Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online When the proposed flood insurance rate maps for Onslow County were released back in 2016, Jacksonville officials were surprised to say the least. The preliminary maps created under North Carolina’s Flood Plain Mapping Program shifted more than 800 additional structures in downtown Jacksonville into a high-hazard...

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Operate a hotel for long enough, and eventually you feel like you’ve seen everything. But for Pisgah Inn owner Bruce O’Connell — in the hospitality trenches since 1979 — the last year takes the cake. “I’ve been through sewer plant failures, rockslides, other parkway closures that...

Jessica Stump & Anna Oakes/Watauga Democrat This fall, Appalachian State University reports continued steady growth, welcoming a record-setting enrollment of 21,798 Mountaineer students — a 1.1% increase over fall 2024. Fall 2025 enrollment at App State was boosted by a 28% rise in online students and the highest-ever number of...

Ashe Post & Times After a year of recovery and New River-clean ups, the New River Conservancy (NRC) and The Conservation Fund are donating a three-acre parcel property to Ashe County to serve as the first public access on the North Fork of the New River. Utilizing donations from across...

Jule Hubbard/Wilkes Journal-Patriot Wilkes County’s labor force, defined as the number of people working plus those unemployed but looking for work, reached a record low of 24,969 in July. The N.C. Department of Commerce listed Wilkes with 1,012 people unemployed and an unemployment rate of 4.1% in July. The state...

Scott Bolejack/The Johnstonian News The next home of the Tobs must be within 35 miles of Wilson. That’s nonnegotiable, says Greg Suire, the team’s president. Like the Asheville Tourists, Durham Bulls and High Point-Thomasville HiToms, another Suire team, the Wilson Tobs are synonymous with baseball in North Carolina, he said....

Lora Lavigne/WRAL News Crabtree Valley Mall is preparing to welcome a new and improved shopping center while also saying goodbye to several small businesses. As previously reported, Crabtree Valley Mall is making big moves. It’s getting a $60-million facelift after being sold to a California-based developer. The businesses that rent...

Andrew R. Jones & Dan DeWitt/Asheville Watchdog Citing potential violations of federal civil rights laws, the U.S. Department of Justice has sent a letter to Buncombe County threatening to investigate and take enforcement against the county if it approves recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission, according to a DOJ...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News North Carolina education leaders are again mulling a revision to the state’s most visible school accountability measure: school performance grades. They’re the letter grades — A, B, C, D or F — earned by every North Carolina public school each fall, when the state’s standardized test scores...

The Outer Banks Voice The Ocracoke Access Alliance (OAA) has formed to push for greater state and federal investment in ferry services, NC-12, and other critical infrastructure that ensures safe and reliable access. In announcing the new coalition, Justin LeBlanc, OAA’s Executive Director said, “The North Carolina Ferry System is...

WUNC & The Associated Press The Durham City Council has passed a resolution to make the city a “Fourth Amendment Workplace,” increasing protections for city workers against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, Durham City Council passed a resolution to make the North...

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise Plans for an affordable housing project in south High Point have hit a roadblock after its developer missed out on critical public financing. Wynnefield Properties applied this year for a federal low-income-housing tax-credit award for a proposed 72-unit apartment complex at 3023 S. Main St.,...

Caleb M. Soptelean/The Sanford Herald Sanford City Council is being asked to help bring a Target retail store to the city. Specifically, the city is being asked to fund approximately $4 million for infrastructure improvements for an estimated $64 million project. The site would be at the Riverbirch Corner Shopping...

Sofia DiStefano/Niner Times UNC Charlotte has once again broken its own enrollment record, welcoming 32,207 students for the fall 2025 semester. This milestone marks the University’s highest enrollment in its history, continuing a trend of steady growth over the past decade. The fall 2025 enrollment record shows an increase of...

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Clyde’s governing board is planning to change its zoning ordinance to allow for “conditional” zoning, bringing the town’s zoning procedures in line with much of the rest of the state. Under conditional zoning, rezoned property could be approved for a specific use — say, a convenience...