Polk Lore

After more than two decades of wishful thinking and dead-end proposals, the Norfolk Southern railbed that runs through Polk County is about to be replaced with a cycling and walking path. The North and South Carolina legislatures have appropriated millions of dollars to buy the right of way from Inman to Tuxedo. The Saluda Grade Trail, as it will be known, now has a dedicated, full-time project manager. This thing is happening. Tryon will be among the first to experience any impacts. So what’s Tryon thinking? Who better to ask than Tryon Mayor J. Alan Peoples.

I have been thinking about an episode on soccer ever since I started this podcast more than three years ago — and since I became soccer dad and started watching Premier League games from Europe with my son. Recent events conspired in favor of doing one sooner than later. My guests are Polk High School boys’ soccer coach George Alley and two of his top players — seniors Will Garrison and Thomas Varnadore. Their team made it all the way to the state finals this year. Given how popular soccer is becoming — both here and around the country, I was curious about the future of local soccer.SourcesPolk High School Boys Soccer records

The Republican majority in the NC state house, led by then–NC House Speaker Tim Moore, recently redrew Congressional District 14 to strongly favor candidates with Rs after their name. Moore went on to run in that district, winning easily and making it hard to dream up scenarios in which even the most popular Democrat can win in next year's election. A serious challenger in the Republican primary is just as unlikely, although one Democrat has recently switched her party registration in hopes of achieving exactly. If Kate Barr's campaign gets any traction, I'll try to get her on Polk Lore in the not-too-distant future.Meanwhile, there is at least one Democrat willing to dare to run against Moore. And, despite the odds, there’s a good chance he actually knows what he’s getting into. Brent Caldwell may not be familiar to most voters, and he has never run for public office before, but he’s been working behind the scenes in the Democratic Party for decades. He’s already paid a couple of visits to Polk County. He showed up for the No Kings Rally in Columbus last month, and then returned a couple of weeks later to attend a Polk Democrats gathering at FENCE.Just before that event, we found a couple of rocking chairs on the porch of the Democratic Party Headquarters in Columbus and turned on the microphones.ResourcesBrent Caldwell for CongressYellow Dog WireTariffs: The Horse Industry’s Journey into the Great UnknownNC-14 Redistricting controversy

Zelda Briarwood is a 35-year-old former wilderness therapist and banking field technician who is, to be blunt, running an uphill battle for the nomination. But the truth is, neither of the better-known challengers has any more political experience than she does. Which is to say they are all starting their runs for the US Congress from absolute zero. That says a lot about the Democratic Party in District Eleven. And not necessarily in a bad way. This is the third in a series of interviews with candidates seeking public office next year.Resourceshttps://www.zeldaforcongress.org

I know it's a big ask, given how horrible all the political news is these days. But if you live in Saluda or Coopers Gap, or certain parts of White Oak, and you’re interested in who your representative in the US House of Congress should be, then it's time to accept the need to pay attention to politics again.Jamie Ager, who, along with his wife, runs Hickory Nut Gap Farm, wants to be the Democratic candidate in next year's congressional election for NC 11. In this episode, he explains why his experience in regenerative agriculture will help regenerate democracy in the United States.For further information:Ager for Congress

Surprise: It turns out that driving all that heavy machinery up and down the middle of the Green River, and ripping out all those fallen trees may have made things worse, not better. At least, in some places and in some circumstances, from an ecological perspective.Almost year after Helene, it's probably time to start preparing for the next storm, and how we can avoid making the same mistakes again. In this episode, Conserving Carolina aquatic biologist Hans Lohmeyer shares his thoughts on how we can do better.Notes:Hans Lohmeyer at Conserving CarolinaDamage to WNCThe government stepped in to clean up a disaster in North Carolina. Then they created another one. Vox, July 23, 2025.Army Core of Engineers response

Myles Freeman is about to graduate from Polk High School, so as part of my attempt to revisit some of the guests and topics I’ve covered over the past three years on Polk Lore, I asked him to come back and tell me how he, as a trans man, is doing at what is a critical juncture in anyone’s life.Dig deeperAll Blissed Out Live Playlist (YouTube)John Oliver Tonight: Transgender Rights II (YouTube)Sex Redefined (Scientific American)Non-binary sex (Substack)Sarah McBride, first trans member of Congress (Apple Podcasts)UK Court ruling (BBC) on binary sexPassport changes (New York Times)

Everyone says they appreciate our firefighters and other first responders. But when you find out just how little we pay the people who put their lives on the line to protect our homes and businesses — and accept a lifespan that is, on average, ten years shorter than what the rest of us can expect to enjoy — it becomes pretty clear that maybe we don’t actually appreciate them as much as we should. Is thirty thousand dollars a year really the best we can offer? I asked, Virginia Purdy, who trains paramedics at Blue Ridge Community College and volunteers for more than one of Polk County’s fire departments.ResourcesChange.org petition:https://www.change.org/p/support-better-pay-and-staffing-for-polk-county-fire-departmentsFirefighter lifespan:https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-firefighters-life-saving-work-puts-them-at-a-higher-risk-of-cancer