100 Days in Appalachia

'In the Boat Together': Post-Helene, Faith Communities Have Been Central to NC's Long-Term Recovery In the year since the storm devastated parts of western North Carolina, religious congregations have provided food, housing and supplies — as well as a shared sense of community.

When Tropical Storm Helene hit western North Carolina, churches became disaster hubs — feeding neighbors, rebuilding homes, and restoring trust.

“We’re always in this boat together,” said Rev. Blake Smaar.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/11/in-t...

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Five Years After It Became a National Park,  There's a Growing Divide In West Virginia's New River Gorge Many long-time West Virginians see the divide between their reality of the area — a community that still faces long-standing infrastructure and quality-of-life issues — and the version accessible to t...

The New River Gorge is drawing more visitors than ever, yet many longtime West Virginians see little change in daily life. “I don’t think the National Park Service has done much in my area,” said Jackie Coleman of Whipple.

#NewRiverGorge #WestVirginia

www.100daysinappalachia.com?p=32656&prev...

In Jonesborough, TN, the Town’s Big Festival is Back After Helene Canceled It Last Year Local businesses say the National Storytelling Festival — and other tourism — is helpful, but not a substitute for a local customer base.

After Hurricane Helene cancelled Jonesborough’s National Storytelling Festival last year, local businesses felt the loss. The festival returns Oct. 3–5, but owners say it’s their neighbors and regulars who keep them going year-round.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/09/in-j...

Backyard Docs

The 2025 Backyard Docs Film Festival is almost here!
We’re proud to sponsor this year’s celebration of nonfiction films rooted in Appalachian + Rust Belt stories, and to share our short, “Hell or High Water,” as part of the lineup.

Tickets: backyarddocs.com

YouTube video by 100 Days in Appalachia 'You Gotta Show Up': West Virginians Want to Be Heard by Their Own Representatives

Hundreds packed a Lenore, W.Va., town hall as Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stopped in Mingo County, part of a broader fight over corporate power in Appalachia.

youtu.be/K3CW8zmZn2I?...

The New Power Brokers: Big Tech, State Lawmakers, and the Grid As opposition to data centers mounts locally in communities across the country, the decisive fights over AI’s infrastructure are unfolding in state legislatures.

"America is in the midst of a massive building boom many are beginning to notice."

In Appalachia, data centers are draining power and water as lawmakers strip local control. Tucker County, W.Va., is fighting back.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/08/the-...

‘We Know What It’s Like To Be Exploited’: Tucker County, W.Va., Grapples With Future-Defining AI-Infrastructure Proposal To fully appreciate the beauty of Tucker County, you must visit. Nestled at 3,500 feet in the gorgeous Allegheny Mountains along the Blackwater River, the town of Davis is at the highest elevation of ...

“We know what it’s like to be exploited.” Some Tucker County, W.Va., residents are pushing back against a massive AI and data center proposal, calling it the next wave of extraction, and fighting to protect their future.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/07/we-k...

Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed Rehab hospitals that help people recover from major surgeries and injuries have become a highly lucrative slice of the health care business. But federal data and inspection reports show that some run ...

Rehab hospitals for surgery and injury recovery are a lucrative slice of the health care business. But federal data show that some run by for-profit corporations have had serious incidents of patient harm.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/07/even...

‘Not in the Political Appetite’: Despite Decades of Research, W.Va. Counties are not Spending Their Opioid Settlement Millions on Harm Reduction On a warm summer day in late May, about 100 people are waiting for their turn to go inside the Neighborhood S.H.O.P., located in the annex of Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church on the West Side of Cha...

Programs in West Virginia that provide harm reduction are not receiving any of the tens of millions of dollars from the 2021 global opioid lawsuit settlement agreement so far

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/07/not-...

Politically-Connected W.Va. GameChanger Program Receives Opioid Funds Amid Doubts from Experts On a Tuesday afternoon, Michelle Allen is in her office in an empty Robert C. Byrd High School. Allen is the career and technical instructor at RCB and also runs GameChanger, the school’s prevention e...

Prevention education program GameChanger has received $310,000 in opioid settlement funds from three West Virginia counties and plans to ask others for more.

But experts say the program is all bling and lacks evidence-based curriculum.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/07/poli...

W.Va. Counties Set the Rules for Opioid Funds — with No One Watching For two hours every Thursday and Friday, Randall Brown gathers a handful of people in front of a whiteboard. They sit on a couch or armchairs on either side – the walls filled with colorful drawings w...

While a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding dictates how West Virginia's opioid settlement funds can be used, individual counties charged with distributing the money can lack consistency in oversight and accountability built into local spending

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/07/w-va...

The Price of Recovery — 100 Days in Appalachia As millions in opioid settlement funds reach West Virginia, counties are making high-stakes choices about how to spend it — revealing the tension between political priorities, financial pressures and ...

As millions in opioid settlement funds reach West Virginia, counties are making high-stakes choices about how to spend them.

'The Price of Recovery' series explores the tension between political priorities, financial pressures and community needs.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/the-price-of...

100 Days in Appalachia Coverage of Tucker County Power Plant Wins Report for America Award Reporter Laura Harbert Allen’s coverage of the debate surrounding a proposed power plant in Tucker County, West Virginia, has been honored by Report for America. The nonprofit that places reporters in...

Congratulations to Laura Harbert Allen! She’s earned a Report for America Local News Award for her incredible story “Big Tech Comes to Tucker County.” We could not be prouder!

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/06/100-...

Find Me Here Forever: A Southern West Virginia Flood Relief Album, by Bluejay Rising 11 track album

"Find Me Here Forever: A Southern West Virginia Flood Relief Album" is available now for digital download & physical pre-order with all proceeds donated directly to mutual aid group Bluejay Rising to assist in their ongoing flood relief efforts. Order: bluejayrising.bandcamp.com

Scenes from the "Find Me Here Forever" album release and flood benefit show.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening highlighting experiences of survival and solidarity in the aftermath of February's floods in Southern West Virginia.

In Push to 'Make Appalachia Healthy Again,' Some Big Barriers to Health Go Ignored West Virginia consistently ranks at or near the bottom among states for health outcomes. But despite a new focus on health, officials aren't addressing the everyday barriers to healthy living.

At Manna Meal in Charleston, Amy Wolfe sees it all: families, workers, retirees. For many, it’s more than food — it’s dignity, choice, and a lifeline.

“These people we serve deserve choices,” Wolfe says. “They deserve to be seen.”

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/05/in-p...

Announcing “Find Me Here Forever: A Southern West Virginia Flood Relief Album,” recorded live at 123 Pleasant Street on March 5.

All proceeds from this album go to local mutual aid group Bluejay Rising to assist in their ongoing flood relief efforts.

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A New Call for Pitches for a New Appalachian Era We continue to tell the stories of our region, with an eye toward deeply-reported modern-day stories of Appalachia’s challenges and triumphs. And if you’re a writer or journalist in the region, we wan...

Got a story to tell? If you're 13–25 and in Appalachia, pitch it to Generation Zeitgeist—reported, personal, or visual, we want to hear it!

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/05/a-ne...

Big Tech Comes to Tucker County, WV Rural areas like Tucker County are caught in an AI-fueled tech boom that strains energy infrastructure and depletes natural resources.

Virginia-based Fundamental Data plans to build a standalone natural gas-fired power plant in Tucker County, and local officials believe it will fuel energy-hungry data centers

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/04/big-...

On March 1, 2025 Helvetia, WV held its 58th annual Fasnacht celebration.

We attended this unique combination of Appalachian & Swiss tradition to find out what draws hundreds of visitors to this small town every year.

Check out our latest doc below.

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/04/fasn...

On April 5, people nationwide gathered for what is currently the largest display of public resistance against the second Trump administration.

100 Days sat down with the organizers for the demonstration in Morgantown, West Virginia, to discuss what happened and what comes next.

In the Mid-Ohio Valley, a small community group has grown from living-room Bible studies into a political force, shaping policy and faith discussions across West Virginia and Ohio.

#Appalachia #WestVirginia #Ohio #CommunityAction

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/02/mid-...

Reclaiming and Revitalizing Resources in West Virginia’s Southern Coalfields The demand for clean water in McDowell County is but one element of a groundswell of community-based activism to reclaim and revitalize resources.

Clean water is a human right, but for many in McDowell County, it’s out of reach. Leaders like Rev. Brad Davis & Rev. Caitlin Ware remind us this work is about dignity, justice, & reclaiming the land.

#Appalachia #WestVirginia #McDowellCounty

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/02/recl...

In West Virginia’s Southern Coalfields, a Grassroots ‘Jubilee’ Davis and Ware want to use the church that once divided McDowell County into miners and management to reclaim what has been taken from them.

In McDowell County, where history runs deep, a new movement is rising. Local leaders are reclaiming what's lost & building a future rooted in justice, faith, and community. This is the holler gospel in action.

#Appalachia #Community #WestVirginia

www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/02/in-w...

Day One: The Inauguration On Jan. 20, tens of thousands of people flooded Washington, D.C. to watch the pomp and circumstance of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Local law enforcement agencies estimated that more ...

Our team spent inauguration day on the ground in D.C. to get a glimpse of the Americans that were motivated to turn out in subzero temperatures to celebrate what they view as the start of a new era.

This is Day One: www.100daysinappalachia.com/2025/01/day-...