Agriculture

CBS 17: North Carolina State Fair sheds light on agriculture
Day one of the North Carolina State Fair kicked off on Thursday.

And thousands of people will make their way through the fairgrounds over the next week and a half, with a lot to do and a lot to learn.

Economic Development

WRAL: North Carolina offering more incentives to Apple than every other state combined, records show
More than 18 months after the news broke that Apple planned to come to North Carolina, no progress - as far we can tell - has been made at the site where the corporation plans to build its billion dollar campus.

WRAL TECH WIRE: Good news for rural NC: 570+ jobs coming to Scotland, Richmond counties
More than 570 jobs are coming to Scotland and Richmond counties in North Carolina following the approval of two economic incentive deals on Tuesday with the state of North Carolina. SO-PAK-CO, a supplier to the U.S. military, will construct a new food processing plant in Scotland County, and plans to invest $85 million by the end of 2025.

Education

WUNC: The UNC System is weighing how to fund universities based on performance
The UNC System Board of Governors is debating policies that would dramatically change how North Carolina’s public universities are funded. Under the administration of President Peter Hans, the UNC System is preparing to move to a performance-based model for funding its universities.

WBTV: 'Nation's report card' shows drop in N.C. test scores since start of the pandemic
The “nation’s report card” is showing that students across North Carolina had learning setbacks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which tested hundreds of thousands of fourth and eighth graders across the country this year, show that decades of academic progress were erased and racial disparities were widened.

EDNC: What 2022 candidates have to say about early childhood and K-12 education
In-person early voting has started in North Carolina, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 5 — three days before Election Day. The results of this election clearly will shape policies that affect children and schools. Some of the candidates running for state and federal office have shared their stances and ideas on education — from affordable child care to teacher compensation and diversity to infrastructure needs — in questionnaires from two organizations.

Elections

WCNC: Early voting begins Thursday in NC
North Carolinians can now cast their ballots as the early voting period begins. Early voting lasts until Nov. 5 and will feature races from the US Senate to local seats like Mecklenburg County Commissioners.

THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: Meet the candidates for North Carolina Supreme Court
Two seats on the North Carolina Supreme Court are up for election in November. Republican Richard Dietz and Democrat Lucy Inman, both of whom currently serve on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, are vying for seat 3 on the Supreme Court. Incumbent Justice Sam J. Ervin IV, a Democrat, faces a challenge from Trey Allen, a Republican, for seat 5.

Government

WCNC: Cyber threat led to system outages for NC government, state IT department says
A cyber threat preceded the system maintenance that caused widespread interruptions late last week in state government computer systems, the state's Department of Information Technology confirmed Monday. The department said the maintenance came after the department identified the threat.

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: N.C. Supreme Court agrees to block COVID-related suit targeting UNC, NCSU fees
The N.C. Supreme Court has granted a temporary stay in the case of UNC and N.C. State students challenging fees paid for services that were unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court issued the stay without comment Friday afternoon.

Healthcare

WLOS: COVID transmission high in many mountain counties, now flu cases arrive
Transmission of Covid cases in WNC mountain counties remains high.

That's despite the CDC’s community spread maps which make it seem like the region has a low percentage of cases.

WECT: USDA awards $2 million for health efforts in rural North Carolina
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $2 million in grant funding to health efforts in rural parts of North Carolina. Bladen Healthcare received $282,000 of that funding, per a USDA announcement on October 17. “Access to modern and sustainable health care infrastructure is critical to the health, well-being and prosperity for the millions of people who live in rural and Tribal communities,” Xochitl Torres Small, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary, said in the announcement.

Politics

SPECTRUM NEWS: Can the GOP get a supermajority in the N.C. legislature? It comes down to a handful of seats
Most people’s attention this election season may be on the races for U.S. House and Senate and which party controls Congress for the next two years. But the balance of power in Raleigh is also on the ballot this year. That balance comes down to a couple of key competitive General Assembly seats around North Carolina.

Transportation

THE CENTER SQUARE: North Carolina's taxpayer-subsidized passenger rail service reports record high ridership
Record numbers of North Carolinians are using the state's intercity passenger rail service, with ridership now approaching 50,000 passengers a month. Ridership on North Carolina Department of Transportation's NC By Train service, which is operated by Amtrak, hit a 32-year high in September, when a total of 48,488 passengers rode the Carolinian and Piedmont trains, according to Gov. Roy Cooper.