property taxes.

Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Laura Hackett has more.

------

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Mary Hott, Paul Loomis, John Blissard and Hello June.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

*Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.*

A building in the middle a field. — **Encore: Willie Carver Jr. And Marina Waters, Inside Appalachia** Sep 11, 2026
Show notes

In author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend.

Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause.

And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.

You'll hear this story and more this week, *Inside Appalachia*.

**In This Episode:**

Willie Carver Jr.'s Novel *Tore All To Pieces*

**Healthcare Hollow In Tennessee**

**Childhood Cancer Rates Rise In Scott County, Virginia**

**Preserving Little Green Apples**

**Air Pollution Can Cause Lung Cancer**

**Asheville's New Puppet Correspondent**

Willie Carver Jr.'s Novel *Tore All To Pieces*

The cover of *Tore All to Pieces* by Willie Carver Jr.
*Courtesy of University Press of Kentucky*

Kentucky writer and educator Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. has a new book. It’s a mosaic novel that draws from his upbringing, and his experiences as a gay man in Appalachia. The title is *Tore All To Pieces*, and it weaves together poetry and short stories into a narrative about people and place.

Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Carver about the book, and about the joys of bologna gravy.

Healthcare Hollow In Tennessee

The Perry County Community Hospital shuttered in 2020, and sat vacant for years. It reopened under new owners in September 2025.
*Photo Credit: LaTonya Turner/WPLN News*

Hospitals in rural America are closing at an alarming pace, and Tennessee has the highest closure rate.

WPLN in Nashville is looking at the trend, and what's being done to reverse course.

Reporter Catherine Sweeney went to Linden, a Tennessee town that watched its hospital go dark but is now on the path to recovery.

Childhood Cancer Rates Rise In Scott County, Virginia

Andryk Williams is joined by a therapy dog.
*Photo courtesy of Kelsey Williams*

A cancer diagnosis can be devastating. And tragic when it happens to a child.

But when multiple childhood cancer cases appear in a community, folks start asking questions. That’s what’s happening in Scott County, Virginia. Scott County has seen a dramatic rise in childhood cancer diagnoses.

Marina Waters is a reporter who’s been covering the issue. Host Mason Adams spoke with her.

Preserving Little Green Apples

Early transparent green apples from the market ready to be cut up for freezing.
*Photo Credit: Connie Bailey Kitts/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Fruit trees in much of central Appalachia are just coming off their spring bloom. Their fruit won’t be ripe until late summer, early fall, but some varieties of apples show up early. Some folks call them June Apples, June transparent apples or even early transparents. The growing season and flavor of this fruit set it apart. And generations of Appalachians have kept these apple trees alive.

In one of our early Folkways stories, from 2020, reporter Connie Kitts discovered that these early apples were in danger of disappearing.

Air Pollution Can Cause Lung Cancer

For decades, we’ve known smoking can lead to lung cancer. Public health messages usually focus on personal behavior and that the only way to prevent lung cancer is for people to stop smoking. But new research finds a connection between lung cancer and air pollution, particularly in urban areas.

The Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant spoke with researchers about reducing cancer rates through environmental policy.

Asheville's New Puppet Correspondent

Little Ginger at the BPR studio on March 6, 2026.
*Photo Credit: Laura Hackett/BPR*

There’s a new “voice for the people” in Asheville. He’s a blue puppet with bright red hair. His name is Little Ginger and you can find him on Instagram. He’s a crusading reporter, taking on potholes and local property taxes.

Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Laura Hackett has more.

------

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Mary Hott, Paul Loomis, John Blissard and Hello June.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

*Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.*

Remembering 9/11, 25 Years Later, This West Virginia Morning Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Morning, 25 years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., a hijacked plane hit one of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York City, ending for this nation a certain innocence, and the belief that such an attack would never happen on American soil. Maria Young caught up an economics professor from WVU who was on site when the planes hit – and gave an exclusive interview to then-West Virginia Public Broadcasting News Director Beth Vorhees.

Also, West Virginia’s flagship universities will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks Friday.

And, a public-private partnership has led to a planned expansion of broadband across rural West Virginia.

Finally, more than 700 people have moved to West Virginia in recent years through the Ascend WV program. Now, the program wants to encourage healthcare professionals to move to rural communities.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Chris Schulz, Eric Douglas and Maria Young.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Teresa Wills is our host. Maria Young is our producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Two people, a young man and his grandmother. They are outside against a backdrop of grass and a river or pond. The boy is wearing a red shirt, and the woman is in a tan shirt. They are both wearing glasses, have brown hair, and are smiling at the camera. — **Us & Them: Stay Or Go — Part 1: The Stayers** Sep 10, 2026
Show notes

While Americans disagree about many things when it comes to politics, elections and domestic and global affairs, most agree that a robust economy is essential for a strong nation. In recent months, nearly all U.S. states have shown economic growth, except West Virginia, and the state is not just losing jobs, it’s losing young people.

In this first of two *Us & Them* episodes, host Trey Kay talks with a number of young adults from the Mountain State about whether they will stay put or move to find their future elsewhere. This episode focuses on those who think they want to stay in West Virginia and are leaning toward building their lives here, even as they wrestle with whether they’ll findthe opportunities they need.

In a state where the death rate exceeds the birth rate and the workforce participation rate is the nation’s lowest, there are efforts to retain population. But some say the state needs to do something else to become more competitive.

This episode of *Us & Them* is presented with support from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Narrative Change Grant.

Subscribe to *Us & Them* on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, the NPR app and wherever you get your podcasts.

**Braxton Halstead**, 18, and his grandmother, **Joey Halstead**, stand outside her home in St. Albans, West Virginia, overlooking the Coal River. Joey encouraged Braxton to enroll in **Toyota’s 4T workforce development program**, where he gained hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing as he considers whether his future will be in West Virginia or elsewhere.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“I’m conflicted…There’s plenty of reasons for me to stay but there’s plenty of reasons for me to go. ... Young people are leaving because we want better opportunities. We want a state that actually will take care of the surrounding towns to make it look better. ... Really, that’s my main thing. Opportunities and jobs. That’s what West Virginia really needs to keep people and make people want to stay.”

— **Braxton Halstead**

“He had a hard time as a freshman in high school. His grades weren’t very good and he thought he had the grade point average to play baseball and he made the baseball team. But of course, the coach checks GPAs and he was just a little bit short. He didn’t have the grades to play and that crushed him. ... And he’s just excelled so and shown such an interest in it. And it’s really brought him around too, because it’s built confidence for him.”

— **Joey Halstead**

Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia’s Buffalo plant in Putnam County is home to the company’s 4T workforce development program, which gives high school students hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing. The facility is located in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo courtesy of the Charleston Area Alliance*

The Toyota 4T Academy is a workforce development program that gives high school students hands-on training and exposure to careers in advanced manufacturing. Braxton Halstead participated in the program while considering his options after high school.
*Courtesy*

*Learn more about the* *Toyota’s 4T Academy WV* *program.*

**David Rosier**, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, addresses graduates of the Toyota 4T Academy in May 2026 at the company’s manufacturing plant in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“I love telling stories. During the signing event, especially when we first added Putnam County, I met with some students that are in high school that are literally two miles from the plant. And I asked them, ‘Hey, you know, growing up, did you ever think about coming to work at Toyota before this program came along?’ And every single one of them said, ‘Nope, never thought of it.’ But here’s this big plant that’s literally two miles from their high school, but the difference was they didn’t understand what was happening inside the plant. So part of this recruiting process is they get a chance before they even commit to the program to be able to come into the plant and see what we do.”

— **David Rosier**

**Braxton Halstead** receives his diploma and shakes hands with **David Rosier**, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, during the 4T Academy graduation ceremony in May 2026 at Toyota’s plant in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“Before I told you I had no clue what I wanted to do after high school. And this gives me the chance to even, like, I could obviously stay here and continue to do what I’m doing right now. Or I could go out of state and apply to other Toyota plants there and just have a similar opportunity in a better place.”

— **Braxton Halstead**

**Lilly Barickman**, 25, is interviewed at West Virginia Public Broadcasting in Charleston, West Virginia. A Wheeling native and Marshall University graduate, Barickman is senior manager of communications and engagement for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and says she wants to build her career in West Virginia, even as she has watched friends leave after struggling to find work.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“When I was graduating college, trying to find a job [was a challenge]. I always saw like all these people and I was like, why? ... There’s so many people that have these really cool jobs in West Virginia and they do these great things and they’re doing really well for themselves, for their families. But all these other people were leaving because they say there’s nothing. And I’m like, oh, well there has to be. ... And then I tried looking. And it was like nothing.”

**— Lilly Barickman**

**Steve Roberts** is president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. In Us & Them’s “Stay or Go” reporting, Roberts contrasts West Virginia’s economic decline with states such as North Carolina that diversified beyond legacy industries and invested in infrastructure, education and new forms of economic growth.
*Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce*

“North Carolina found itself in a very similar place, probably I’m going to just say roughly in the 1960s. North Carolina still had tobacco wealth and North Carolina had banking wealth. And North Carolina had textile wealth. ... But they looked around and they said it’s not gonna last. ... We’ve got to make investments. And so what did they do? They made investments in air service. They made investment in roads and highways. Importantly, and very importantly, they invested in their schools and in higher education.”

**— Steve Roberts**

*Learn more about* *West Virginia Chamber of Commerce*.

The **Academy of Careers and Technology**, known as **ACT**, in Beckley, West Virginia, provides career and technical education for high school students and adults preparing for skilled trades and other in-demand careers.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

*Learn more about* *Academy of Careers and Technology*.

**Kevin Bolen**, adult education coordinator at the Academy of Careers and Technology in Beckley, West Virginia, is a former union electrician who later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He says career and technical education can give young West Virginians a path to well-paying work while allowing them to stay connected to home.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“That industry [project electrician] is a traveling industry. So you go where the work is, but you always come back home. You're just a traveling worker is what you do. So West Virginia has always been my home. It’s never really changed from that. ... I think most people want to stay in West Virginia if they’re from here and can. ... But I think the majority of people stay close if they can.”

— **Kevin Bolen**

**Isaac Rinehart**, 25, leads a Sunday service at Lester Baptist Church in Lester, West Virginia, where his father serves as lead pastor. Rinehart owns and operates an HVAC business in the Beckley area and is a graduate of Appalachian Bible College. He says he hopes to build his life in West Virginia and believes young families are essential to the state’s future.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“We had friends when I was growing up in high school that would always say things like can’t wait to get out of here. They were looking for elsewhere, something probably new, something maybe exciting and following that ‘grass is greener’ trap. ... If you have a mind to do it, you can make something out of anything. You have to have a mind to see it, but then character to stick through. ... There’s challenges everywhere.”

— **Isaac Rinehart**

**John Rinehart**, lead pastor of Lester Baptist Church and a faculty member at Appalachian Bible College, is photographed at his home on the college’s campus near Beckley, West Virginia. After spending part of his adult life outside the state, Rinehart returned to southern West Virginia, where he has watched the region adjust to major economic changes tied to coal, mechanization and the loss of jobs.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“The leaders in West Virginia put all their eggs in the coal basket and it turned rotten and they didn't make allowances for what else to be a part of. ... Mechanization really hurt the area too. ... It created higher paying jobs, but it required less people. So again, that was just something else they needed to change gears for, to provide employment for the people that mechanization would force them to have to change.”

— **John Rinehart**

**Brad D. Smith**, president of Marshall University and former CEO of Intuit, stands beside a mounted sword he calls Excalibur in the “Roundtable Room” of his office suite at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Drawing on Arthurian legend, Smith uses the symbolism to illustrate his belief that young West Virginians should not simply search elsewhere for opportunity but help create it at home.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“‘That which you seek cannot be found. It must be made.’ That’s why Excalibur hangs on this wall. Take it from a guy who spent the first 22 years of his life in Kenova, West Virginia, dreaming of a way out, and every day after that dreaming of a way home. I've lived in the greatest places that people ever thought they wanted to live. I've lived in New York, I've lived in Dallas, Texas, I've lived in Atlanta, Georgia, I lived in San Francisco, I lived in San Diego, and you know what? I wanted to come home. Every day, I wanted to come home. ... So why leave? Why not create the greatest thing right here? ... I lost 36 years wandering in the wilderness. Come home.”

— **Brad D. Smith**

*Learn more about* *Brad D. Smith*.

A stock image of the front of a Toyota building. — **Us & Them: Stay Or Go — Part 1: The Stayers** Sep 10, 2026
Show notes

While Americans disagree about many things when it comes to politics, elections and domestic and global affairs, most agree that a robust economy is essential for a strong nation. In recent months, nearly all U.S. states have shown economic growth, except West Virginia, and the state is not just losing jobs, it’s losing young people.

In this first of two *Us & Them* episodes, host Trey Kay talks with a number of young adults from the Mountain State about whether they will stay put or move to find their future elsewhere. This episode focuses on those who think they want to stay in West Virginia and are leaning toward building their lives here, even as they wrestle with whether they’ll findthe opportunities they need.

In a state where the death rate exceeds the birth rate and the workforce participation rate is the nation’s lowest, there are efforts to retain population. But some say the state needs to do something else to become more competitive.

This episode of *Us & Them* is presented with support from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Narrative Change Grant.

Subscribe to *Us & Them* on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, the NPR app and wherever you get your podcasts.

**Braxton Halstead**, 18, and his grandmother, **Joey Halstead**, stand outside her home in St. Albans, West Virginia, overlooking the Coal River. Joey encouraged Braxton to enroll in **Toyota’s 4T workforce development program**, where he gained hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing as he considers whether his future will be in West Virginia or elsewhere.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“I’m conflicted…There’s plenty of reasons for me to stay but there’s plenty of reasons for me to go. ... Young people are leaving because we want better opportunities. We want a state that actually will take care of the surrounding towns to make it look better. ... Really, that’s my main thing. Opportunities and jobs. That’s what West Virginia really needs to keep people and make people want to stay.”

— **Braxton Halstead**

“He had a hard time as a freshman in high school. His grades weren’t very good and he thought he had the grade point average to play baseball and he made the baseball team. But of course, the coach checks GPAs and he was just a little bit short. He didn’t have the grades to play and that crushed him. ... And he’s just excelled so and shown such an interest in it. And it’s really brought him around too, because it’s built confidence for him.”

— **Joey Halstead**

Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia’s Buffalo plant in Putnam County is home to the company’s 4T workforce development program, which gives high school students hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing. The facility is located in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo courtesy of the Charleston Area Alliance*

The Toyota 4T Academy is a workforce development program that gives high school students hands-on training and exposure to careers in advanced manufacturing. Braxton Halstead participated in the program while considering his options after high school.
*Courtesy*

*Learn more about the* *Toyota’s 4T Academy WV* *program.*

**David Rosier**, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, addresses graduates of the Toyota 4T Academy in May 2026 at the company’s manufacturing plant in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“I love telling stories. During the signing event, especially when we first added Putnam County, I met with some students that are in high school that are literally two miles from the plant. And I asked them, ‘Hey, you know, growing up, did you ever think about coming to work at Toyota before this program came along?’ And every single one of them said, ‘Nope, never thought of it.’ But here’s this big plant that’s literally two miles from their high school, but the difference was they didn’t understand what was happening inside the plant. So part of this recruiting process is they get a chance before they even commit to the program to be able to come into the plant and see what we do.”

— **David Rosier**

**Braxton Halstead** receives his diploma and shakes hands with **David Rosier**, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, during the 4T Academy graduation ceremony in May 2026 at Toyota’s plant in Buffalo, West Virginia.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“Before I told you I had no clue what I wanted to do after high school. And this gives me the chance to even, like, I could obviously stay here and continue to do what I’m doing right now. Or I could go out of state and apply to other Toyota plants there and just have a similar opportunity in a better place.”

— **Braxton Halstead**

**Lilly Barickman**, 25, is interviewed at West Virginia Public Broadcasting in Charleston, West Virginia. A Wheeling native and Marshall University graduate, Barickman is senior manager of communications and engagement for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and says she wants to build her career in West Virginia, even as she has watched friends leave after struggling to find work.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“When I was graduating college, trying to find a job [was a challenge]. I always saw like all these people and I was like, why? ... There’s so many people that have these really cool jobs in West Virginia and they do these great things and they’re doing really well for themselves, for their families. But all these other people were leaving because they say there’s nothing. And I’m like, oh, well there has to be. ... And then I tried looking. And it was like nothing.”

**— Lilly Barickman**

**Steve Roberts** is president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. In Us & Them’s “Stay or Go” reporting, Roberts contrasts West Virginia’s economic decline with states such as North Carolina that diversified beyond legacy industries and invested in infrastructure, education and new forms of economic growth.
*Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce*

“North Carolina found itself in a very similar place, probably I’m going to just say roughly in the 1960s. North Carolina still had tobacco wealth and North Carolina had banking wealth. And North Carolina had textile wealth. ... But they looked around and they said it’s not gonna last. ... We’ve got to make investments. And so what did they do? They made investments in air service. They made investment in roads and highways. Importantly, and very importantly, they invested in their schools and in higher education.”

**— Steve Roberts**

*Learn more about* *West Virginia Chamber of Commerce*.

The **Academy of Careers and Technology**, known as **ACT**, in Beckley, West Virginia, provides career and technical education for high school students and adults preparing for skilled trades and other in-demand careers.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

*Learn more about* *Academy of Careers and Technology*.

**Kevin Bolen**, adult education coordinator at the Academy of Careers and Technology in Beckley, West Virginia, is a former union electrician who later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He says career and technical education can give young West Virginians a path to well-paying work while allowing them to stay connected to home.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“That industry [project electrician] is a traveling industry. So you go where the work is, but you always come back home. You're just a traveling worker is what you do. So West Virginia has always been my home. It’s never really changed from that. ... I think most people want to stay in West Virginia if they’re from here and can. ... But I think the majority of people stay close if they can.”

— **Kevin Bolen**

**Isaac Rinehart**, 25, leads a Sunday service at Lester Baptist Church in Lester, West Virginia, where his father serves as lead pastor. Rinehart owns and operates an HVAC business in the Beckley area and is a graduate of Appalachian Bible College. He says he hopes to build his life in West Virginia and believes young families are essential to the state’s future.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“We had friends when I was growing up in high school that would always say things like can’t wait to get out of here. They were looking for elsewhere, something probably new, something maybe exciting and following that ‘grass is greener’ trap. ... If you have a mind to do it, you can make something out of anything. You have to have a mind to see it, but then character to stick through. ... There’s challenges everywhere.”

— **Isaac Rinehart**

**John Rinehart**, lead pastor of Lester Baptist Church and a faculty member at Appalachian Bible College, is photographed at his home on the college’s campus near Beckley, West Virginia. After spending part of his adult life outside the state, Rinehart returned to southern West Virginia, where he has watched the region adjust to major economic changes tied to coal, mechanization and the loss of jobs.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“The leaders in West Virginia put all their eggs in the coal basket and it turned rotten and they didn't make allowances for what else to be a part of. ... Mechanization really hurt the area too. ... It created higher paying jobs, but it required less people. So again, that was just something else they needed to change gears for, to provide employment for the people that mechanization would force them to have to change.”

— **John Rinehart**

**Brad D. Smith**, president of Marshall University and former CEO of Intuit, stands beside a mounted sword he calls Excalibur in the “Roundtable Room” of his office suite at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Drawing on Arthurian legend, Smith uses the symbolism to illustrate his belief that young West Virginians should not simply search elsewhere for opportunity but help create it at home.
*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“‘That which you seek cannot be found. It must be made.’ That’s why Excalibur hangs on this wall. Take it from a guy who spent the first 22 years of his life in Kenova, West Virginia, dreaming of a way out, and every day after that dreaming of a way home. I've lived in the greatest places that people ever thought they wanted to live. I've lived in New York, I've lived in Dallas, Texas, I've lived in Atlanta, Georgia, I lived in San Francisco, I lived in San Diego, and you know what? I wanted to come home. Every day, I wanted to come home. ... So why leave? Why not create the greatest thing right here? ... I lost 36 years wandering in the wilderness. Come home.”

— **Brad D. Smith**

*Learn more about* *Brad D. Smith*.

‘Us & Them’ Explores The Challenge To Stay Or Go, This West Virginia Morning Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Morning, economic growth in West Virginia ranks close to the bottom in national rankings. It’s not just losing jobs, it’s also losing young people. In the first of two new Us & Them episodes, host Trey Kay talks with several young adults from the Mountain State asking whether they will stay put or find their future elsewhere.

Twenty-five-year-old Lilly Barickman is senior manager of communications and engagement for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. She told Kay it’s a challenge to find opportunities.

Also, community members from across West Virginia have come together to try and affect how data centers are being developed in the state.

And, West Virginia has been selected to host one of four locations for a special program from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Finally, more students across the state now have access to essential medical treatment and behavioral healthcare in their schools.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

National Report Highlights Use Of Opioid Settlement Funds For Police Surveillance, This West Virginia Morning Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Morning, as one of the hardest hit states in the country's opioid crisis, communities across West Virginia have started spending their portion of the roughly $1 billion in settlements from pharmaceutical companies and distributors. Schuyler Mitchell, assistant news director at nonprofit newsroom Mother Jones, reported last month on the use of the funds to purchase automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, from companies like Flock. She spoke to Chris Schulz about her findings.

Also, State Treasurer Larry Pack has responded to a Mingo County lawsuit over the expansion of the Hope Scholarship program.

And, West Virginia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy to become the sixth state chosen for a nuclear energy opportunity that could bring thousands of new jobs.

Finally, data centers and the energy to run them have been in the news a lot lately. Last year, the West Virginia Legislature passed the Power Generation and Consumption Act, also known as House Bill 2014, to encourage their development.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

A Look At Whether Big Tech Is a Good Neighbor, This West Virginia Morning Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Morning, the mayor of Gallatin, Tennessee, says a Meta hyperscale data center is the city’s largest taxpayer, but residents still have concerns about its effect on utilities, the environment and property values. Travel up I-65 and data center fights are playing out in several Kentucky communities. Lisa Autry from the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom went to Gallatin to find out if Big Tech is a good neighbor.

Also, it’s National 988 Day, a day to remind West Virginians that help through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And, if you have a disability, or are a family member or caregiver for someone who does, the West Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council wants to hear from you.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

A Second Data Center In Mason County And Kathy Mattea Remembers Dolly, This West Virginia Week Sep 05, 2026

Show notes

On this West Virginia Week, a second data center is coming to Mason County, the Rural Health Transformation Program Funds are beginning to be distributed in the state, and remembering Dolly Parton.

Bill Lynch is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week's biggest news in the Mountain State. It's produced with help from Bill Lynch, Chris Schulz, Eric Douglas and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.