Buncombe County Health and Human Services has confirmed the first flu-related death in the county during the 2019-2020 flu season. According to a BCHHS press release, the death occurred in an adult under age 65. No further details about the case have been released. According to the North Carolina Division of Public Health, as of December 28, 2019, there have been 10 flu-related deaths in North Carolina residents.

A two-story mural depicting a migrant farm worker with an armful of leafy produce is splashed across the side of a packing barn in Old Fort.

Few issues have dominated the news in Western North Carolina as much as healthcare in 2019. BPR spoke with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein about the year’s events: Stein has been working with attorneys general from across the country to build a single framework for a $48 billion dollar financial settlement from pharmaceutical companies and distributors to pay for the effects of opioid crisis, which has hit Western North Carolina especially hard. “They made countless billions of

A 2018 survey of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers shows 95 percent of them are white. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is partnering with nonprofits and outdoor groups to get more people of color outside and on the trails.

Candidate filing in North Carolina for the 2020 primary election ended on December 20th. The primary will be held on March 3rd, 2020. The deadline to register to vote on that day is February 7th, 2020. There is no same day registration on primary day. There is same day registration during the early voting period before the primary. Early voting for the 2020 primary election runs from February 13th to 29th. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail for the primary election is February

Police in Jackson County are investigating a video that shows a counter protester slowly driving his truck into a crowd of people marching to support the impeachment of President Donald Trump earlier this week. About 100 people turned out in Sylva Tuesday evening to march in favor of impeachment. They were standing outside of the Jackson County Democratic headquarters when a truck began honking to pull into the parking lot - directly through the crowd. “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go

Ever since the Franklin-based bank Entegra announced its sale to First Citizens in April, rumors have been swirling that locals will lose their jobs once the sale is finished. Here’s an update as the year ends. CEO Roger Plemmons says that Entegra’s sale to First Citizens Bank can’t be finalized until three local branches are sold. Plemmons explains that without the sale First Citizens would have had more than 50 percent of the market in Macon County and that isn’t legal: “The way the regulatory

(1:00 p.m. Thursday) - Haywood County businesswoman Lynda Bennett announced she'll seek the Republican nomination in North Carolina's 11th Congressional district, just hours after incumbent GOP Congressman Mark Meadows announced he would not seek re-election next year and instead retire.

Earlier this year, BPR introduced to listeners a new bilingual Scout pack in Hendersonville. During 2019, Scout Pack 607 has gone on a camping trip, learned survival skills, and completed community service projects.

North Carolina, The CIA, And Torture - Following 9/11, the US government authorized the CIA to operate a program known as “Extreme Rendition.” Now we know that it involved torturing terror suspects. We speak with Frank Goldsmith, a member of the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture, which was set up to investigate the little-known, but critical role our state played in this program.