Good morning, Hickory.

Hickory resident Chris Gochnour will run in Memphis on Dec.

5 as an official St. Jude Hero in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend to fight childhood cancer.

Local events present a busy week ahead with a 3-D design workshop scheduled at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library (Wed), a fall celebration and cornhole tournament planned in Newton (Sat), and the inaugural HKY 100 run set to take place at Winkler Park (Sat-Sun).

Visit Hickory and the Hickory Metro Convention Center earned the ConventionSouth Readers’ Choice Award for the second time today in Hickory as over 7,000 readers voted among (533) organizations, with local leaders crediting community partnerships for the honor.

North Carolina’s Operation Crash Reduction campaign began Monday, Oct.

12, urging drivers to slow down+buckle up and avoid distractions as law enforcement will increase patrols through Oct. 18 to help curb risky driving amid higher crash rates last month.

Governor Josh Stein urged Congress to reverse federal Medicaid cuts, warning that nearly 740,000 NC adults risk losing coverage and hospitals may face unpaid bills + reduced services.

He advised residents to check the state's toolkit for guidance.