Progress Pod Progress Pod

Franklin County native, Rue McKenrick gives us an update from the trail. McKenrick is a hiker, attempting to circumnavigate the continental United States and establish the American Perimeter Trail. We also hear from the trail project's coordinator, Leilah Grace. When we last visited with McKenrick in March, he was near the Alabama/Mississippi border. When we recorded this latest interview (via Zoom conferencing) he was a little closer to his first home. Listen in to hear more.

Franklin County District Attorney, Matt Fogal, a Republican, this week released a statement strongly supporting protesters who have been demonstrating in Chambersburg and around the world in the aftermath of the racist killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. We spoke with Fogal about his statement and the state of policing in Franklin County, via Zoom conferencing.

Small-town newspapers continue a rapid decline across the country, but a lack of coverage of minority communities in small towns has always been present. Listen in as we talk about this issue and possible solutions(over Zoom audio conferencing) with Letrell Deshan Crittenden, PhD. He's a Chambersburg native who's recently been studying small town news coverage and conducting focus groups here in Franklin County, which you can read about here: https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/the-road-to-making-small-town-news-more-inclusive.php. On Tuesday, May 12th there will be a community discussion about this work via Zoom, and you're invited to take part. RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NY35ArWcBbNAR4Ohn2owDgZFx_PTvrX02BnrHg5Am_Q/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1s_zv4L3WfiEYENEN-n60l4ekVj32xW3iVthOzaOZBT2dpGngMsdxK_W8&edit_requested=true

Rue McKenrick is a native of Franklin County, PA undertaking a highly ambitious project to establish a hiking trail around the perimeter of the continental United States. We were able to catch Rue along his journey to talk about the project and how it could be affected by the current health crisis.