AMSN

Appalachian researchers are working to restore populations of the eastern hellbender, a species of giant salamander struggling to survive amid a changing climate and human activity.

Far from Hollywood, Lexington’s annual Harry Dean Stanton Fest paid tribute to the character actor and Kentucky native this weekend, days before what would have been his 100th birthday.

In the midst of what many have dubbed a “loneliness epidemic,” local bookstores are building relationships with customers that are far more than transactional.

Freshwater mussels are scattered throughout waterways in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, playing a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. But populations are dwindling, and researchers want to better understand the causes.

Abandoned oil and natural gas wells are scattered throughout West Virginia and the surrounding region, leaking toxic pollutants into the atmosphere, and the state doesn’t know where all of them are.

Kudzu is an invasive vine that’s become a persistent problem in the American South. But there are efforts to tackle it.

A Kentucky distillery is harnessing the flow of the Mississippi River to aid in the aging of its bourbon and whiskey aboard the only floating barrelhouses in the United States.

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.

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.

Last weekend was the first anniversary of a tornado that devastated communities in southern Kentucky. A Day of Remembrance event in Laurel County on Saturday honored those who lost their lives and reflected on a year of recovery.