Good Morning Wake County: Real News, Real Neighbors

From a high school side hustle to Downtown Apex's beloved Bella + Mauve boutique, Gabrielle Carlin's journey proves that some dreams are worth the wait. Plus, Wake County's $9.5 million park upgrades at Harris Lake and Blue Jay Point are bringing accessible trails, expanded playgrounds, and new educational spaces to our community. Join our community at https://TapYourNews.com for show email alerts and to suggest stories...

When the AC died at Courtney Bowman's Raleigh Cheesy shop during the summer heat, she did something that required real courage - she got vulnerable on Instagram. No script, no polish, just honest desperation. The community's response was immediate and overwhelming: over $15,000 in orders within days. Meanwhile, Jared Haworth of Lightship Neon is fighting Raleigh's 1970s signage rules that keep creative neon signs from a...

When the same Raleigh rideshare trip costs $14 on one app and $84 on another, you know something's broken. Steve explores how algorithmic pricing is turning getting home into a high-stakes gamble, then discovers a local Wake County startup using AI to actually make government services work better for residents. From surge pricing mysteries to multilingual government support, these overlooked stories reveal what happens when technol...

Two strangers. Two different places. But the same decision — to show up when no one was watching.

In Raleigh, a retired Enloe High School theater teacher named Koko Thornton just won a national award, thanks to a former student who decided she deserved recognition. For 24 years, Thornton focused not just on theater skills but on helping students "see their own potential inside of them." Connor Kruger, now studying acting a...

You ever have that moment where your brain blanks and your body just moves? Today we've got two stories about exactly that kind of decision-making.

First: Eddie Hunnell, a 57-year-old software engineer from Holly Springs, was at his son's wedding rehearsal when Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina. When he saw 66-year-old Leslie Worth swept into the flooded North Fork New River, his Plan A with a canoe didn't work. So he ...

James Watson, 64, bought his first home in Southeast Raleigh for $850/month through a housing model most people have never heard of. Steve discovers how Community Land Trusts work, why a former real estate developer had no idea they existed, and the surprising origins that make it all possible.

Learn exactly how James saved 22% below market value and why this 50-year-old solution feels revolutionary in 2025.

Plus: a dad joke about ge...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

This episode explores two remarkable examples of human problem-solving under impossible constraints. At the University of Alabama, Dr. Jalai Wang and the engineering team have developed a revolutionary process to transform potato skins and agricultural waste into sustainable construction materials, capturing carbon while reducing cement emissions. The $6 million National Science Foundation project involves colla...

A Florida surgeon performs the first FDA-approved transcontinental robotic surgery on a patient in Angola, Africa, an Indiana good Samaritan stops a drunk driver with a potentially fatal BAC of .40, and UK researchers develop tiny robots that could revolutionize water infrastructure maintenance. Steve explores three stories about intervention, medical, personal, and technological, that show how the most important work often happens...

Three overlooked stories worth knowing: A Cary nuclear engineer's true impact had nothing to do with his PhD or judicial career, Australian engineers copied 400-million-year-old shark skin to save airlines billions in fuel costs, and why your plumber has more job security than corporate executives in the AI age. Featuring Jeff Jeffries' mentorship approach that touched "numerous men," MicroTau's biomimicry bre...

Today we share incredible stories of second chances and service from right here in Wake County and beyond. From John Walter's miraculous recovery after defying 1% survival odds following a tragic accident near Wakefield High School, to twenty new firefighters who chose to run toward sirens through Wake Tech's Career in a Year program.

Plus, meet the Taylor family in Oklahoma who are teaching their kids that service isn'...

We begin with the extraordinary legacy of Lunsford Lane, a man born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina, who returned not for vengeance but for love. His story lit a fire in two children, Anna Julia Cooper and Charles N. Hunter, who would go on to shape American education and history.

Then we travel to Philadelphia, where doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine used groundbreaking gene-editing technology...

In this episode of Good Morning Wake County, host Steve shares four powerful stories of people who saw something broken and stepped up to fix it.

From the rugged backcountry of Colorado where the Good Samaritan Remediation Act offers hope for toxic mine cleanup, to a Denver contractor whose stolen tools sparked a wave of community kindness.

You’ll hear how a WWII dog tag lost in a 1945 plane crash on the Isle of Man made its way ba...

Feel-good news is alive and well — and today’s stories prove it.

An HVAC team in Scottsdale, Arizona shows up unannounced to fix a shelter’s broken air conditioning. A nurse-led reunion in San Jose gives Jerry and Judie Butler one final moment after 66 years of marriage. And in Clermont, Florida, someone finds $2,000 at an ATM… and returns every penny.

Join host Steve for stories of kindness, integrity, and everyday heroes — from Fam...

In this enlightening episode of Good Morning Wake County, we bring you feel-good news stories that uplift and inspire. We start with a remarkable tribute as Karin Neilson fulfills her late husband Stephen’s dream by launching his ashes into space aboard a Celestis memorial flight. As a lifelong fan of space exploration, Stephen’s wishes come true as he circles the Earth, reminding us that dreams transcend life itself.

Next, we journ...

Today's episode of Feel Good News highlights remarkable stories of hope and kindness, starting with the miraculous return of Charlie, a lost dog who found his way home after 2.5 years in Raleigh.

Next, we celebrate hero road foreman Dale Iles, who bravely rescued a man from a fiery truck crash in Iowa.

And we finish on a heartwarming note with 11-year-old Ella Young in East Lincoln, Mississippi, showcasing her handmade jewelry at t...

Dive into today's feel good news with incredible stories of community spirit and compassion.

A baby falls out of a moving car in Lumberton, North Carolina, and three strangers, along with quick-moving EMS and police, race to save his life. In Davenport, Iowa, a $3,000 medical helmet goes missing, until a man named Scott Cline sees a post in the What’s Going On Quad Cities Facebook group and quietly mails it back. And in Wake Co...

Today’s episode takes you on a tour of North Carolina’s most surprising — and inspiring — feel-good stories.

We start in Johnston County, where high school students are skipping the minimum wage grind and jumping straight into $52,000-a-year jobs in pharmaceutical manufacturing thanks to a one-semester BioWork program funded by industry giants like Novo Nordisk and Grifols.

Then we head to the airport, where the TSA had to remind tra...

In this episode of Good Morning Wake County, hear good news about second chances.

We start in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where David Peters turned his struggles with addiction into a national Facebook support group called Never Give Up — now 15,000 members strong and led by his brother Jason Peters. It helped transform the life of Chris Puddy, a former drug dealer turned restaurant general manager at Greece E Spoon.

Then we head to San Di...