NPR and Member stations in Appalachia and the Mid-South have launched a collaboration aimed at strengthening local news coverage and bringing more stories from this region to the rest of the country.
Residents of Bowling Green and Munfordville were surprised by rallies held by members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front in mid-May. Their presence and messaging may be less overt than other groups, but a WKU professor says it’s the latest evolution in hate speech messaging.
Western Kentucky’s Cinema Systers celebrates a decade as U.S.’s only all-lesbian film festival
The only all-lesbian film festival in the U.S. is not where most people might expect. Cinema Systers – a four-day celebration of sapphic storytelling – turned 10 in Paducah over Memorial Day weekend.
Tennessee mid-decade redistricting survives first legal challenge
A three-judge panel has upheld Tennessee’s new congressional map, which splits the majority-Black and longtime Democratic stronghold of Memphis across three different districts.
Threatened orchids were returning to southern Kentucky, then the 2025 tornado hit
Researchers have spent two decades restoring native wetlands in southern Kentucky, and with them the white fringeless orchid. But those efforts were disrupted when an EF4 tornado swept through the area in May 2025, carving visible lines in the landscape.
First challenge to Tennessee’s congressional map heard in court
A three-judge panel will soon rule on whether Tennessee’s new congressional map is constitutional.
U.S. Rep. Cohen drops from Tennessee congressional race after redistricting, others join
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is ending his re-election campaign after Tennessee Republicans approved President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting plan.
Tennessee GOP removes Democrats from House committees over redistricting protest
Tennessee’s House Speaker has removed all Democrats from House committees, further limiting the time they’re able to debate legislation in the Republican supermajority.
Remembering the bygone days of a legendary Appalachian steam locomotive
Longtime Louisville & Nashville Railroad employee Charles Castner died last month at the age of 97. He co-wrote a book in 2024 on one of L&N’s most powerful steam locomotives, the Big Emma.
Tennessee’s redistricting plan faces legal challenges
Tennessee’s new congressional maps are now facing multiple legal challenges, as voters, candidates and the NAACP, file to stop new maps from going into effect before the midterms.
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