Author: theparknews

Each week during the school year, The News-Press will select a player who stood out from the previous week based on coaches’ reports and school nominations sent to sports@news-press.com, as well as our own reporting. These players will be voted on every Monday on news-press.com, where readers can vote on who they think performed best.The winner of The News-Press Athlete of the Week Poll, sponsored by Elevate Home Services, will receive a T-shirt provided by BSN Sports and a tote bag provided by USA Today High School Sports Awards. Voting closes every Thursday at 10 a.m. Winners will be announced…

When someone talks about the South, a few staples come to mind.A pitcher of sweet tea and a rocking chair swaying on the porch. A church plastering every inch of a small town street. And finally, a good night’s sleep after the local high school football team wins under the Friday night lights, then wakes up on Saturday to sweat it out for your alma mater.All of this was true in my hometown of Great Falls, South Carolina. But we did things a little differently than other one-stop light towns. What more could you expect from a town nicknamed “Flopeye”?While…

The St. Cloud Times is pleased to welcome our newest reporter.Teagan King covers business and economic development in the St. Cloud region. King joins The Times from previous reporting jobs in Missouri.A native of the Chicago metropolitan area, King graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in May with degrees in journalism and international studies.She speaks fluent French and last year interned at MLex Market Insight in Brussels, Belgium, covering European Union energy law.”We are excited to expand our newsroom,” Times Executive Editor Alice Manette said. “King will bring a fresh and exciting approach to St. Cloud.”King most recently worked as…

For the second time in as many months, someone has allegedly launched a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump. I wanted to read the news reports carefully before writing about this, but unfortunately my suspicions have been confirmed. The incident on a Florida golf course where a man was arrested after pointing a rifle at Trump doesn’t seem to be as big a deal to people as the last time. The first assassination attempt in July, when a gunman opened fire at President Trump’s reelection rally in Pennsylvania, leaving him bleeding from his ear, appears to have desensitized people…

Americans spent the summer eagerly awaiting two pivotal political statements. First, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, who rose to the top of the Democratic field after Joe Biden wrapped up his reelection campaign. Swift formally endorsed the vice president shortly after the debate with Donald Trump, calling Harris a “steadfast and talented leader.” The second statement? It didn’t come from another pop star. Instead, some election watchers were eagerly awaiting a prediction from Alan Lichtman, 77, a history professor emeritus at American University in Bethesda, Maryland. That’s because Lichtman has accurately predicted the outcome of nearly every election for decades,…

A recent new survey by a global investment firm uncovers a rare area where Republicans and Democrats appear to agree: America is facing a retirement savings crisis. Only about half of American households have retirement savings accounts, and Social Security may soon be underfunded, but its benefits were never intended to cover all retirement costs. In an August survey, BlackRock asked 1,000 registered voters about their views on retirement security in America, and the responses cut across party lines. When the survey asked voters whether they believed there was a retirement savings crisis in the country, 93% of Republicans said…

(This story has been updated to add new information.)Rapper Sean Combs, commonly known as “Diddy,” is well known in music, business and political circles as both a Democratic and Republican candidate since the late 1990s.But federal prosecutors say Diddy, one of hip-hop’s biggest names, used his fame to coerce women into degrading sexual acts over a 16-year period and was indicted on three criminal counts of sex trafficking and extortion on Monday. Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all charges.Combs’ network of prominent politicians includes prominent figures in national and local politics, including presidential candidates, members of Congress and mayors.The…

(This story was updated to correct a typo.)WASHINGTON ‒ In their first and likely only presidential debate, Republican Donald Trump doubled down on his impertinent suggestion that his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, had only recently “turned Black.””All I can say is I read where she was not Black that she put out,” Trump told the moderators during the Philadelphia debate this month. “Then I read she was Black, and that’s OK.”The Democratic nominee appeared rattled for a moment, but she rebounded by casting the former president’s entire career as someone who has “attempted to use race to divide.”That’s what…

MVSB Fund grant applications are due October 15thSTATEWIDE — Local nonprofits interested in applying for grant funding from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s MVSB (Meredith Village Savings Bank) Fund can do so by Oct. 15. Applications and instructions can be accessed online at mvsb.com/community-involvement .The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s MVSB Fund was established in 1997 under the leadership of then-bank president and CEO John Starrett to make grant-based contributions to nonprofit organizations that enrich and improve the quality of life for residents living in the bank’s service area.”We recognize the important role local nonprofits play in strengthening our communities,” said…

The 2025 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings will be released on Sept. 24 and will feature more than 25 articles explaining the methodology the magazine uses to compile its annual rankings.In addition to a ranking list of colleges and universities across the nation, U.S. News also provides statistics such as which schools have the most or least student debt upon graduation, the most ethnically diverse campuses and schools with the highest four-year graduation rates.In advance of the announcement from this oft-referenced source, here is what the current list of Western North Carolina colleges has to say…