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kenwardjr.bsky.social
Investigative journalist in West Virginia. Founding editor-in-chief of @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social watchdog newsroom. Former ProPublica local reporter. MacArthur Fellow.
118 posts 475 followers 72 following
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Posts 48 Comments 2

“If you can raise the money to throw an inauguration, then raise it to feed some kids" Must-read @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social story mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/11/m...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/11/m...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/07/t...

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www.propublica.org/article/noaa...

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ICYMI mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/03/t...

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Help @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social investigate how Trump's attacks on Social Security impact West Virginians docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/03/t...

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rs...

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Help @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social investigate how West Virginians are at risk as Trump dismantles Social Security docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/05/03/t...

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dicktofel.substack.com/p/amid-the-w...

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NEW: ‘We cannot survive this’: Trump’s cuts to USDA programs hurt West Virginia schools, food banks and farmers mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/29/u...

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President Trump vowed to ‘end the war on coal,’ but his trade war with China isn’t helping energy producers. mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/23/c...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/24/m...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

NEW: Morrisey promised to be there ‘every step of the way’ in flood recovery. Residents wonder where that help is now. mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/24/m...

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www.propublica.org/article/trum...

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/24/m...

submitted 29 days ago • 1 comment

Wow www.propublica.org/article/us-d...

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www.propublica.org/article/how-...

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ICYMI mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/18/w...

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It's unclear to me how eliminating data that measures how well our world works is going to make government more efficient or effective. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

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Must-read @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social story mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/18/w...

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Must-read @propublica.org story by the great @alecmac.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

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From the whole @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social team, what you need to know about the 2025 West Virginia legislative session mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/13/w...

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NEW: How the Legislature did — and didn’t — address West Virginia’s challenges during the 2025 session mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/13/w...

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Here's @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social's rundown of what the WV Legislature did - and didn't do - in its 2025 session mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/13/w...

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NEW: West Virginia’s Republicans said they wouldn’t cut Medicaid. Then they voted to cut Medicaid.

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"It would be a bit like unplugging the equipment that monitors the vital signs of a patient that is critically ill" www.propublica.org/article/trum...

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments

👇 mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/10/w...

submitted 43 days ago • 1 comment

For decades, West Virginia’s FOIA said that all government records were presumed to be available to the public, unless they fell within a narrow list of exemptions. This bill deletes that “presumption of public accessibility” language from the statute. mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/09/f...

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments

"Interior Secretary Doug Burgum likes chocolate-chip cookies—preferably freshly baked and still warm." I mean ... don't we all? www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

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Notably, Donald Trump made saving coal a top priority of his first term. It didn't work. Between 2016, the year before Trump was inaugurated, and the end of 2020, coal production and employment decreased by 26.5% and 18.2%, respectively. www.spglobal.com/commodity-in... 🔌💡

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I am not sure why the phrasing in this made me laugh out loud: "About two months ago, President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The Associated Press did not follow suit. "

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mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/08/w...

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"We need the money and we need it now." mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/07/l...

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Must-read @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social story by @sarahbishi.bsky.social mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/07/l...

submitted 46 days ago • 0 comments

I'm proud to share ProPublica's 2024 annual report. Being transparent about our work and its impact in the world is one of the things I like most about working here. Hope you'll give this a look:

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“The commercial press,” he added, “is too fragile for our democracy to rely on for all the news and information that we require to function as responsible citizens.” www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/b...

submitted 49 days ago • 1 comment

Bruce Springsteen plans to release seven “lost” albums spanning 35 years, including songs with country and “mid-century noir” influences. Here’s why that’s bad news for Democrats.

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www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/a...

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House Speaker Roger Hanshaw says lawmakers are different from the governor, mayors, city councils and school boards – and should have a FOIA rule tailored specifically for them. buff.ly/s9qtQGe

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As the number of kids with mental health problems and disabilities increases, families need more help. Child care providers offer that, but state officials and lawmakers are postponing the help they need.

submitted 55 days ago • 0 comments

"Across the nation, universities are eliminating or rebranding DEI offices to avoid federal scrutiny. SIU isn’t backing down." Great story by Molly Parker about a school with much less $$ than the universities we typically see in the news. www.propublica.org/article/regi...

submitted 56 days ago • 12 comments

mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/03/28/g...

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ICYMI mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/03/28/g...

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