A New Lease on Life and I'll Fight You in Fuquay

A bluegrass legend from the North Carolina mountains receives the state's highest honor TODAY, kids are about to climb all over fire engines at a free Cary event, and Zebulon's baseball stadium is getting a $10 million glow-up. Your daily dose of good news from Wake County with Steve Rhode.

Links to today's stories:

Truck Day at Bright Horizons in Cary: https://triangleonthecheap.com/truck-day-bright-horizons/

Wake approves lease for Zebulon's Five County Stadium: https://www.springhopeenterprise.com/news/wake-approves-lease-for-zebulons-five-county-stadium-82065a13

Governor announces 2025 North Carolina Award Winners: https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/08/26/governor-stein-announces-2025-north-carolina-award-winners-states-highest-honor

Free GOUGE Wrestling at Mason Jar Lager Co.: https://triangleonthecheap.com/mason-jar-lager-company-fuquay-varina/

Join the email list at TapYourNews.com https://TapYourNews.com

Got a good news story or completed today's challenge? Use the contact form at TapYourNews.com

Check out Steve's true crime podcast at TrueCrimeUnheard.com https://TrueCrimeUnheard.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Good morning, Wake County. I'm Steve Road.
And you're still not. Hey, there's a fire engine
parked in a carry parking lot onSaturday, and kids are climbing
all over it. And also, a Grammy winner from
the North Carolina mountains is getting the state's highest
honor today. The baseball stadium in Zebulon

(00:20):
is about to get $10 million worth of love, and professional
wrestlers are body slamming eachother at a brewery and Fuquave
Arena this Friday for free. All right, and don't forget to
stick around. I got your dad joke for you at
the end. It's safe for all the kiddos and

(00:42):
the cars. All right, so Saturday morning
and Carrie, there's going to be this scene at Bright Horizons on
Weston Parkway. Fire engines, food trucks,
construction equipment all linedup like a vehicle convention.
Kids running between them, climbing in the cabs, hitting

(01:03):
horns. It's truck day and it's
completely free. And here's what's cool, though.
They're kicking things off with a sensory friendly hour.
So if your kid gets overwhelmed by noise and crowds, they've
thought about that. You can show up early when it's

(01:24):
calmer. Let them take it all in without
the chaos. It's one of those, hey, let's
just make this accessible for everyone moves.
You know, Saturday, you love to see this stuff and you don't
have to pay a dime. Your kid gets to sit in the fire
truck. You get to stand around with a
coffee talking to other parents.Everybody wins over in Zebulon.

(01:49):
Once we lost the Mudcats, we were thinking, what are we going
to do with that 5 County Stadium?
Well, it's about to get a serious glow up.
Wake County just approved a new lease and Capital Broadcasting.
The WRAL folks are planning to sink more than $10 million in
the upgrades starting in 2026. Yeah, you heard that right. 10

(02:13):
million with a big old M The spring Hope Enterprise says it's
part of the deal to keep the stadium buzzing with events
beyond just baseball. Concerts, community stuff,
whatever fits that side of the county's been growing, and this
feels like a bet that's worth investing in.

(02:36):
I kind of love it when somebody looks at a place that's been
around for a while and says, hey, let's not make this fade,
let's make it better. I've had some great times in
Five County Stadium and as a pilot, I have flown over it many
times. It's kind of a comfort place for

(02:56):
me when I see it. So here are more reasons to head
out to eastern Wake County. Catch a game.
Maybe you'll catch a show, maybeyou'll catch a dinner out there.
It's kind of thing that reminds you community space matters.
All right? This one, though, there's a guy
named Woody Platt, grew up in Brevard, went to UNC, picked up

(03:19):
a guitar, and ended up touring the world with Steve Martin.
Not a bad run. But here's the thing.
Today, right now, he's at Grove Park Inn in Asheville, receiving
the North Carolina Award, which is the highest civilian honor
the state can give you. Woody's a founding member of the

(03:41):
Steep Canyon Rangers, this bluegrass band out of Western
North Carolina. Grammy winner, multiple IBMA
awards, inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.
I didn't even know it existed, but he's there.
The guy helped shape modern bluegrass, and if you've ever

(04:04):
seen him play, you know why. It's not just about being
technical, it's about having some soul.
But it doesn't stop there. Woody's also a passionate fly
fisherman and an environmentalist.
He worked with Conserving Carolina to restore a section of

(04:25):
the East Fork of the French Broad River near his home.
So he's out there making music that matters.
And when he's not, he's doing other things that matter, like
restoring rivers. This is the kind of story that
reminds you commitment and grit pay off.
Kid from North Carolina goes to UNC, works his tail off, travels

(04:46):
the world, becomes one of the best at what he does and still
finds time to give back to all of us in North Carolina.
So that ceremony is happening right now in Asheville.
All proceeds from ticket sales go to help Hurricane Helene
recovery through the North Carolina Community Foundation.

(05:07):
So even the award ceremony is doing good work.
And if you want something a little more theatrical this
Friday, Fuquay Varinas got you covered.
The Mason Jar Lager Company is bringing back Gouge Wrestling,
free professional wrestling in abrewery.

(05:28):
I'm not kidding. Triangle on the Cheap says it's
Friday, November 15th, totally free.
They say it's family friendly, but you can make your mind up on
that. You can grab a local brew, the
kids can watch people in spandexthrow each other around.
Everybody has a good time. They've also got a farm day the

(05:49):
week after if wrestling is not your thing.
So one of those small towns, Saturday saw, I mean Friday,
Friday, Friday, things where something quirky and fun is just
happening downtown. That's Fuquay Varino for you.
Always keeping it interesting. All right, that dad joke I

(06:09):
promised you. Yeah, it's coming up.
So. But stick with me now.
Links to all the stories. Right now, you're probably
looking at your speaker and going.
But Steve, how do I learn more? You click on the links in the
show description. The actual URLs are right there.
And hey, if you want daily good news delivered to your inbox

(06:29):
every morning, every weekday morning, head over to
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better way to start your day than what more laying in bed.
Don't want to get up doom scrolling.
I mean, come on. If you're into true crime, I
also have another show for that,my podcast True Crime cases You

(06:50):
haven't heard. Go over to truecrimeunheard.com.
Sign up. Hey, you can follow this podcast
on platforms like the one you'relistening on Apple Podcast,
Spotify, YouTube, whatever. Why you there?
Drop a five star review. Here's your challenge for today.

(07:13):
Text 3 people something specificyou appreciate about them.
Who could it hurt, right? Do something nice for somebody.
Share this episode with one neighbor who needs to hear about
Woody Platt getting North Carolina's Highness on her or
guys in spandex fighting in Fuquay.

(07:34):
That's what's going on today, right here in Wake County.
Oh, here's your joke. If you have kids, you'll really
appreciate this one. Why should you never give Elsa a
balloon? Because she'll let it go.

(07:57):
Bye.