Students at Southwestern Community College are hailing a grant program they say has helped them stay on track at school. Abbie Turner is a mother of two in the physical therapy program at SCC. Turner lives in Mills River and says she drives over 500 miles a week to make it to classes and her clinical rotation for the program. All that driving took a toll on Tuner’s tires but it would cost hundreds of dollars to fix them - something that wasn’t in her budget. “You know financial obstacles have a

UNC Asheville launched an LGBTQ+ oral history archive earlier this year . BPR talk ed with those working on the project to see what they’ve uncovered so far. Corey Childers just graduated from UNC Asheville in May. But they stuck around the city this summer to work with Professor Amanda Wray to interview participants for the university’s first LGBTQ+ archive of oral histories. They say that being a part of this effort has made them feel more comfortable in the queer community of Western North

Volunteers working to raise awareness about sex trafficking here in Western North Carolina are using bars of soap as part of a new strategy to reach out to victims. BPR’s Helen Chickering explains.

For the first time ever , North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties met to discuss how to solve the opioid crisis. BPR was at the summit in Bryson City. For Graham County Commissioner Connie Orr, the issue is personal. Her son has been battling addiction since he was prescribed Vicodin at 15 years old. He’s now 51. “From that time until now my son has been fighting the addiction of opiates which has moved not only to opiates but to heroin, meth or any drug that is available right now,” says

As part of the sale of Mission Health to HCA, the for-profit health system promised to build a new hospital in Macon County. BPR talked to Angel Medical Center’s CEO about when ground will be broken for the new facility. A new Angel Medical Center was in the works long before the HCA sale says CEO and CNO Karen Gorby. “It’s a long process. Once we get our special use permit from the town then we have to get our building permit for the county. So there are a lot of things that have to happen

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority is opening itself to locals’ concerns in a series of public sessions. The TDA held three public workshops last week at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Have you been missing a voice on the air at BPR? So have we. Last month, Barbara Sayer signed off after nearly four decades in public radio here in Western North Carolina. If you know Barbara, you know she’s the kind of person who quietly slips out the back door. Fanfare is not her calling card. We wanted to honor that while still giving her a proper goodbye and a thank you and thought this would be a great opportunity to take a look back at BPR's (and Barbara Sayer's) incredible history here in

Western Carolina University has been breaking enrollment records for years but as they expand they need to continue to remember their history. BPR digs into their recent archaeological finds. Under a hot sun, students wield tiny trowels and dust pans to unearth ancient artifacts under the supervision of their archaeology professor. They are digging just behind Norton Dorm on Western Carolina’s campus. Dr. Ben Steere is the director of the Cherokee Studies Program at the university. He says the

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the country. But all those visitors are not seeing its full history according to the park service.

North Carolina has been without a new state budget for more than a month now, and recent actions show a resolution between Republican leaders in the General Assembly and Democratic Governor Roy Cooper isn't likely on the horizon.