Smoky Mountain News political reporter Corey Vaillancourt is in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. He spoke with WCQS's Matt Bush about what he's seen so far in the nation's capital, as well as what role the Western North Carolina Congressional delegation has in the inauguration. Many House Democrats have announced they will not attend the festivities in protest of president-elect Trump's tweets attacking Congressman and civil rights

North Carolina lawmakers will head back to Raleigh with some new members representing parts of western North Carolina. Earlier, we profiled Cody Henson , a Republican of Brevard. Today we introduce the new face of the 119 th district encompassing Haywood, Jackson, and Swain Counties. Republican Mike Clampitt has run for this seat several times before. In November, he finally got over the top, eking out a win over incumbent Democrat Joe Sam Queen by just around 300 votes. “It’s a God-given

Federal funding could soon be coming to eight different projects in western North Carolina after governor Roy Cooper recommended each receive money. The funds would come from the Appalachian Regional Commission, which was created in 1965 by Congress. It dispenses federal dollars to 13 states that make up the Appalachian region as defined by the federal government. North Carolina is one of those 13 states, and Governor Cooper has recommended that eight different projects in the western part of

With the North Carolina legislature set to get to work on the 25 th for its long session, we’re profiling a couple of the new faces from out here in the west. Cody Henson, a Brevard Republican, will represent North Carolina’s 113 th district in the House. The district encompasses parts of Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania Counties. Henson will fill the shoes of former House member Chris Whitmire, who retired. Henson’s a young guy, just 24 years old and will be the youngest member of the

Its future is very much in doubt, but the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land. In North Carolina, signups for health insurance thanks to the law are at their heaviest pace since it took effect. More than 530-thousand North Carolinians have signed up for coverage during this enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act according to Pisgah Legal Services. Jacquelyn Kiger, an attorney for Pisgah, says that’s the most for a single enrollment period in the state since the law took

“Plum Print, This is Keely, can I help you?” When the phone rings at Plum Print in Asheville, Graphic Designer Keely Knopp, who also mans the customer support desk, is usually the first to answer. Keely Knopp, Plum Print, “I just got off the phone with a gentleman who told me how excited he was about the inauguration and how he can’t wait to go.” Over the past week, Knopp and her co-workers have spent a good chunk of their day handling questions from people all over the country who’ve received

Martin Luther King Day was not a day off for around 50 high school students from Buncombe County. They spent the holiday looking for ways to continue King’s legacy by tackling some of the most difficult issues facing society. Kids form a circle in the auditorium of Asheville’s historic YMI Cultural Center , one of the oldest African-American institutions in the country. Two girls in that circle read questions aloud as part of an exercise called ‘Common Ground.’ They start with light queries,

Thousands of women from across the U.S. are expected to march on Washington D.C. the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and international Buddhist monk Venerable Pannavati Bhikkuni is among those women from Western North Carolina who will make the trek to D.C. Bhikkuni runs the Bhuddist residential retreat Heartwood Refuge in Hendersonville. The bus she's booked for the trip is already half-full, but Bhikkuni expects a full house by this time next week. “We’re baring witness

Andrew Jones is co-director of Climate Interactive , a non-profit international group with employees housed in Asheville's Collider climate change innovation center. He stopped by WCQS a few weeks after the election of Donald Trump to speak with Jeremy Loeb about the group's work and what he called his hopeful outlook as many in the industry are concerned about having a so-called "climate denier" in the White House.

NPR is coming to Asheville! On February 7th, NPR's Michel Martin will host "Going There - When Your Hometown Gets Hot" at the Diana Wortham Theater. Tickets for the event have already sold out, but you can add yourself to the wait list for any returned tickets here . There are also a very limited number of dual tickets for both the event and a breakfast the following morning with Michel that can be purchased by calling WCQS at 828-210-4813. Those are $50 each. For those unable to attend, there