Harm Reduction specialists, law enforcement, business people, faith leaders and directly impacted Kentuckians relayed personal experiences and offered policy advice during Dream.org‘s first event in their Public Health Is Public Safety campaign. The event took place April 19, 2023 at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in eastern Kentucky. The campaign g…

Feb. 26, 2023 was the 51rst anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Flood, a coal mining disaster that killed 125 people and left 4000 homeless in this Logan County, WV community. This episode features audio from "Buffalo Creek Revisited," a 1985 documentary film produced by Mimi Pickering that looks at the impact of the disaster ten years after the flood…

In Sept. 2022, the Bureau of Prisons announced that it was reviving a plan to build and operate a federal correctional institution and prison camp in Letcher County, KY, an area that was devastated by flooding on July 28, 2022. This episode shares the comments, both pro and con, that members of the public delivered to Bureau of Prisons representati…

November is National Diabetes Month and our Making Connections News show at 6 pm tonight is sharing stories of eastern Kentuckians who are making lifestyle changes to prevent or slow down type 2 diabetes. Many are participating in Diabetes Prevention Programs that are supporting their efforts, even during COVID! One in seven Kentuckians have been d…

This episode is looking to the future with interviews with Diane Wilson about her book “The Seed Keeper,” and Brian Anderson, the leader of the Biden Administration effort to make sure coal communities are not left behind in the transition to cleaner energy. Thanks to Everywhere Radio from the Rural Assembly and AppalachAmerica for sharing these in…

A potpourri of topics on this episode, beginning with a look at the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program which has the potential to increase broadband access for millions of Americans. From there environmental reporter James Brugger talks with Tom Martin, from WEKU's Eastern Standard, about his research on lagging strip mine reclama…

On this episode Whitney Kimball Coe from the Rural Assembly shares a conversation with Anthony Flaccavento, a farmer in southwestern VA, as well as an author, political candidate, and most recently co-founder of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative. This interview comes from the Everywhere Radio podcast produced by the Rural Assembly. Following that a…

Kentucky has the 4th highest death rate from diabetes in the US. In recognition of March 22nd's Diabetes Alert Day, stories from eastern Kentuckians who have reduced their risk of diabetes through participation in National Diabetes Prevention Programs or through lifestyle changes made on their own are shared. One in 7 Kentuckians has diabetes, that…

Feb. 26, 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Flood in Logan County, WV. 125 people were killed and left 4000 homeless when a poorly constructed coal waste dam collapsed at the head of Buffalo Creek. This program features the soundtrack of Mimi Pickering’s film about what happened and why, and a follow up focusing on the efforts to reb…

The Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund has lost $22,400,000 since the excise fee supporting the fund was slashed at the end of 2021. At a January 14 press conference, leaders from the National Black Lung Association, Appalachian Voices and the Appalachian Citizens Law Center call on Congress to take immediate action to restore the fee suppor…

In this episode, Daily Yonder producer Xandr Brown celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the disruptor that he was; Appalachian advocates call for Congress to quickly restore the excise fee supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and miners’ health care; speakers at a ReImagine Appalachia Summit see potential for job creation, sustainab…

This episode begins with a first-hand account of the economic challenges facing towns and counties in Central Appalachia, but then celebrates the positive impact the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is going to have on the region. Also included is a report on Build Back Better, a bill, that if passed by Congress, would invest …

Three amazing Appalachians talk about their efforts to make their communities – be they local, regional or statewide – better places to live and thrive. Attorney John Rosenberg, who just turned 90, is the founding director of the Kentucky office of Appalachian Research & Defense Fund – AppalRed – and a founder of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Cente…

WV’s Battle of Blair Mountain happened 100 years ago, but what’s it’s significance for working people today? That’s the topic explored in this Making Connections News episode by historians, authors, artists, activists who make the case that understanding what the miners and their families were fighting for will help us all understand the challenges…

This month Making Connections News features an August 13th webinar, Black Lung: People, Power and Policy. At this virtual event, Gary Hairston, President of the National Black Lung Assoc., says the disease is diminishing his life while Debbie Wills, who helps miners at one of West Virginia's Black Lung Clinics, describes the long and difficult proc…

This episode focuses on the June 18th launch of the Black Appalachian Coalition in partnership with the NAACP. The launch featured a discussion of black invisibility in the Appalachian region and an urgent call to include African Americans and their communities in regional redevelopment efforts being considered by President Biden and congress. Fran…

This episode looks at the future for coal miners, former mine lands and efforts to rebuild coalfield communities. UMWA President Cecil Roberts speaks about the future he believes his members deserve. At the Reclaim Act Town Hall, Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright describes the importance of two bills he has introduced that are crucial to the cleanu…

On Wednesday, April 14, the Ohio River Valley Institute and ReImagine Appalachia held a press conference and released a timely set of reports titled "Repairing the Damage from Orphan Wells and Abandoned Mine Lands." The reports describe an extraordinary opportunity to develop pathways to address the environmental and public health issues of abandon…

Eula Hall, health care leader and self described “hillbilly activist,” spent a lifetime assisting her Eastern Kentucky neighbors and encouraging poor people to fight for their rights. After passing away on May 8 at age 93, she was lauded in her native Floyd County, by a Kentucky Congressman and Senator, and in the New York Times and Wall Street Jou…

While local health professionals encourage all eastern Kentuckians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it's even more important for those with underlying health issues including those with diabetes and prediabetes. Reporting for our WMMT series "Prevent Diabetes EKY," Parker Hobson speaks to several eastern Kentucky folks who have diabetes, some in…

In this edition of Making Connections News, eastern Kentuckians dealing with diabetes and prediabetes describe the benefits of getting the COVID 19 vaccine, White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy talks about President Biden’s plans for investment in coal-dependent communities, and two newly-released studies show the positive environment…

This show features Rep. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Glenn Thompson, both from Pennsylvania coal mining districts, introducing the RECLAIM Act and legislation to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund at a March 10 Press Conference. Sponsors describe these bills as bipartisan, and state they could create 13,000 jobs immediately, while helping to ens…

Speakers at the January 12th ReImagine Appalachia Strategy Summit describe their policy blueprint for creating a New Deal - a green economy with good paying jobs in Appalachia, followed by comments from the mayors of Pittsburgh and Huntington who support a "Marshall Plan for Middle America" to redevelop the Ohio River Valley region. Several of the …

This Black History Month episode focuses on current black lives and why they matter for all of us. First, an interview with KY State Rep. Attica Scott who talks about Breonna's Law, legislation she has filed in response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville last March, as well as her hopes for building a movement of Kentuckians acro…

Pastor Edward L. Palmer addresses the issue of racism, which he describes as a policy failure, equity, and the differing impact that Kentucky state policies often have on African Americans and other People of Color. He also identifies proposed legislation that would improve the juvenile justice system in Kentucky. Palmer pastors The Sign of the Dov…

"Here in our area, nobody’s alone with diabetes. Any street corner you turn down, every grocery store aisle, every church pew— you know, you’ve probably got somebody sitting right there with you who is battling it, or a close family member who is," says Tiffany Scott. But, she adds, the Appalachians in Control (AIC) diabetes research and outreach p…

As 2020 was coming to an end, Kentuckians were experiencing unemployment, food insecurity, and housing evictions due to the coronavirus, and frightened about the looming cut off of many aid programs that were passed as part of the CARES Act last spring. At this Dec. 3 press conference they shared their stories. The show concludes with an interview …

One in seven Kentuckians have been diagnosed with diabetes, and it is estimated that 1 in 3 have elevated blood sugar levels that could lead to diabetes. Prevent Diabetes EKY shares stories of folks in our region who are showing a way forward by making lifestyle changes to improve their health and the National Diabetes Prevention Programs that are …

By Making Connections News

The population of Appalachia, like most of rural America, is more diverse than many people realize. And the recent support for racial justice has been larger than many expected. When Joseph Palumbo signed on to help organize a Black Lives Matter march in his Eastern Kentucky hometown of Hazard, he figured 50 people would show up. The peaceful event…

Whitney Kimball Coe provides a preview of the Rural Assembly Everywhere, the first time the gathering will be online beginning Monday October 26 and wrapping up Friday October 30. The Rural Assembly is a nationwide movement of people and organizations building a smarter, greener, more inclusive rural America. Coe is the Director of National Program…

Avoiding type 2 diabetes is always a good thing for your health. But health professionals say that diabetes is one of several underlying conditions that could make the symptoms of COVID-19 more severe and potentially deadly. In this story we meet Marilyn Morgan, of Johnson County, and Connie Godsey Duvall, of Cumberland County, two eastern Kentucki…

Over 80 local, regional and national leaders worked together for several years to develop the National Economic Transition, or NET, Platform which was released to the public this summer. Built on community driven solutions, it is a framework for large scale investments to assist communities hardest hit by the changing coal economy. Heidi Binko, exe…

Members of ReImagine Appalachia, a coalition of policy organizations, grassroots groups, individuals and activists from West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, offer ideas at a March convening for building a 21rst century sustainable regional economy. That is followed by a July 21rst press conference announcing the ReImagine Appalachia pol…

The Kentucky Labor Day Town Hall was held virtually on September 7 because of COVID 19, the virus that has now infected 58,000 Kentuckians and killed more than 1,000 of our friends and neighbors. COVID 19 is also devastating our economy. Nearly 40% of KY workers have applied for unemployment, the highest rate in the country. Meanwhile The US Senate…

Young people sometimes think that prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are health issues that younger people don't really need to worry about. But Taylor Pratt found out in high school that she was in danger of developing the disease, despite the fact that it did not run in her family. On a visit to her eye doctor, Pratt, of Letcher County, KY, got the …

Anna Baumann, Deputy Director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, talks about the impact federal stimulus funding has had to date and the urgent need for more. According to census data, half of Kentucky adults say they or someone in their household have lost employment income since the COVID-19 crisis began. The sources they’re relying on t…

Despite roadblocks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Census count is continuing. Michelle Elison, Portfolio Manager at the National Partnership Program of the US Census Bureau, provides an update on response rates in Kentucky and the Census Bureau plans for the next phase of data collection. She also reminds us of how important getting a…

Dr. Brandon Crum from United Medical Group and Rebecca Shelton from Appalachian Citizens' Law Center describe the efforts underway in eastern Kentucky to help protect miners with black lung and other respiratory diseases who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Speaking at the June 10th meeting of the WV Association of Black Lung Clinics, Dr. Cru…

On June 12, Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, was the final speaker at the 2020 West Virginia Association of Black Lung Clinics annual conference. Roberts began his remarks with a video clip of former miners testifying before the House Education and Labor Committee in June 2019 about contracting black lung at an early …

On this Making Connections News episode, we are covering COVID-19 and the continuing health danger it poses for coal miners and those with black lung, about precautions to take to prevent exposure, and efforts to pass a silica dust standard to lower rates of black lung disease. We hear from Dr. James Brandon Crum from Pikeville and Rebecca Shelton …

2020 Census count is underway and the data will determine how much money and power comes to each community. Yet eastern Kentuckians have been slow to respond. Rachelle Seger from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, KY State Rep. Angie Hatton, and the US Census Bureau's Michelle Elison talk about why it is so important to fill out those forms and…

A story from our archive on the importance of the US Postal Service to rural people and their communities. Dateline: 12/15/2011: As the U.S. Postal Service faces financial crisis, Central Appalachia and much of rural America may be hard hit by pending closures of post offices and mail processing centers. To avoid bankruptcy, the Postal Service had…

Dr. Connie White describes the coronavirus, its symptoms, and the precautions we need to take, including testing and staying at home, to prevent its spread. She notes that eastern Kentucky residents are very vulnerable due to high rates of lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses. Dr. White is an MD and Deputy Dire…

Another story in our series, Preventing Diabetes in EKY, this report focuses on an innovative health improvement program happening in connection with the Letcher County Farmers’ Market. We hear from participants, some diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, who walk one mile on Whitesburg's public walking track every week and, in return, get a free…

This episode of Making Connections News is a recording from the Create Your State Tour, a musical, multimedia performance that inspires and empowers creative community revitalization and development. The presentation tells the inspiring story of arts-driven community transformation in Princeton, West Virginia, through the eyes of artists and cultur…

Willa Johnson, a single mom from McRoberts, KY, has long struggled with health problems but didn't realize she was prediabetic until she found out her glucose levels were rising. She spoke with reporter Parker Hobson about her efforts to change her diet to one based on healthy foods, some of the obstacles she faces living in a rural area, and the r…

By Making Connections News

By Making Connections News

By Making Connections News