Blue Ridge Public Radio

Blue Ridge Public Radio BPR informs, inspires, connects, and reflects the people and places of Western North Carolina.

Blue Ridge Public Radio creates and curates content that informs, inspires, connects, and reflects the people and places of Western North Carolina. BPR cultivates a more engaged, curious, and empathetic public by listening deeply and embracing diversity.

Measles continues to spread in Western North Carolina, where two new cases in unvaccinated siblings were confirmed this ...
01/16/2026

Measles continues to spread in Western North Carolina, where two new cases in unvaccinated siblings were confirmed this week in Buncombe County, bringing the state’s total to seven since late December. Buncombe County now accounts for five of those cases, with the other two in Polk and Rutherford counties.

All but one case are linked to a large, ongoing outbreak in South Carolina’s Upstate region. The exception is the Rutherford County case, where health officials have not been able to identify a source of exposure.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

For months, state officials have raised concerns that the FEMA had not approved a single buyout project. Now it seems th...
01/15/2026

For months, state officials have raised concerns that the FEMA had not approved a single buyout project. Now it seems the federal government is moving forward.

After months of uncertainty over the fate of hundreds of properties, FEMA green-lit a small batch of properties for acquisition in Western North Carolina, mostly in Henderson and Buncombe Counties.

The approvals – which some people have waited almost a year for – will allow some homeowners to start the process of selling their houses to the local government. If the sale goes through, that land is then deeded for parks, greenways and other municipal projects.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that $23 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program investments would move forward, including $14.2 million for properties in Buncombe County and $9.2 million for Henderson County. FEMA has approved $1.5 billion in total for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

Asheville City Council met with grim tidings as its members began public budget planning for the city’s next fiscal year...
01/14/2026

Asheville City Council met with grim tidings as its members began public budget planning for the city’s next fiscal year. At a Tuesday work session prior to Council’s formal meeting, city staffers reported that Asheville faces an estimated $30 million gap between revenues and expenses for fiscal 2026-27.

Lindsay Spangler, Asheville’s budget and performance manager, emphasized that the $30 million figure was an early projection. But she told Council that many factors were all but certain to push the city’s expenses substantially higher.

Chief among those cost drivers is debt on $80 million in bonds, which Asheville voters approved in 2024 for parks, affordable housing, transportation, and public safety.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

Two candidates in Buncombe County’s primary elections are facing formal challenges to their eligibility for office. At a...
01/09/2026

Two candidates in Buncombe County’s primary elections are facing formal challenges to their eligibility for office. At a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Buncombe County Board of Elections will hear disputes regarding Asheville City Council candidate Antanette Mosley — the city’s current vice mayor — and Buncombe County sheriff candidate Victor “Vic” Morman.

Mosley has been under scrutiny by state elections officials since Dec. 15, following reports that she had claimed permanent-resident property-tax exemptions in Georgia while voting in North Carolina and serving on the Asheville City Council. A subsequent report by WLOS found that Mosley did not live at the Kenilworth address she claims on her voter registration. North Carolina State Board of Elections spokesperson Jason Tyson confirmed Jan. 8 that a state-level investigation remains ongoing.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

Buncombe County has hashed out a new formula for funding its K-12 education systems. Officials say the plan, ratified un...
01/08/2026

Buncombe County has hashed out a new formula for funding its K-12 education systems. Officials say the plan, ratified unanimously by the county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night, will provide both more money and greater budgetary reliability for Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools.

As presented by John Hudson, Buncombe’s budget director, the agreement would set each year’s operations funding for schools at 37.76% of property taxes and certain sales taxes collected by the county over the previous 12 months. \

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

After overcoming months of Hurricane Helene setbacks, the long-awaited Woodfin Wave project is nearing the finish line a...
01/07/2026

After overcoming months of Hurricane Helene setbacks, the long-awaited Woodfin Wave project is nearing the finish line at Riverside Park. The $4.8 million project – which aims to install a world-class surfing wave in the French Broad River – is expected to open to the public this summer.

“We think it's going to transform this small town,” Woodfin Mayor Jim McAllister said. “Everywhere I go in town, people are asking me ‘When can we get in?’ There's a buzz about it all over the place.”

The free-standing wave could serve as a hotbed for surfers and kayakers, who can use the wave to practice flips, spins and other tricks. The project’s planning committee traveled to a premier hydraulics lab in Prague to test the design, ensuring it has an ideal combination of slope and height for water sports.

“We're talking about the river equivalent of the perfect surfing wave. Like Waimea Bay in Hawaii comes to Woodfin, North Carolina,” explained Marc Hunt, a local outdoors advocate and kayaker who is championing the project.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

State health officials are tracking a measles case in Polk County, the state’s second confirmed case of the disease in 2...
01/06/2026

State health officials are tracking a measles case in Polk County, the state’s second confirmed case of the disease in 2025.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which announced the case on Dec. 31, said the infection involves an unvaccinated child who recently visited locations in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, where a large outbreak is underway. The child developed symptoms before Christmas and has since recovered.

This is the first North Carolina case believed to be connected to the South Carolina outbreak.

North Carolina lawmakers are voicing strong and divergent opinions following the recent U.S. military strike on Venezuel...
01/05/2026

North Carolina lawmakers are voicing strong and divergent opinions following the recent U.S. military strike on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro.

In a move that sent shockwaves through the international community, President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. government would temporarily oversee Venezuela and begin selling large quantities of the country’s oil reserves to other nations.

Republican U.S. Senator Ted Budd described Maduro as an “illegitimate dictator” who has long been wanted in the United States for charges including narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking. “The decision to capture the Venezuelan leader and bring him to justice is monumental for ending his brutal regime in Venezuela and will save countless American lives from the deadly drugs his thugs have brought to our shores,” Budd said.

Read more reactions in the story; link in comments 👇

Ever since Hurricane Helene, a winding stretch of about 1.2 miles linking Tryon and Saluda has been impassable, leaving ...
01/05/2026

Ever since Hurricane Helene, a winding stretch of about 1.2 miles linking Tryon and Saluda has been impassable, leaving locals and visitors alike searching for detours.

As of the end of 2025, more than 97% of the state-maintained roads damaged by Helene have reopened, according to North Carolina Department of Transportation statistics.

But about two-dozen roads remain impassable — and those remaining road closures continue to make life challenging for some local communities.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

New funding from the state Department of Environmental Quality is set to help a small town slow down floodwaters natural...
12/23/2025

New funding from the state Department of Environmental Quality is set to help a small town slow down floodwaters naturally.

Clyde, North Carolina has seen devastating damage from extreme storms over the past twenty years — Helene, in 2024, was just the most recent. Repeated rains from named storms like Ivan and Francis in 2004 and Fred in 2021 caused severe flooding, scouring riverbanks and inundating homes and businesses.

Now, a little more than $210,000 from the DEQ will restore native plants along just over a half mile of the stream, stabilizing almost five acres next to the Pigeon River by planting native trees and shrubs. Stuart Brown, program manager for DEQ’s flood resiliency work, said river restoration has more than one public benefit.

FULL STORY IN THE COMMENTS 👇

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