Southern West Virginia

There’s a new push to sell the Itmann coal company store building in Wyoming County. The almost 100-year-old building has a rich history as a former store and business office owned by Issac T. Mann.

On this West Virginia Morning, we heard earlier this week from the Coalfield Development Corporation, a company leading work to develop the ACT Now Coalition. Funded by the American Rescue Plan, the plan is meant to help southern West Virginia’s economy by creating clean energy and green economy jobs. The West Virginia Hive is one of the partners in the Community and Business Resilience Initiative. Jessica Lilly has more.

On this West Virginia Morning, energy and environment reporter Curtis Tate talks with Brandon Dennison, CEO of the Huntington-based Coalfield Development Corporation, about the challenges and opportunities that come with a federal grant of $62.8 million to create a clean energy hub in southern West Virginia.

West Virginia has been awarded an additional $15.4 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration as part of the American Rescue Plan. The plan was created to help ease economic impacts from the pandemic.

On this West Virginia Morning, development in the southern coal fields has often run into issues of trust and sustainability. For the West Virginia Hive, business development in Nicholas, Summers, Raleigh and Fayette Counties began with relationship building. Reporter Jessica Lilly spoke with Jenna Grayson, whose new role positions her to take economic development to the next level.

Southern West Virginians are invited to pitch their business ideas for a chance to earn cash and technical assistance.

A fourth Fruits of Labor Cafe and Bakery will open later in August in Beckley. The company formalized a program focused on helping employers create workspaces that are recovery friendly.

On this West Virginia Morning, the devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky caused loss of life and untold property damage. It may have also cost the Appalachian region something else, part of its history. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Melissa Helton at the Hindman Settlement School in Hindman Kentucky about the flood and the struggle to save some of Appalachia’s past.

On this West Virginia Morning, a business in southern West Virginia is getting national attention for the work it does to help people recovering from substance use disorder. The owner says the idea is pretty simple – nurture the community.

Several communities in West Virginia's southern coalfields celebrated the completion of a long awaited project to bring clean water to local communities last week.