Episodes
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The next facelift of Pack Square Plaza is focusing on Black history and currency
Pack Square Plaza has a winding, checkered history. City planners want to center the coming redesign around the stories and concerns of Black residents.
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The Porch: Running To Stand Still
The BPR news team marks the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, and talks in-depth about Western North Carolina politics
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New maps mean GOP incumbents will face each other for two WNC General Assembly seats
Incumbent Republicans will face each other in both state senate district 47 and state house district 113 thanks to redistricting
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COVID-19 In Appalachia: A Gardener's Devotion
Nature has been a solace for folks in Western North Carolina long before COVID-19. But during the pandemic, local trails and forests saw record-breaking numbers of visitors who wanted to find a quiet place to safely escape the masked reality of crowded public spaces.
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NC 'boot camps' prepare candidates for culture war's front lines: School board elections
Advocates on the right and left say this year's school board campaigns will be ground zero in America's culture wars. The conservative North Carolina Values Coalition prepared people for that battle this week by holding training sessions for prospective school board candidates in Raleigh and...
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UNC Charlotte to start center aimed at predicting future pandemics
UNC Charlotte will start a new program with the goal of helping to predict and fight future pandemics.
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Duke Energy says it will eliminate coal for power generation by 2035
Duke Energy says it expects to reduce energy generated by coal to just 5% of its total by 2030 and to eliminate coal entirely by 2035.
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North Carolina judges to pick expert for redistricting review
A trial court panel will name an outside remapping expert to help them determine whether upcoming replacement redistricting maps comply with partisan limits required by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
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NC Supreme Court hears gerrymandering case starting Wednesday
Oral arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday at the North Carolina Supreme Court over lawsuit s that will define this year's election in the state - and potentially for the whole decade.
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Construction moving forward at new Franklin hospital
The new Angel Medical Center in Franklin is starting to take shape. BPR took a tour of the construction site. David Sibilio is the superintendent of the project. "This right here is our biggest OR for you guys to see," said Sibilio. Bigger rooms - both for operations and for care - are one of the...
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What's in the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan - and when the new policies will start
The pandemic, over 10,000 public comments and more have all had a hand in delaying the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. Here's the latest on the strategic plan that will manage over 1 million acres of national forest in Western North Carolina. James Melonas is the forest supervisor of the National...
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Dreaming las Américas: the journey of Representative Ricky Hurtado
On January 13th, 2021, Ricky Hurtado made history as the first Latino Democrat to be elected and sworn in to the North Carolina General Assembly. "For many years, I have felt, leading up to this moment," Ricky noted, "que no soy de aqui ni de alla." (I'm neither from here nor there.) As the son…
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Destruction of Knoxville Planned Parenthood due to arson impacts WNC
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee burned down on New Year's Eve, and investigators have confirmed arson was the cause. The clinic was one of the few near Western North Carolina. Here's how this impacts the region. Molly Rivera is a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. She says...
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COVID 19NC: Putting the Omicron variant in context with NC Health News editor Rose Hoban
The pandemic is showing no sign of letting up in North Carolina. The state set another COVID daily case record with 29,069 new cases on Sunday (1/9). For perspective, BPR's Helen Chickering checked in with North Carolina Health News editor Rose Hoban . (and check out the NC Health News look ahead...
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Four months after Tropical Storm Fred, Canton is still recovering
It's been four months since Tropical Storm Fred devastated Haywood County - leaving six dead and a long cleanup ahead. BPR takes us to Canton, one of the hardest hit areas, for a look at how the town is doing as the year ends. Caroline Ponton is the curator at the Canton Area Historical Museum in...
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Stars pay tribute to late guitar icon Tony Rice
Virginia-born musician Tony Rice isn't well-known commercially, but his influence on bluegrass guitar is undeniable. While playing with some of the biggest groups of the 1970s Rice helped transform the scene. But his timing and precision later lent itself to other genres.
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A year later, Max Patch is healing
Nestled on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee is a bald in the Pisgah National Forest called Max Patch. The grassy bald made national headlines last year when a photo made it look like a music festival - not a hiking trail. While the photo portrayed a habitat on the brink of destruction…
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Have staff shortages at Mission meant less care for patients?
Nurses at Mission Hospital have been calling out dangerous levels of staffing shortages since HCA purchased Mission Health System in 2019. Mission says there is a nationwide nursing shortage. BPR dug into both sides of the story. Since the nurses joined the National Nurses United Union in…
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New Mayors of WNC: Joe Slaton of Hayesville
Mayor Joe Slaton spoke with BPR's Lilly Knoepp about his plans to improve tourism, housing and bike access in Hayesville. "We're working on a pedestrian and bike lane, a trail that would connect the assets that we have in town," said Slaton. Slaton ran unopposed to win the position of mayor with...
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Nikwasi Mound story will be featured in traveling Smithsonian Museum exhibit
The story of the deed transfer of the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin will now be part of a Smithsonian traveling exhibit. The story of the creation of the Nikwasi Initiative and the transfer of the mounds ownership will be a part of "SPARK! Places of Innovation" traveling museum. Bob McCollum is...
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Infrastructure bill could help ease WNC's most nagging problem - internet access
A bipartisan group of Western North Carolina leaders hailed the recently passed federal infrastructure bill as a way to make significant progress on one of the region's most pressing problems - internet access.
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WNC college professor competes on her favorite childhood TV quiz show - Jeopardy!
12/10 Exciting update! Alisa Hove is advancing to the Jeopardy! semifinals: Heads-up Jeopardy! fans: A college professor from Western North Carolina is putting her skills to the test as a competitor on the brain bending quiz show. BPR's Helen Chickering reports.
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New Mayors of WNC: Maureen Copelof of Brevard
Maureen Copelof won the city of Brevard with 47 percent of the vote. She was previously a member of city council for four years. Copelof says that time on city council has given her a deep understanding of the regional issues facing Brevard and its neighbors across Western North Carolina. She…
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Here's where WNC abortion access stands as the Supreme Court debates abortion rights
The Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday from Mississippi challenging Roe vs. Wade. BPR looks at the level of abortion access currently in Western North Carolina. Planned Parenthood spokesperson Molly Rivera says there isn't access to abortion in the majority of North Carolina. "In North…
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#NC14: Henderson County Sen. Chuck Edwards enters race
Henderson County Republican state senator Chuck Edwards' entry into North Carolina's 14 th Congressional district race is the latest turn in the soap opera that is Western North Carolina's politics.
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New Mayors of WNC: Patrick Fitzsimmons of Weaverville
Patrick Fitzsimmons first took office as mayor of Weaverville in August of 2021. Three months later, he was elected to a full-term representing the town of just over 4,000 people in Buncombe County.
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New Mayors of WNC: Jack Hoton of Franklin
Jack Horton has been involved in local Western North Carolina politics since the 1970s. In November, he ran unopposed to become Franklin's new Mayor. BRP's Lilly Knoepp spoke with Horton about his career and what he hopes to achieve in his new role. Here are some of the highlights of Horton's...
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StoryCraft part 4: Intentions, a king, and the taste of freedom
The inaugural cycle of StoryCraft, a partnership between BPR and Asheville Writers In The Schools and Community, used an exploration of the senses as our north star during a series of six youth storytelling workshops at the Grant Center. Our goal was to facilitate a genuine experience of identity...
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StoryCraft part 3: the one of many together
What happens when you put a microphone and camera in the hands of youth? When you guide them through an exploration of the senses and encourage their creative expression? When you make space for youth and adults to collaborate, using a model that works to disrupt power dynamics and involve young...
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StoryCraft Part 2: Dance is my everything
In the second part of StoryCraft, artist mentors Elizabeth Garland and Micah Mackenzie introduce us to 15-year-old Tori Stinson. During our series of summer storytelling workshops at the Grant Center, Tori used the writing prompt "Who am I?" to examine how dance defines her as a person, how she...
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Reaction to Cawthorn's move varies across WNC
It hasn't even been a week since Congressman Madison Cawthorn announced he would run in North Carolina's newly drawn 13 th district. In his current district, the political consequences of his decision are only just beginning to emerge.
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StoryCraft part 1: I am music
In the first part of StoryCraft, we learn about the origins of the partnership with BPR and Asheville Writers In The Schools and Community, and we introduce you to one of the youth poets - 15-year-old Antonio Stinson, now in the 9th grade at Asheville High School. During StoryCraft's summer 2021...
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New Mayors of WNC: Preston Blakely of Fletcher
Preston Blakely is in his first term as a city council member for the town of Fletcher. But by the end of the year, the 27-year-old will be mayor of the town of over 8-thousand in Henderson County.
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Macon County group remembers Mitchell Mozeley on the anniversary of his lynching
1898 was a violent year in North Carolina. The white supremacist coup that took place in Wilmington that year is getting more and more attention as history is re-examined. Similar racist violence took place across the state that year, including an incident in the mountains that can still be felt...
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Many veterans still feel the call to serve
Veteran's Day celebrates the service of members of the armed forces. For some of those veterans, their service never stops, even years after they take off that uniform for the last time. For the Haywood County chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, that service means a little something extra.
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Cherokee County former DSS director pleaded guilty, insurer sues county
Cherokee County's former Department of Social Services director pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice at the end of October. The charge focuses on Cindy Palmer's use of an illegal custody agreement which could have unlawfully removed as many as 50 children from their homes in the…
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Republican Rep. Clampitt says he's been an Oath Keeper since 2014
A news report released this month showed a Western North Carolina state representative is a member of one of the largest anti-government groups in the country. Republican Mike Clampitt told BPR that he wasn't trying to hide his affiliation: Clampitt doesn't see what was newsworthy about his name…
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Haywood county conversations reveal ripple effects from overdose murder conviction
The 2018 murder conviction of a Haywood County man charged with selling narcotics linked to a deadly overdose has caught the attention of public health researchers. They've published a paper that raises questions about the harsh punishment. BPR's Helen Chickering talked with the researchers over...
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Deep Creep: Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosts Halloween costume clean-up
Fans of puns and cleaning up trash have an opportunity to help out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this weekend. Saturday is the 4 th year of the Deep Creep Smokies Service Day. Sheridan Roberts is the volunteer coordinator for the park. "We thought it would just be really fun to do a...
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Report: Cawthorn one of GOP members of Congress 1/6 planners met with
An article in Rolling Stone magazine reports that two people who planned the rallies ahead of the January 6 th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. - both whom are now cooperating with Congressional investigators - have said they talked with seven Republican members of the House of...
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Mission nurses rally for staffing solutions, calling current staff levels 'unsafe'
Members of the National Nurses United Union at Mission Hospital marched outside the building Thursday morning, asking for a solution to a staff shortage across departments. Dozens of nurses gathered including a person dressed in a death costume with a sign reading "Unsafe staffing is good for...
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Lost or forgotten no more: Incarcerated Black laborers that built WNC railroad memorialized
Outside of Old Fort, the Western North Carolina railroad bends around Andrews Geyser. The man-made fountain is named after the vice president of the company that owned the railroad, built in the 1870's. Now, the thousands of laborers who did the work are finally memorialized at the site too.
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National Transportation Safety Board says it isn't investigating Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
Recently, social media swirled with reports that a Great Smoky Mountains Railroad train had derailed.
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Memorial to lost piece of WNC history dedicated this weekend
A memorial to the incarcerated laborers that built the railroad into Western North Carolina in the late 1800's will be dedicated this weekend - culminating an effort by historians and community leaders to bring attention to a crucial piece of history in the region that had long been ignored or...
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WNC Politics Roundup: Don't overreact to the maps you see now
North Carolina lawmakers hope to have redistricting completed by the end of this month. There are plenty of proposed maps floating about right now, but Western Carolina University Dr. Chris Cooper urges people not to overreact to any of them - because the only map that matters is the final one.
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Carbon emissions didn't grow at same rate as population in Asheville
The last decade saw significant population growth in Asheville. But that didn't lead to similar growth in the city of the principle driver of climate change.
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Western Carolina University holds public forms to update campus plan
Western Carolina University is looking for feedback as the school updates its future land use plan. This year's student population at Western Carolina University surpassed the predictions which estimated there would be just over 11,000 students in the year 2023. Mike Beyers is chief financial...
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Here's How Same-Sex Marriage Laws Differ On Tribal Lands
Earlier this month, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribal Council upheld its ban on same-sex marriage . BPR looked into how widespread these bans are in Native American Tribal governments across the United States:
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WNC Public Health Official Answers COVID-19 Booster Rollout Questions
Several health departments and vaccine providers across Western North Carolina are rolling out the Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot to people 65 and older and others now eligible . Buncombe , Henderson , and Haywood Jackson , Madison , and McDowell counties are among those offering the booster shot....
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Local Health Foundations Address Affordable Housing With Repair Grants
The Nantahala Health Foundation and Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation hope to address the region's housing crisis by helping homeowners keep their homes livable. Lori Bailey, executive director of nonprofit Nantahala Health Foundation explains their new Healthy Homes Initiative. "If you're a...
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