Features

Beyond the Square

Beyond the Square

A stronger economy may depend less on landing one giant employer and more on stacking smaller wins that fit the county.

Mount Rushmore of Lynchburg

Carved into Lynchburg

Four world-renowned names. Four very different paths. One little town at the heart of them all.

How 2 million whiskey barrels became a $25 million Moore County question

The Price of Exemption: $25M+

The 2018 whiskey-barrel exemption started with a Moore County audit and ended with Nashville taking a multimillion-dollar tax base off the local rolls.

Dolly Parton dies at 80

We Will Always Love You

In the Jan. 22, 2025, edition of the Observer, Haley Payne Roberts wrote about how the Imagination Library was a personal inspiration.