The 5th annual African-Americans in WNC and Southern Appalachia Conference was held at the end of October on the campus of UNC Asheville. The theme of this year's conference was 'Making The Invisible Visible'. Four students gave presentations at the conference on research projects they were doing for the fall semester. BPR will feature three of those students on-air during Morning Edition this week as they completed their research this month. First up is junior Flo Jacques, who researched the

Much of the focus in North Carolina politics this week was on the continuing revelations of alleged election fraud in the state's 9th Congressional district, or at the state capitol in Raleigh where the General Assembly was in session. But a lot also happened in Western North Carolina this week. Republican Congressman Mark Meadows was under consideration to become President Trump's next chief of staff, until the president this week told Meadows "we need him in Congress" where he has become one

Over 10 mayors and community leaders from Western North Carolina met this week to discuss how to expand the outdoor industry in their towns. The outdoor industry accounts for $14 billion dollars in spending in Western North Carolina. Mountain BizWorks wants to make that number even larger. It just received an almost $2 million dollar grant , the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership that operates in 13 states . That money includes $940,000 from the fund and $787,000 in

Good news for last minute insurance shoppers. Pisgah Legal Services, in partnership with Mission Health is hosting a free enrollment event Saturday, December 15 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Mission Health/AB Tech Conference Center at 16 Fernihurst Drive. No appointment is needed.

December is an exceptionally stressful time of year for football coaches. It isn’t just a time for preparing for bowl games or recruiting. If you’ve had a bad season, you may be getting fired. A good one, and you may be getting a job at a bigger school. At the very least, you’re likely a part of coaching rumor mill that goes into overdrive. It’s commonly called the coaching carousel, but our hosts start this episode by telling us it’s a different amusement park ride that the experience is most

A Spirit of Civic Engagement - Civic health is the social and economic vitality that results when citizens interact productively with their neighbors, involve themselves in community institutions, and actively engage in public issues. North Carolina’s current level of civic engagement offers great room for improvement. Today’s guest is Leslie Boney, the Director of the Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University.

Reflecting On A Life Of Service To Others – Co-host Marcus Harvey welcomes his father - Dr. Louis Charles Harvey – to the program. Dr. Harvey will soon retire from Washington, DC’s venerable Metropolitan AME Church. He is a scholar, educator, and pastor, and speaks about the challenges he faced and the accomplishments he attained over his distinguished career.

After a hearing this week, the final period for the public to weigh in on the Interstate 26 Connector project in Asheville has arrived. The scale of the project , and all the changes it will bring to communities in West Asheville along Interstate’s 40, 240, and 26 cannot be understated. Among the many changes would be additional lanes on I-40 between the Smoky Park Highway and Brevard Road exits, as well as on I-240/I-26 in West Asheville. The most expensive part of the project involves building

The Mission Health-HCA Deal is still under review on the desk of the state attorney general. Mission Health previously stated that the deal would be finalized in November. However, critics have questioned the price tag on the deal, the commitment made by HCA to keep rural hospitals open and the structure of the Dogwood Health Trust Foundation. NC Attorney General Josh Stein released a press release yesterday that outlined how he plans to “fight to protect healthcare in Western North Carolina.”

Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin kicked off their 10th year anniversary celebration last week. Before the theater in Franklin was built, the biggest plays in town took place at the local high school. Now 10 years later, general manager and artistic director Scotty Corbin estimates that over three-quarters of a million people have attended shows at the theater. “Our actual birthday is July 3rd but we’ve decided let’s make it a year of celebration,” says Corbin. In the new