Who runs the Kentucky economy? Small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Who runs the Kentucky e...

Kentucky is powered by small businesses. And when I say small, I mean small. Ninety-four percent of small businesses in the state have less than 50 employees, and 74 percent have less than 10. This is part of the reason why increased investment in and support for entrepreneurs in eastern...
Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition student reflects on time at annual Fancy Farm picnic

Kentucky Student Enviro...

Editor’s Note: In an effort to include a more diverse and varied set of voices in the Appalachian Transition conversation, Renew Appalachia will begin featuring posts from guest bloggers on a semi-regular basis. The following is the first blog in that effort. It is important to...
Is ‘brain drain’ inaccurate? New study reveals reality of ‘rural return’

Is ‘brain drain...

Thanks to slews of media reports, academic studies and political speeches about the ills of Appalachia, we’ve all heard of what is supposedly one of our region’s more insidious ills: “brain drain.” It’s the idea that all of Appalachia’s “best and brightest” young people spend their...
Appalachian Transition movement should employ participatory budgeting

Appalachian Transition ...

City governments across the country (and world) are trying a new system of budgeting that seems to be working well for them and their citizens. Participatory budgeting is a process of decision-making in which non-elected community members decide how a portion of their local government...
Ex-Pat Appalachian’s Story can Help with Transition

Ex-Pat Appalachian̵...

“I don’t know whether I’m part of Appalachia anymore, but Appalachia is part of me,” says Graham Shelby in a wonderful Lexington Herald-Leader essay published last week. It’s a refrain so many young Appalachian ex-pats find themselves saying. There is a pull to the place, but...
A Place Worth Fighting For

A Place Worth Fighting ...

Given all the negative reporting about Appalachia’s problems and the subsequent “brain drain,” it may seem surprising that there are young people who are committed to their homes and communities, who feel an unbreakable tie to the mountains and who want to make their homeplaces better....
More youth should have a seat at the decision-making table

More youth should have ...

Appalachia’s leaders have long wondered how to get more young people involved in matters of state. Since the Shaping Our Appalachian Region Summit last December, there has been a renewed push to involve more young people in processes that will design eastern Kentucky’s future. (Picture...
War on Poverty 50 Years Later

War on Poverty 50 Years...

The news has been abuzz this week about the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, and our little corner of the world is getting more attention than it usually does. Since the War on Poverty was launched from Martin County, Ky., national media outlets rushed to Inez to take another look...