On this West Virginia Morning, America’s rural hospitals are closing at an alarming pace. That’s become a concern in many parts of West Virginia. We look at nearby Tennessee, which has the highest hospital closure rate in the nation – but also some shining examples of hope. WPLN’s Health Reporter Catherine Sweeney takes us to Linden – a Tennessee town where the shuttered hospital there has recently reopened.

Also, the public will soon have an opportunity to express their opinion on a proposed electric transmission line project in person.

And, a longtime Charleston priest, activist and central figure in one of West Virginia’s most turbulent cultural conflicts has died. The Rev. Jim Lewis was 90.

Finally, you might say there’s now more horsepower driving a small but important industry in West Virginia.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

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