RURAL
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Growing EV industry could boost opportunities in rural NC
North Carolina has become a leader in the electric vehicle industry. With billions of dollars in investments from companies like Toyota and VinFast, the state is poised to see thousands of jobs created. In 2018, Governor Roy Cooper signed an executive order that set a goal for North Carolina to have 80,000 registered electric…
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New moms in rural NC are getting better postpartum care thanks to Medicaid expansion
Rural NC physician Laura Ucik says she’s witnessed improvements in post-birth care for patients recently, thanks largely to an expansion in postpartum benefits under Medicaid.
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Meet the woman running for NC Ag commissioner to empower rural residents
North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture candidate Sarah Taber plans to revive the state’s agricultural economy through common-sense business practices, infrastructure, and improvement of farm labor, all things that resonate with her rural constituents.
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Scientists call for using more accurate metrics to gauge extreme heat after farmworker’s death in Nash County
State investigators accused a Nash County farm of a “willful serious” violation of NC labor law, following a 29-year-old migrant worker’s death in September 2023.
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Rural NC communities get grant funding to address healthcare, infrastructure issues
The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) this month gave the greenlight to fund eight projects in communities across North Carolina, providing $1.5 million dollars to support a variety of projects and help create 270 jobs. “These funds make strategic investments in our rural communities to help them seize opportunities to prosper,” Governor Roy Cooper…
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Democrats increase their focus on NC’s once neglected rural areas
A national organization is providing grants to 17 rural counties to help Democrats pay for voter outreach that could help tip local and national races in this closest of swing states.
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A new child tax credit could pass this month. Here’s what it would do for low-income families.
During the pandemic, Democrats changed the child tax credit and cut childhood poverty in half. Now there’s new hope for making those changes permanent, but there are skeptics.
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Rural hospitals, nursing schools, and mental health support: How NC will spend its $1.7 billion Medicaid bonus
North Carolina expanded Medicaid last year in part because President Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan offered a financial incentive that will have equally huge effects on rural healthcare services.
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Beyond the grade: How one ‘failing’ NC school defines success
NC’s controversial school report card system has given Lingerfeldt Elementary in Gastonia, NC, failing grades. But the local school’s leadership isn’t buying it.
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Leo Williams: How a ‘country boy’ from eastern NC came to lead one of NC’s fastest-growing cities
Leo Williams is an up-and-coming political leader with a deep background in education. We talked to him about being the mayor of his adopted city, and the pressures of leading in tumultuous times.
