Gazette-Mail's Ken Ward Talks About McArthur Fellowship Award

On this West Virginia Morning, a West Virginia journalist recently received a MacArthur Fellowship, a prestigious award that comes with a stipend of 625-thousand dollars. Investigative reporter Ken Ward Jr. was one of only 25 people named for the awards that’s often called the “genius” award. The website said Ward was recognized for his work that reveals, “…the human and environmental toll of natural resource extraction in West Virginia…” Inside Appalachia host Jessica Lilly, spoke with Ward about his work.

Also on today’s show, in the months before midterm elections, thousands of Ohio Valley workers and retirees have rallied over an often overlooked issue: Pensions. 

There are serious questions about whether pension funds for miners, teamsters, teachers and others will remain solvent. As labor leaders look to Congress for action, those questions are coming up in the region’s midterm campaigns. 

The Ohio Valley ReSource’s Becca Schimmel explores whether concern about pensions will show up at the polling place.

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