NC State grad and Jacksonville native Christina Koch just received North Carolina's highest civilian honor for her record-breaking space career. Plus, over 3,000 neighbors raised more than half a million dollars for diabetes research in one morning, runners took over downtown for the City of Oaks Marathon, and the Pack put on an unforgettable show at Carter-Finley.
Your daily dose of good news from Wake County with Steve Rhode.
Stories in this episode:
Christina Koch receives North Carolina Award for Science: https://engr.ncsu.edu/news/2024/11/01/christina-koch-to-be-honored-with-north-carolina-award-for-science/
Breakthrough T1D Walk raises over $506K: https://www.wral.com/news/local/breakthrough-t1d-walk-raleigh-nov-2025/
City of Oaks Marathon brings runners from across the country: https://wral.com/video/runners-from-across-the-country-begin-the-2025-city-of-oaks-marathon/22226427/
NC State dominates #8 Georgia Tech: https://www.lockedonpodcast.com/https:/www.lockedonpodcasts.com/video/sports/locked-on/lo-charlotte/wolfpack-show/nc-state-football-dominates-8-georgia-tech-wild-scenes-in-raleigh-nc-state-podcast/535-da2bd0c7-b493-494c-afb7-4129f9a8d9f4
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Episode Transcript
I'm Steve Rhode. And you're not?
Hello. Wake County.
All right, I got my coffee. It's hot.
Let's do this. Picture this.
A kid in Jacksonville, NC, tellsher kindergarten teacher she's
going to be an astronaut someday.
Well, Fast forward to last Thursday because she's standing
(00:22):
with the governor holding North Carolina's highest civilian
honor. She's already spent 328 days in
space. Also, over 3000 neighbors walked
at Walnut Creek Sunday morning and raised half 1,000,000 bucks
in a few hours. And the Pack just put one of the
(00:42):
wildest shows on Carter Finley'sscene in years.
It's good to have you back here with me.
Let's get into it. Oh, and don't forget, stick
around. I got a dad joke for you at the
end. That's either going to be the
highlight of the day or you're going to regret it.
We'll see, but either way, it's safe for the kiddos in the cars.
(01:03):
All right, so here's what I loveabout this first story.
It's not about someone who just got lucky or stumbled into
something. No, no, this is about a kid who
knew exactly what she wanted from day one and spent decades
making it happen. Christina Koch grew up in
Jacksonville, went to NC School of Science and Math and then NC
(01:27):
State for electrical engineeringand physics.
And the whole time, kindergarten, high school,
college, she's telling people I'm going to be an astronaut.
Sure, right. Well, now imagine being one of
the only women in your engineering class in the late
1990s, early 2000s. It takes that grit.
(01:51):
But she kept showing up. She kept working.
You can, too. She got her master's degree,
went to work for NASA at Goddard.
And then in 2013, NASA selects her as an astronaut.
Fast forward to 2019. She spends 328 days on the
International Space Station. I mean, that's the longest
(02:13):
single Space Flight by a woman ever.
She also was part of the first all female spacewalk.
And now she's been selected for Artemis 2.
She'll be the first woman to flyaround the moon.
Last Thursday, Governor Cooper presented her with the North
(02:34):
Carolina Award for Science. That's the state's highest
civilian honor. From a kid in Jacksonville with
a dream to breaking records 250 miles above Earth.
I mean, darn. That's what commitment looks
like and that's what I'm going to make this happen.
(02:55):
Looks like when you follow through for 30 years.
Wow. OK, this next one.
This past Sunday morning at Walnut Creek, over 3000 people
laced up for a breakthrough T1D walk.
(03:15):
That's the one raising money forType 1 diabetes research and
support. So visualize this.
Thousands of families, friends and neighbors walking together.
Some for loved ones living with diabetes, some just showing up
because it really mattered. And at the end of the morning,
they raised over $506,000, half,$1,000,000 in one morning.
(03:40):
Nobody had to show up. Nobody had to donate, but 3000
people did anyway and they crushed it.
That's Wake County pulling in the same direction for something
that hits close to home for a lot of families.
And that's the kind of thing that reminds you when it
matters. People often show up.
(04:01):
Speaking of showing up, if you were in downtown this weekend,
you felt it. The City of Oaks Marathon took
over Raleigh and it was packed. Runners from all over the
country came in for the full 26.2 mile marathon to a nice
casual 5K. Downtown was buzzing, hotels
(04:23):
were full and sidewalks full of people cheering and that fall
energy everywhere. The whole city was alive.
It's one of those annual traditions that just works.
You get serious marathoners grinding it out, you get
families doing the 5K together, you get neighbors you haven't
seen in months just showing up to watch and follow and cheer.
(04:44):
And that's the fall in the Triangle at its best.
I mean, honestly. And then Saturday night, oh man,
Saturday night, Carter Findley Stadium went absolutely bonkers.
NC State didn't just beat #8 Georgia Tech, they dominated
(05:04):
them. Like it wasn't even close.
The coach called it maybe his biggest win ever, and you could
feel it in Raleigh. CJ Bailey and Duke Scott brought
the fireworks on the field and the crowd, the crowd lost it in
the best way possible. All right, that dad joke I
promised you is coming right up.Hold on, Take a deep breath.
(05:26):
Take another sip of coffee. All the links to the stories I
just talked about are all in theshow description.
If you want more good news delivered to your inbox every
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(05:46):
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(06:09):
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It's the kind thing to do today.Thank you very much in advance.
All right, you ready for your dad joke?
When does a joke become a dad joke?
(06:30):
When the punchline becomes apparent.
That's exceedingly funny and badat the same time.
All right, I will see you tomorrow, neighbor.
I got more good stuff coming your way.
Love ya. Bye.
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