West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Eight historic sites across West Virginia have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, including a hospital that once served Black coal miners and their families. The newly listed sites include the Citizens National Bank of Belington in Barbour County; Mail Pouch barns in Randolph, Jackson, and Mason counties; and Old Hill Cemetery in Lewis County, home to a Yellow Poplar tree estimated to be more than 200 years old.

Your browser doesn't support audio playback. If you look at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent color-coded map of influenza cases nationwide, West Virginia looks like an island of bright yellow surrounded by states colored in dark red and blue – indicating all the states near this one are in the throes of a high or very high outbreak. It’s part of the largest flu outbreak the nation has seen in 25 years.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is a Five Favorites edition featuring a collection of favorite sets from 2005, chosen by our Executive Producer, Adam Harris. On this episode, Harris walks us through some of the most memorable sets and performances from his first season with Mountain Stage, twenty short years ago.

The West Virginia Governor’s Mansion – fully decorated for the holiday season – is now open to the public for free holiday tours. Online bookings of guided tours for both the mansion and the West Virginia State Capitol building opened Monday. One of the featured displays is a life-size gingerbread house created by First Lady Denise Morrisey. Young visitors will enter the house on their way to the front door of the mansion.

On this week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea welcomes Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Jack Blocker, Cole Quest & The City Pickers, Courtney Hartman, and The Critton Hollow String Band. Our Song of the Week comes from The Critton Hollow String Band, a band that has been performing traditional American music to audiences around the world since 1975.

Editor’s Note: West Virginia Public Broadcasting asked photojournalist and West Virginia native Roger May to go back home and take a hard look at how residents are still struggling to find normalcy nine months after flooding hit southern West Virginia. May specializes in turning his camera on the places that shaped him — revealing the humanity behind statistics. He worked primarily in Mingo, Logan, McDowell and Wyoming counties. Flooding is nothing new to southern West Virginia.

On this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, we revisit the first of two 41st anniversary shows, which were recorded at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia in December 2024. Guest host and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton welcomes Stephen Kellogg, Jill Sobule, Mindy Smith, Caleb Caudle & The Sweet Critters, and The David Mayfield Parade.

This story was originally published by WEKU. A coal miner in West Virginia was killed earlier this month in the derailment of a mine supply car, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Joseph Mitchell, 25, was pinned underneath the supply car after it and two locomotives derailed after striking another piece of equipment, MSHA’s preliminary report says on the Nov. 6 incident.

On this West Virginia Week, Appalachian Power customers may be seeing another price hike, caregivers are under stress, particularly during the holidays, and a new mountain roller coaster is a destination for fun seekers in Mercer County. Bill Lynch is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State.

Shepherd University was recognized this week for its more than 100 years of service to education in West Virginia. West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner visited Shepherd University Wednesday to award the school with a Centurion Award. “We see Shepherd University as being in the business of educating our students,” Warner said.