North Carolina news that matters to Catawba County — state government, schools, and statewide reporting.
Latest state news
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Appeals Court backs shifting NC elections appointments to Auditor Boliek
A split N.C. Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that the General Assembly could move State Board of Elections appointments from Gov. Josh Stein to Auditor Dave Boliek, Carolina Journal reported.
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North Carolina cracks the top 10 for innovation capacity
North Carolina ranks ninth nationally for innovation capacity in the 2026 Tracking Innovation report — its first top-10 finish — with Catawba County’s fiber and tech projects part of the “every region” story.
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Whatley casts Cooper as a “radical” in Dallas GOP speech
At the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Michael Whatley cast Roy Cooper as a radical and framed North Carolina’s Senate race around affordability, crime, and national party urgency.
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Boliek: the education lottery is “probably not what you think it is”
A State Auditor performance audit finds lottery sales up 51% in two years while the share of sales sent to education fell from 23% to 16%, driven by digital instant games.
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Corning builds the cable. Meta and Microsoft build the demand.
Corning expands optical cable in Hickory for Meta, while Microsoft builds data campuses across Catawba County and Verizon locks in more Corning fiber.
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Burns scorches Newsom’s thin Monroe crowd
Monroe Mayor Robert Burns called Gavin Newsom’s Union County rally a thin crowd, and tied the visit to Cooper, Stein, and the 2028 governor’s race.
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Roy Cooper expresses fear over GOP advantage
Roy Cooper says a Supreme Court stay on discounted party TV ads, plus outside Republican money, gives the other side a midterm edge he does not have.
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North Carolina public schools can claim new federal scholarship money. Almost none have lined up.
A new federal tax credit can pay for tutors and summer help for public school students. In North Carolina, almost no district has lined up to use it.
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State board plans a new school report card just as North Carolina’s grades improve
North Carolina school report cards just posted their strongest marks in years. The State Board of Education is still writing a plan to change how those grades are given.
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White House rapid-response account cites 2.9 million drop in foreign-born population; Vance and Miller weigh in
Vice President JD Vance quote-posted the claim; White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called it the first sustained negative migration in a century.
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Wake County fourth-grader asks school board to address transgender teacher
A Wake County fourth-grader told the school board she feels uncomfortable and unsafe with a transgender music teacher at Middle Creek Elementary. Parents say opt-outs have been refused.
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What’s up with mail-in voting in NC in 2026?
Answers to frequently asked questions about mail-in voting in North Carolina, which gets underway Sept. 4, the earliest in the nation.
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NC to withhold struggling town’s sales tax distribution
Littleton working to fix financial woes, but with audits in arrears, NC Local Government Commission to withhold town’s sales tax distribution.
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The NC elections rules that aren’t quite rules yet
Thanks to a sufficient number of objections, several proposed NC elections rules need further review and likely won’t affect 2026 voting.
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Rising stars? Challengers to NC sheriffs bank on voters’ thirst for change.
Candidates trying to unseat sheriffs criticize tendency to reelect incumbents and appoint handpicked successors in many NC counties.
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NC Elections Board decides early voting plans for 20 counties, mostly siding with GOP
State Board of Elections mostly backs fewer Sundays, more Saturdays in early voting plans. Increasing evidence of auditor staff interference.
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Political parties see high stakes in NC Supreme Court election
Anita Earls and Sarah Stevens compete for voters’ attention and make case for why people should back them in race for NC Supreme Court seat.
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Gov. Stein vetoes bills affecting elections and judge suspensions
NC House GOP can likely override veto of courts bill in November, but might not have enough votes to override elections bill veto from Stein.
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GOP picks Balkcom to run in place of Edwards for NC congressional seat
Strong fundraising by Democratic candidate Jamie Ager hints that race with Balkcom could be heated despite district’s usual GOP slant.
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Republicans search for a replacement nominee for Congress in Western NC
With troubled incumbent US Rep. Chuck Edwards stepping aside, GOP needs to find new nominee fast. One obvious choice says he’s not interested.
