In 1924, coal mining in America was at its peak, employing over 860,000 miners. Today, employment numbers are slightly over 40,000. Want more proof that the industry is on the decline? Just take a ...

An aerial photo of Pella Wildlife Area shows the cratered topography left from coal strip mining in the 1930s through 1950s. The yellow borders mark the mine reclamation areas. (Iowa DNR ...

That is not a phrase one ordinarily associates with a coal-mining company town. But Buxton, Iowa, was built by the Consolidation Coal Company. Company towns are supposed to be the most predatory ...

It was the home of a strip coal mine until the 1950s, until it was acquired by the state. It's now managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "The story goes that a farmer had cattle on ...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says his department is beginning work to restore seven abandoned mine sites in south-central and southeast Iowa. Coal was strip mined from the areas.

Several have garnered national recognition for their ingenuity. Coal mining was a short but significant part of Iowa’s history. When the miners left midway through the 20th century ...

Land in the Pella Wildlife Area (pictured) is part of an abandoned coal mine that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is reclaiming. (Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR) The Iowa ...

Land in the Pella Wildlife Area (pictured) is part of an abandoned coal mine that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is reclaiming. (Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR) The Iowa ...