Officials said repairing drinking water and wastewater systems remains one of the most expensive and complex challenges facing the region.
On Monday, a Superior Court judge ruled that a company must immediately halt what is described by state officials as an illegal mining operation in Mitchell County. The operation was uncovered by officials from the Department of Labor who saw irregularities when they showed up to provide safety training to miners.
Spruce Pine First Baptist Church in Mitchell County has been a beacon of hope since Hurricane Helene struck in late September.
As western North Carolina marks the two-month anniversary of Hurricane Helene, 700 shelter pets have been relocated but more are still in need.
Churches across western North Carolina, hard-hit from Hurricane Helene, are working to reach a regional goal of more than 139,000 shoebox gifts for all of western North Carolina.
The company operating a high purity quartz mine and processing facility, tucked away in a small community of Mitchell County, announced Thursday the restart of production and processing after Hurricane Helene impacts disrupted operations and set the chip industry on edge. The Belgian company, Sibelco, specializing in specialty industrial minerals – particularly high purity quartz,...
The two WNC mines have quietly become an industry juggernaut as they supply nearly 99% of all high-purity quartz. That ultra-high concentration of such a critical material supply piqued interest before the advent of Hurricane Helene; now the worst case scenario seems to be playing out as western North Carolina resident struggle for help following the floods.
Former North Carolina state senator and Lincoln County native Deanna Ballard announced Monday that she is running in the 2024 Republican primary for lieutenant governor.
North Carolina’s redistricting trial Common Cause v. Lewis concluded Friday with heightened tensions, a day after the court threw out part of the testimony of one of the General Assembly’s key witnesses. Discrediting the other side’s witnesses became a main theme for plaintiffs and defendants as the two-week trial wound down. Plaintiffs asked the court...
Sen. Ralph Hise doesn’t take no for an answer. The Mitchell County Republican was close last year but unsuccessful pushing a bill to eliminate the state’s archaic certificate-of-need system, which limits competition in health care through tight restrictions. He vowed to take another whack at the sweeping reform. Last week he introduced Senate Bill 324...
RALEIGH — McDowell County Commissioner Michael Lavender said he is leaning heavily on a message that the rural nature of the district is getting shortchanged by current state policies incumbent Sen. Ralph Hise supports. He said transportation funding changes, tax reforms, and education policies are not addressing the needs of a rural district.
