Earlier this year, the three Cherokee tribes in the U.S. – which includes the Eastern Band of Cherokee in Western North Carolina - announced their language is in a state of emergency because of a shortage of fluent speakers. Efforts to reverse that have taken on many forms – such as at a summer camp in Graham County. That’s where campers learned to sing this summer’s #1 song - in Cherokee. “Old Town Road” by Lil NasX was undeniably the song of summer 2019. But you probably haven’t heard it like

The victim of a police beating spoke out for the first time this month about the plea deal the former Asheville officer charged for the incident received. Leaders of the city’s African American community are offering up similar mixed reactions to the settlement in the case involving Chris Hickman.

Bears have become a very big deal in Asheville. Pictures of them at least. As their natural habitat is being encroached on by increasing development, snapping photos of bears in the urban environment of the city has become quite popular on social media. But pictures of a certain kind of bear have been popping up a lot in recent months.

Fall is not just a beautiful season in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The foliage is also an economic driver for the region. Dr. Beverly Collins is a biology professor at Western Carolina University . She predicted a bright and colorful leaf season but the September weather might be changing that forecast. “We’ve been having a pretty intense heat wave since August,” says Collins. It’s been about 10 degrees hotter than the historical average for September says Collins , who has been

Students in Western North Carolina joined their peers from around the world and skipped school to walk the picket line in what they are calling a Global Climate Strike. Hundreds of young activists marched through downtown Asheville holding signs and chanting “Hey hey! Ho ho! Climate change has got to go!” The group gathered in Pack Square where speakers from local high schools rallied the crowd. Protestors then marched to the Buncombe County Courthouse steps where they held a climate 'die-in'.

In the conversations surrounding the beating of a black man by a former Asheville police officer -- a critical voice has been missing. The victim himself.

Aurelia Kennedy, co-founder of Nantahala Outdoor Center passed away on Saturday morning at her home in Wesser, NC. She was 84 years old. Kennedy moved to Swain County with her husband Peyton in 1973 to start the company with their friend Horace Holden. Holden passed away earlier this year. Now the company is a multimillion dollar business with locations in four states. Kennedy was a pioneering outdoors-woman. She was one of the first women to paddle a canoe through Nantahala Falls in 1954.

An Asheville business program created to support women and communities of color who want to do business with the city just got a makeover. BPR’s Helen Chickering has details.

Election officials from across Western North Carolina gathered in Haywood County to be the first to witness public demonstrations of new state-certified voting systems.

Asheville city council is getting closer to taking action to sidestep the North Carolina General Assembly regarding the use of districts for future city council elections. A final decision won't come until next month, but a public hearing to be held next week could be a sign of which way a majority of council members are leaning.