Boy Scouts isn’t just for the boys anymore. The organization last year announced it would begin welcoming girls. Since the change, a new Cub Pack in Henderson County started up as an opportunity for Latinx kids to engage with the community and develop those trusty Scout leadership skills.

Governor Roy Cooper wraps up a six-county tour of Western North Carolina on Friday. BPR caught up with him at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Murphy where he was talking Medicaid Expansion. At a roundtable with hospital officials and Murphy community leaders, the governor heard a lot about the need to expand Medicaid - especially for the Western end of the state. Murphy Mayor Rick Ramsey explained that at the beginning of 2018 Tennessee-based Erlanger nonprofit health system bought Murphy

Durham police and fire officials confirmed one fatality from a gas explosion in downtown Durham that destroyed one building and severely damaged four others. A firefighter was severely injured. He underwent surgery for non-life-threatening injuries on Wednesday afternoon and was recovering by evening. The owner of Kaffeinate coffee shop, 61-year-old Kong Lee, died as a result of the explosion, according to a Durham Police Department statement. There was no one reported unaccounted for, according

Asheville’s about to get its annual, massive dose of carbohydrates. The 15th Asheville Bread Fest is Sat., and this year’s theme is sourdough.

Artists at Western Carolina University and a historic 20th century house might be an odd combination . But they share a common goal. Here’s how this unlikely duo is hoping to build a community. Holding onto memories of Appalachian traditions can take many forms. Artists, preservations and oral historians are all working to protect those memories - each in different ways. The Appalachian Women’s Museum is located in the over 100-year-old Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro. President Sharon Sullivan

The Asheville Tourists started the season last week with 23 new players donning the navy jersey. Three of the new recruits, Daniel Motano, Javier Guevara, and Alfredo Garcia are from Venezuela, where political unrest has spiraled into a humanitarian crisis.

Reverberations will continue to be felt in Asheville and Buncombe County's educational and non-profit institutions following the renewed attention given to retiring Eblen Charities CEO Bill Murdock's 1988 guilty plea to a misdemeanor sex crime with a minor. UNC Asheville and A-B Tech were the first to be in the spotlight, but the Buncombe County and Asheville City school systems continue to face questions about Murdock, who was hired by the city school system after his guilty plea, and was

Asheville is hosting North Carolina’s tenth annual communicable disease conference this week. Public health professionals are learning about the latest infectious disease trends and the tools they need to prevent, detect and treat them. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of Public Health Nurses in North Carolina. NC health officials say the meeting provides an opportunity to share evidence-based information and best practices for addressing public health problems and and communicable

Where does all the revenue go? Marcia asked that at the end of our previous episode , and we start our second annual Final Four show by answering that question. Later on we get Machiavellian, and ask whether the end justified the means about the head coaches of two schools appearing in the 2019 men's Final Four. (Music featured includes No Noise Nose by Macchiato Funky)

The Buncombe County Detention Center is taking steps to decrease the smuggling of contraband into the facility. The changes come nearly a month after Sheriff Quentin Miller called for increased investment to do so, during his presentation to the county board of commissioners.