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Local News
Capital Automotive Group of Raleigh says it has acquired Cloninger Ford of Hickory and Cloninger Ford of Morganton.
The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley hosted Catawba County commissioner candidates Thursday at the Newton library. Catawba First News counted about 60 people, the publisher’s count, not an official headcount.
Catawba County has hired Virginia Annable, a longtime local journalist and editor, as communications and marketing director in the County Manager’s Office. She starts Oct. 19.
Letters dated Sept. 15 say names, Social Security numbers, medical and health insurance details, and ID numbers may have been exposed when someone got into county computer systems between Sept. 12 and 19, 2025. The county has a toll-free line for questions: 866-898-7846.
NEWTON — Catawba County commissioners used their Sept. 21 consent agenda to move two capital projects forward: a livestock education building bid…
NEWTON — Catawba County has published a draft rewrite of its Unified Development Ordinance — the rulebook that governs zoning, subdivisions, development…
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Open the events calendarState News
North Carolina lawmakers voted Wednesday, Oct. 7, to set the state’s motor fuel tax on gasoline and diesel to zero from the day after the bill becomes law through Nov. 30. The bill now awaits Gov. Josh Stein’s signature.
ReBuild NC, the Matthew and Florence homeowner program run by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, closed Sept. 30 under a 2025 state law. A November 2025 state audit found a $297 million shortfall, families in temporary housing for more than 1,400 days, and vendor payments that were never reconciled.
The State Board of Elections is sending letters this week to 1,599 registered voters a federal database flagged as potential noncitizens, asking them to confirm citizenship or ask to be taken off the rolls. No one is removed automatically, the board says.
Update, Oct. 7, 2026: The General Assembly passed House Bill 3 on Oct. 7, suspending the state’s 41-cent motor fuel tax through…
RALEIGH — Catawba County is not among the 44 counties the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services named Friday in a…
North Carolina stopped issuing plate stickers and automatic printed registration cards on Oct. 1. License offices stay open.
Who's In Jail
Rogers, Shawn Patrick, 54, was booked into the Catawba County jail on 10/8/2026 on an alleged charge of FEL SERIOUS INJURY BY…
Ortiz, Mark Anthony, 27, was booked into the Catawba County jail on 10/8/2026 on alleged charges of OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE(F), OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE(F), and…
Little, Eric Ashley, 47, was booked into the Catawba County jail on 10/8/2026 on an alleged charge of FELONY PROBATION VIOLATION, according…
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Community Voices
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AI extinction panic uses the same fear-and-control playbook as climate absolutism. Catawba should debate data centers on facts—not doomsday liturgy.
Rep. Pat Harrigan says principled compromise requires shared values — and that Washington’s gridlock comes from disagreeing on the problems themselves.
As Randy Isenhower prepares to leave the Catawba County commission, the quiet revolution he led — fiber, data centers, Trivium, and school merger — is the blueprint he leaves behind.
Podcasts
Watch on Catawba First
Local and North Carolina voices — one recent episode from each show. More shows on the way.
The Difference MakersRep. Jeff Zinger
Unifour Life and RetirementUnifour Life and Retirement Podcast - When Living Benefits Become a Lifeline with Ashley Smith
More shows coming
More shows coming