W.Va. Hero Yeager Passes At 97 And Other News This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Chuck Yeager has died at the age of 97. Also, in this show, we learn about a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that uses buckwheat flour, we share the latest statehouse news, an update about broadband expansion and other updates from around the state.

Gen. Chuck Yeager, a West Virginia native and the first pilot to break the sound barrier, has died at the age of 97. Dave Mistich reports.

West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey is one of the thousands of residents in the state who have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Emily Allen has more.

Leadership in both parties, and in both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature, have taken shape. Craig Blair of Berkeley County recently announced he has secured unanimous support from the Republican caucus to lead the West Virginia Senate. Democrats announced Stephen Baldwin, a pastor from Greenbrier County, will lead the minority.

In the House of Delegates, Speaker Roger Hanshaw of Clay County was nominated to again lead the incoming GOP majority. House Democrats picked Doug Skaff of Kanawha County to lead the minority caucus.

More than 119,000 additional West Virginia homes and businesses will have access to high-speed broadband internet over a ten-year period. Liz McCormick has more.

Holiday charities look different this year. Several events have been canceled all together. But a Wyoming County organization that hasn’t missed a year since 1999 is hoping to serve more families this holiday season. Jessica Lilly reports.

On a recent episode of Inside Appalachia, we featured a story about a group of North Carolina bakers who use stone milled flour for their baked goods. It’s flour that’s ground the old-fashioned way – at a stone ground mill. Our folkways reporter Rachel Greene produced that story, and one of the home-bakers gave her a cookie recipe for Buckwheat Chocolate Chip cookies. Rachel sat down with Inside Appalachia co-host Caitlin Tan to discuss the recipe.

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