A new roleplaying game gives folks in the workplace a chance to be a mythical Appalachian monster.

Also, southeast Ohio’s Nelsonville Music Festival celebrates its 20^th anniversary in June. We talk with the founder about what keeps people coming back.

And, members of a Ukrainian Catholic church in Wheeling, West Virginia, make pierogies for their community every week. What makes them so good?

You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Monsters Of Appalachia Game Connects Coworkers
Rail Trails Connecting Appalachian Cities
Pressure On Power Grids
Southeast Ohio Residents, Wildlife Experts Warn Against Fracking
Flash Flooding In Dante, Virginia
Tick Season Could Be All-Year Round
Rebuilding After EF4 Tornado Struck Somerset, Kentucky
Nelsonville Music Festival Celebrates 20th Anniversary
A Passion For Pierogies In Wheeling, W.Va.

Monsters Of Appalachia Game Connects Coworkers

People in the workplace often have to do team-building exercises. But instead of the stale old icebreakers, a team of university developers are using Appalachian cryptids. Bigfoot, the Flatwoods Monster and Moth-person are all part of the game called Monsters of Appalachia. It was developed by the Center for Transformational Play at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Host Mason Adams spoke with Jessica Hammer, associate professor and director of the center.

Rail Trails Connecting Appalachian Cities

A trail ends into a residential street. The trail is separated from the street by wooden bollards sunk into the pavement. A sign on the left of the trail reads "Road Crossing Look For Traffic" in red letters on a white background. A small stop sign stands on the right side of the trail. — Only four gaps remain in all of West Virginia to complete the 238-mile Parkersburg to Pittsburgh Corridor. The terminus of the Marion County rail trail in Fairmont represents one of those gaps.

*Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Across the country, old railroads have been converted into multi-use trails for folks to get out and enjoy nature.

WVPB’s Chris Schulz has more on an ambitious vision to connect communities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania by rail trail.

Pressure On Power Grids

A landscape photo of an electric substation. there are electrical lines coming out of a silver structure. It is outside. — An electrical substation sits off Poindexter Road in Louisa County, near Crossroads Community Church. Infrastructure maintenance and upgrades are one of many factors currently driving up electric bills in Virginia.

*Photo Credit: Anjoleigh Schindler/WMRA*

Northern Virginia is home to the biggest concentration of data centers in the world. It’s known as “data center alley.” And now, its power needs are affecting rural places throughout the region. As utility companies expand the power grid to keep up, new substations and transmission lines are being proposed. One project stretches across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. Another extends through nine counties in Virginia. It’s drawing pushback from environmentalists and residents.

WMRA’s Anjoleigh Schindler reports.

Southeast Ohio Residents, Wildlife Experts Warn Against Fracking

A landscape image of a road leading off into the horizon. It is a sunny day, the grass is green and the trees are blooming. — Driving into the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area.

*Photo Credit: Julie Grant/The Allegheny Front*

An Ohio commission is accepting bids to lease thousands of acres of a remote, state-owned wildlife area for fracking.

The Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant visited the area and has more.

Flash Flooding In Dante, Virginia

A landscape image of a Black man wearing a suit. He is standing on a concrete wall that sits against a creek and a hill. — James Mabry stands on his back porch that overlooks the creek along Saw Mill Hollow Road in Dante. In July 2025, an unexpected and unprecedented amount of rain caused flash flooding requiring evacuations and rescues in this small community. Access was difficult for the emergency crews who partnered amongst counties to respond. A bridge that connected him to the other side of the creek was washed away.

*Photo Credit: Stephanie Klein-Davis/WVTF*

A 2022 scientific paper suggests Appalachia could see nearly twice as many flash floods by the end of the century. Climate change is causing more extreme rainfall, and the town of Dante, Virginia is one of many places where flooding is getting even worse. Dante has had floods throughout its history.&nbs...