As the federal government shutdown continues, North Carolina residents may be left with a patchwork of closures, service limitations and uncertainty across the region’s parks, forests and federal agencies. While some federal programs will continue without interruption, others have scaled back operations, leaving communities in the state’s westernmost counties to rely on a mix of official websites and local offices for updates.

When Hurricane Helene slammed into Western North Carolina in late 2024, public attention focused on damaged homes, washed-out roads and the rigid bureaucracy meant to help with recovery, but the widespread physical damage was closely followed by a slow-moving economic catastrophe unfolding among the region’s small businesses, farmers and local governments. Now, eight months later, help may finally be on the way. 

More than two years after he was shot by Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT Team members, Jason Harley Kloepfer has reached a $10 million settlement with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee County, ending any chances of what was shaping up to be a difficult and complicated federal trial.

An order filed in Cherokee County Superior Court April 10 sealed all areas where there may be any evidence related to criminal cases, critically hampering the agency’s ability to serve taxpayers. This comes only about a week after District Attorney Ashley Welch issued a Giglio order against Milton “Sport” Teasdale, who heads up the sheriff’s office’s criminal investigative division.

New filings in the civil suit Jason Harley Kloepfer filed seven months after he was shot by police in the doorway of his own home cast a new shadow over the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced that a Cherokee County man pleaded guilty to intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. 

SECU Foundation recently awarded a $1.6 million grant to Vecinos for a new medical center and human services hub in Macon County.

Six new recipients in Western North Carolina have been awarded grants to participate in the MADE X MTNS Partnership’s Building Outdoor Communities Program. 

A special prosecutor tasked with examining the investigation into a 2022 police shooting that severely injured Jason Harley Kloepfer at his home in Cherokee County has concluded that no criminal charges are warranted against any of the officers involved. 

When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.