Wilkes County

Melissa McKinney has always wanted to be on stage at MerleFest, and this year she’s getting her chance. Her five-piece band, Mama & The Ruckus, will be one of eight acts competing in the festival’s annual band contest.

Crews in Wilkes County are battling a large brush fire that broke out on Sunday, according to the Millers Creek Fire Department.

Provalus, an information technology outsourcing company, plans to spend more than $1 million to expand into North Wilkesboro.

The festival continues the legacy of High Country musician Doc Watson and his son Merle. 

A longtime advocate for Republican K-12 education policies in the North Carolina House is resigning from his seat a few months before his term was to end. Rep. Jeffrey Elmore of Wilkes County will step down effective Friday afternoon.

After a successful first year back, the NASCAR All-Star Race returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend. Last year's event generated tens of millions of dollars in regional revenue.

Work has begun on a long-term project to make a Wilkes County stretch of U.S. 421 safer.

Most of the seven counties in Northwest North Carolina that lost population in the previous decade saw some growth since the start of the pandemic.