Niles ACGP Project
Two projects funded by the Ohio Appalachian Community Grant Program (ACGP) will be transformational for the City of Niles and the broader region with the construction of the new Public Square and Riverside Park.
Continue Reading2026 Awards Nominations Open!
The Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA) Awards Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2026 Myers, Whisman, Mazer, and Congressional Awards.
Continue ReadingBTC Communications Steps Up to Serve Tennessee’s Underserved Communities
In Tennessee, municipal broadband providers cannot extend services outside their electric territory, even if the providers would have the ability to provide the service. Therefore, rural electric and telephone cooperatives have stepped into this void to provide broadband services. The Southeast Tennessee Development District has worked with Bledsoe Telephone Cooperative for the past 10 years […]
Continue ReadingARC POWER…Turning Coal to Gold – Monday Lick Trail Project
Region 4 Planning and Development Council in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (Monongahela National Forest), Pocahontas County CVB, Snowshoe Mountain Resort, Poca. Trails, Mon Forest Towns Partnership and the Town of Marlinton Receives $1,500,000 from Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative
Continue Reading
Reframing Rural America
As someone who has spent a career working alongside leaders in rural communities, the McKinsey Institute’s new report — Who is Rural America? — is both affirming and eye-opening. It challenges the outdated narrative that rural regions are fading into irrelevance and instead offers a data-driven, nuanced view of communities like ours in Appalachia. Rural […]
Continue ReadingConnecting Rural Polk and Rutherford Counties within the Foothills Regional Commission Footprint
In North Carolina, units of local government cannot own and operate their own broadband network. This has led to slower adoption rates and a variety of other issues such as higher prices and gaps in digital literacy, especially in Western North Carolina, where the population density and challenging terrain impairs internet service providers from investing […]
Continue Reading