mountainstatespotlight

After 20 years of red tape, business dealings and broken promises, a Mingo County drag racing strip may finally open

A drag strip in Mingo County, recently sold, is built on former mine land used for piling mountaintop removal waste. Photo courtesy Neil Wicker Aerial Photography MYRTLE – On a cloudy Saturday in ...
mountainstatespotlight

McCuskey has made protecting fossil fuel industries a priority. Now he’s investigating climate groups.

Attorney General JB McCuskey speaks at a West Virginia First Foundation event. Photo courtesy of the West Virginia First Foundation. Attorney General JB McCuskey demanded a decade’s worth of documents ...
Mountain State Spotlight

West Virginia groups and local governments demand data center oversight. The state is continuing to develop them anyway.

West Virginia’s extractive history with developers worries residents as the state signs data center deals with companies ...
Mountain State Spotlight

McCuskey’s subpoenas against environmental groups paused by U.S. judge

U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin expects the organizations to have the subpoenas dismissed for violating their first ...
mountainstatespotlight

It’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in state elections. However, it will be on West Virginia ballots this November.

Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson and sponsor of the resolution making way for the constitutional amendment, speaks on the state Senate floor on March 14. Photo by Will Price / WV Legislative ...
Mountain State Spotlight

Early voting has begun. Here’s what you should know before you head to the polls.

We’ve created a guide with key 2026 general election voting details you should consult before you head to the polls ...
mountainstatespotlight

We’re reporters, not teachers. We were able to start private schools anyway.

We have no business running a private school. We’re reporters, not teachers. That doesn’t matter. Inexperience has hardly been a barrier for those who want to start their own schools, as we have ...
Mountain State Spotlight

As rural schools face closure, families in Raleigh and Mingo fear losing more than just classrooms

Raleigh and Mingo parents say small schools are best for their kids. But candidates say keeping them open isn’t part of their platforms.
Mountain State Spotlight

From retirement plans to family farms, the lives of these West Virginians could be upended by a massive power line

NextEra, one of the largest energy companies in the United States, plans to build a 500,000 volt transmission line running through 59 miles of West Virginia. Residents, from affected landowners to ...
mountainstatespotlight

‘The First Amendment is not a license to lie’: McCuskey responds to environmental groups he subpoenaed for citing climate science.

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey appears before lawmakers during August interims on Aug. 11, 2026. Photo by Perry Bennett / West Virginia Legislature Attorney General JB McCuskey filed a ...