North Carolina news that matters to Catawba County — state government, schools, and statewide reporting.
Latest state news
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Legislature votes to suspend state gas tax through Nov. 30; bill awaits Stein’s signature
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.
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Hurricane recovery office created under Cooper closes after audit found $297 million shortfall
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.
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State elections board mailing letters to 1,599 voters flagged as potential noncitizens
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.
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Hall and Berger call special session on gas and diesel prices
Update, Oct. 7, 2026: The General Assembly passed House Bill 3 on Oct. 7, suspending the state’s 41-cent motor fuel tax through Nov. 30. The bill awaits Gov. Josh Stein’s signature. Read the latest. North Carolina’s top Republican legislative leaders say they will call the General Assembly into a special session aimed at relief from…
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State farmland grants skip Catawba County in $51.2 million round
RALEIGH — Catawba County is not among the 44 counties the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services named Friday in a $51.2 million round of farmland preservation grants. The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund made the awards to help protect working farms and forests and to support the state’s farm economy,…
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North Carolina stops issuing plate stickers today. License offices stay open.
North Carolina stopped issuing plate stickers and automatic printed registration cards on Oct. 1. License offices stay open.
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U.S. Chamber endorses Whatley for North Carolina Senate
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate, telling a Raleigh audience that a growing economy is how he would raise wages and widen opportunity in North Carolina.
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A legislative investigation said Cooper improperly used his office to lock in a $57.8 million pipeline fund.
Investigators hired by a legislative subcommittee said it would be reasonable to find that Roy Cooper used the governor’s office to secure a $57.8 million Atlantic Coast Pipeline fund. The report named no crime, and no charge followed.
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Fall trout stocking waits until November after McDowell hatchery loses most of its fish
North Carolina will not stock delayed-harvest trout waters until November after Armstrong State Fish Hatchery in McDowell County lost about 70 percent of the catchable fish grown for this season.
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House puts Freedom to Carry veto back on calendar Wednesday; Hollo and Setzer are on the bills
The House calendar for Wednesday lists five vetoed bills for reconsideration, including Freedom to Carry NC and a bill on removing unauthorized people from property. Sen. Mark Hollo and Rep. Mitchell Setzer are sponsors.
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Catawba Democrats say vote NO on the property tax amendment. Here’s what they want you to reject.
The Catawba County Democratic Party is urging voters to reject the property tax levy limit amendment, one of three constitutional amendments on North Carolina’s Nov. 3 ballot, and here is what each one actually says.
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Franklin County sheriff fires detective, shuts off Flock cameras after audit flags alleged tracking of one resident
Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White fired Detective Janet Leonard and indefinitely suspended the county’s Flock license-plate cameras after an audit allegedly showed she used the system to track a private citizen; she has not been charged.
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White House sets Tuesday launch for America.gov, pitched as a single front door to federal services
America.gov launches Tuesday, Sept. 29, and the White House is pitching the new site as a single front door to federal information now scattered across dozens of agency websites.
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Newton council member Bill Powell says he is watching Flock’s ‘corporate side’
NEWTON — Newton City Council member Bill Powell says he trusts city police to use Flock Safety’s license-plate cameras properly. He is less sure about the company that holds the data. In a Facebook post Thursday morning, Powell cited a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on Flock held the day before in Washington, along with reports…
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CV Republican Men, Moms for Liberty call Monday presser on bathroom policy after Newton-Conover replies
Catawba Valley Republican Men and Moms for Liberty call a Monday press conference after Newton-Conover’s Shaw and Hayes pointed to SB 516 instead of matching CCS’s biological-sex bathroom policy. CVRM chairman Tom Dees: “This is what cowardice looks like.”
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Jackson seeks separate Duke rate class so data centers pay their share
AG Jeff Jackson asks the Utilities Commission for a separate Duke Energy rate class for data centers and other large loads, so households are not left paying for AI-era megawatts.
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Census: 2025 median household income hits series high as official poverty nears a historic low
Census: 2025 real median household income hits $87,460, highest since 1967. Official poverty falls to 10.2% — near a series low, with child and Hispanic rates at historic lows.
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Trump endorses Whatley for North Carolina Senate seat
President Trump released an Oval Office video giving Michael Whatley his complete and total endorsement for U.S. Senate against Roy Cooper.
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Cooper’s first statewide race ended in a paid apology. The overreach habit didn’t.
Roy Cooper’s 2000 Attorney General race ended in a 2014 defamation settlement and apology over a false TV ad. In 2026, his allies stretch “hired” over Michael Whatley’s volunteer and elective party ties to Harvey West.
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Harrigan helps lift Mooresville water authorization to $20 million in House WRDA bill
Rep. Pat Harrigan says a House-passed WRDA bill would raise Mooresville’s federal water and wastewater authorization from $4 million to $20 million.
