The Newsroom

On today's show, Lucas Thomae from Carolina Public Press talks about 'wandering officers,' who are fired or resign under suspicion — only to pop up at another agency later. And a conversation with Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek about his vision for the office, applying AI to government audits, and his promise to keep politics out of the job.

On this special edition of The Newsroom, we’re telling the story of the Black Rock Plantation House. At first glance, it’s a mid-19th-century farmhouse. But dig deeper, and it sits at the intersection of multi-generational stories — including the families of enslavers and enslaved people.Over the last few months, WHQR’s Aaleah McConnell and Rachel Keith traveled with descendants of those families as they work to understand their history — which is also the history of America. It is, at times, an ugly history that’s hard to confront, but it’s also an inspiring story of resilience. Now, 250 years after the founding of our country, it seems more appropriate than ever to tell it.

WHQR's Ben Schachtman and Rachel Keith dig into our recent candidates forum for the New Hanover County school board. Five Republicans and six Democrats are running for four seats in each party.

The forum hosted by WHQR, WECT, and Port City Daily, featured the four candidates running for two seats: Salette Andrews, Judy Justice, Dr. LaShonda Wallace, and Rob Zapple.

On this edition of The Newsroom, we're speaking with Rebecca Trammel, a nonprofit founder, community organizer, and advocate for public education funding who aims to run as an unaffiliated candidate for North Carolina’s Senate District 7. We asked about her decision to run without major party support — and where she lands on some contentious state-level policies.

On today’s show, we’re looking back at the year that was 2025 with my colleagues, Rachel Keith, Aaleah McConnell, Kelly Kenoyer, and Nikolai Mather. From the local impacts of DOGE and the Trump Administration to the struggles over education funding, from rural reporting to community engagement, we’ll recap the toughest, most rewarding, and some of the most fun stories of the year.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of unhoused families who go uncounted in New Hanover County each year. Many of them work, often full-time jobs, while living in motels, cars, or bouncing from couch to couch. Today's episode digs into those problems, and what could be done for them.

Citizen Warrior is an autobiographical account of Gene Merritt’s lifelong efforts to improve Wilmington — work that was at times contentious, creative, and even inspired.Merritt fought to change the downtown nightlife scene, pushing for liquor-by-the-drink while also evicting topless bars and sex shops. His next battle was an industrial coal pile planned where the modern-day riverwalk and concert venue exist. Then there was the struggle to bring 1-40 to Wilmington, and later, to keep the county from selling its hospital. And, of course, there were many other challenges along the way. Merrit joined us along with co-author John Meyer, who helped cover these stories as a veteran StarNews reporter and editor.

On this special episode, WHQR's Aaleah McConnell shares the highlights and throughlines of a wide-ranging panel on Wilmington's new anti-camping ordinance and the issue of homelessness.

On today's episode, we sit down with Jason Smith, district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties. After a tough race for DA in 2024, Smith faced several challenges: rebuilding morale, adapting to E-courts, new state and local laws, and the perennial challenge of youth violence.