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The hillbilly stereotype is frequently used to shame mountain people, but there are gentler versions, like Snuffy Smith, the long-running comic strip character. Snuffy Smith originally started out as a supporting character in his comic strip, which first launched in 1919 when Billy DeBeck created Barney Google. Artist Fred Lasswell was brought in during the ‘30s to create Snuffy Smith and his friends. And now the strip is written and drawn by John Rose, who lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
Demonstrators hold signs denouncing Immigration Customs and Enforcement in front of the West Virginia University Mountainlair on Jan. 30, 2026. Ayden Norcross/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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Mountaineers Indivisible Citizen Action held a strike demonstration against Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) Jan. 30, 2026 at the West Virginia University (WVU) free speech zone in front of the Mountainlair.
A demonstrator holds up a sign with “Abolish ICE” in front of the West Virginia University Mountainlair on Jan. 30, 2026.
Photo Credit: Ayden Norcross/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“I wanted to come here today to show other WVU students that there are people who are vocal about these issues and how ICE is acting in our country,” Angestura Kash, a psychology and neuroscience major at WVU, said. “It’s easy for us to be in our small groups in our dorms and apartments and say ‘this is awful’ but we need to be loud about it.”
The strike demonstration is the start of a weekend of demonstrations and will be followed by a protest on Saturday at the WVU Alumni Center and a vigil held Sunday at the corner of Patterson Drive and Van Voorhis Road.
Demonstrators chant in front of the West Virginia University Mountainlair on Jan. 30, 2026.
Photo Credit: Ayden Norcross/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Fluorspar is a little-known mineral used to make everything from steel, aluminum and gasoline to uranium fuel and batteries. For the Appalachia Mid-South Newsroom, WKMS’ Lily Burris reports the largest known deposit of the critical mineral in the U.S. is in western Kentucky – and its applications in artificial intelligence (AI) could reawaken the region’s mining industry.
Two different groups, one representing West Virginia Republicans, the other from the Democratic Caucus of the West Virginia House of Delegates, are both calling on Gov. Patrick Morrisey to address skyrocketing gas prices.
BridgeValley Community and Technical College is expanding workforce development programs in highway construction and welding thanks to federal and state grants.
Two coal miners died in separate underground accidents last Thursday evening and Friday morning. The West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training has released its initial findings.
