A request for a federal disaster declaration for areas of Western North Carolina devastated by last week's flood will be coming soon according to Governor Roy Cooper, who toured affected areas again on Wednesday.
A domestic violence agency in Asheville recently acquired more than seven acres of land to build a new housing facility for survivors of abuse. It comes as the need for domestic violence services continues to grow in Buncombe County.
Tuesday's flash flood in Haywood County left business and homes mired in mud and debris. Here's what the damage looks like on the ground: The water of the Pigeon River pushed into the Canton and Cruso areas so high - that it's still too early for a full assessment of the damage. Muddy volunteers gathered at Bear Waters Brewing Company in downtown. Shaun Sandefur's father Kevin is the owner of the brewery. "It was pretty disheartening to see over a decade of hard work and my dad's dreams be liter...
Among the many regional delicacies produced in the Smokies is one that's got a little bit of a stigma to it. In Haywood County, it's also a cultural tradition that's always been in danger of disappearing. But there is hope, and it comes from the most unlikely of places.
The federal government earlier this month extended the moratorium on evictions due to the new rise in Covid cases, spurred by the Delta variant. Housing advocates in Western North Carolina are worried about what will happen when the program ends.
Medical marijuana will soon be legal on the Qualla Boundary . BPR shares the details - including a timeline for when people can buy it: The Eastern Band of Cherokee started looking into legalizing medical marijuana over five years ago. For Jeremy Wilson of the tribe's Cannabis Commission, this month's vote by the Tribal Council to legalize it is a relief. "It's been surreal. You know, not everything is impossible just because it's really hard," said Wilson, who is Governmental Affairs Liaison fo...
The Women's History Trail in Franklin continues to uncover new stories, as it celebrates the history of Western North Carolina. Mary Polanski, one of the co-leaders of the Women's History Trail in Franklin, sits at a picnic table along the Little Tennessee River. "August is upon us here at the Little Tennessee River and East Franklin. And we're in the park by the river and the mound is near us. And the beautiful land around the river is summery looking and it's a little breezy out," said Polansk...
COVID-19 numbers have spiked across North Carolina in recent days. BPR's Lilly Knoepp has a look at what's going on in the far-western counties... When infections spiked at the beginning of this year, Western North Carolina was a few weeks behind more urban parts of the state in seeing high COVID-19 numbers. That's not the case in this newest wave explains Haywood County Health Department spokesperson Allison Richmond. "I think our spike looks very similar to the state level. I think we are grow...
As the second half of 2021 comes into full view, the field of candidates running to unseat freshman Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn continues to grow in Western North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. The list of incidents involving the youngest member of Congress is also growing halfway through his first year in office.
Last week, three of the country's major pharmaceutical distributors reached a $26-billion settlement with several states over opioids. North Carolina was one of them. Here's what happens next:
A new noise ordinance in Asheville goes into effect in mid-September. For the first time in 20 years, City Council on Tuesday approved ceilings and specific hours for sound levels, with separate limits for sound coming from residential, commercial and industrial districts.
A more than a year-long investigation into Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Siler City, NC found a common hiring practice is making an already dangerous job worse for undocumented workers.
This week marks 12 years since the federal minimum wage was last raised. To mark the occasion, workers in Western North Carolina and across the country hit the streets, calling on low-wage employers to take action. BPR's Helen Chickering reports.
For some artists, the pandemic was a time for creation and reflection. As part of BPR and Foxfire Museum's oral history project Jackson County poet Louise Runyon shared her poetry about pandemic - and her family connection to Western North Carolina. She was interviewed by Foxfire Museum curator Kami Ahrens in March 2021. Louise Morgan Runyon: I'm Louise Morgan Runyon and I live in Jackson County, North Carolina. And I moved here only two years ago, but I have come up to this place for my entire ...
