Veteran statehouse reporter Mark Binker died unexpectedly over the weekend.
Binker spent more than 15 years covering politics in North Carolina, beginning with local governments and moving on to the state capital.
It began with a stint in the High Point bureau of the News & Record. He was quickly promoted and started making his way to bigger beats at the paper.
He was a thorough reporter with an unquenchable curiosity, a policy wonk at heart who could make the machinations of state government understandable to the casual reader. In the newsroom, he was known for his quick wit and firm grasp of irony.
When he left the News & Record and joined Laura Leslie at WRAL in Raleigh, it seemed to be the formation of a reporting dream team. And for half a decade, it was. He earned respect on both sides of the aisle - Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and State Sen. Phil Berger, a Republican, were among the state leaders who noted Binker's passing with sadness.
Binker had embarked on a new stage of his career less than two months ago, when he was named editor of The N.C. Insider, a widely distributed political newsletter.
Mark Binker was 43 years old. He leaves behind a wife and two children.