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Meet West Kentucky Coal Miners

Austin Ramsey, WKMS

AWARD ENTRY:

In 2013 for the first time in over 50 years West Kentucky coal mines produced more than their eastern counterparts. Coal companies employ more than 4,000 people in 10 west Kentucky counties, and more than 90% of Kentucky’s power comes from this ancient mineral. But there is much more beyond these numbers. In this WKMS News Documentary  we explore West Kentucky Coal and its people, places and power.

This entry for the KAPB competition singles out a part of the documentary that focus on the people responsible for mining coal.

Chad Lampe and producer, Austin Ramsey  ventured down an 800 foot mine shaft to tell the story of the miners of the Warrior Coal Cardinal Mine in Webster County. The report uncovers what miners do and why they do it.

This documentary originally aired Sunday, September 1st, 2013.

Chad Lampe, a Poplar Bluff, Missouri native, was raised on radio. He credits his father, a broadcast engineer, for his technical knowledge, and his mother for the gift of gab. At ten years old he broke all bonds of the FCC and built his own one watt pirate radio station. His childhood afternoons were spent playing music and interviewing classmates for all his friends to hear. At fourteen he began working for the local radio stations, until he graduated high school. He earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Murray State, and a Masters Degree in Mass Communication. In November, 2011, Chad was named Station Manager in 2016.