Floats during the parade were judged by a panel of four judges that included Boone Mayor Rennie Brantz, Appalachian State University Chancellor Sheri Everts, Appalachian State football head coach Eli Drinkwitz and U.S. Olympic snowboarder Louie Vito.

A team of economists in the U.S., including Walker College of Business associate professor Dr. Dave McEvoy, say men of a certain age are coping with a particularly hairy sort of stress — and they’ll pay through the teeth to avoid facing it head on.

"Providing greater postsecondary opportunities for rural residents isn't simply a matter of equity or moral obligation — it's a matter of continued national prosperity," says Appalachian State University's Andrew Koricich. He points out that our economy relies heavily on rural communities and workers.

Cherokee High School students traveled to Green Valley Elementary School on Feb. 13 to teach a Valentine’s Day lesson by sharing the traditional Cherokee story of the first strawberries. The six CHS students who visited the school are dual-enrolled at Appalachian State University and are taking this semester’s Cherokee Culture and Leadership class taught by CHS teacher Heath Robertson and Reich College of Education Associate Professor Allen Bryant.

Dr. Joseph Gonzalez outlines the often-militaristic history of U.S.–Latin American relations and writes that the U.S. has an opportunity for stronger diplomatic relations — and a safer way to restore democracy — if it chooses this time to work with a coalition called the Lima Group.

Professor Jason Miller speaks with WFDD’s Eddie Garcia about designing housing for adults with autism and about a collaboration between Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Technology and LIFE Village, a nonprofit that provides services for exceptional individuals.

A new initiative to reduce recidivism at the Watauga County jail is already receiving positive feedback, with one inmate calling it an “inspiration” and a “blessing” in a handwritten letter to Sheriff Len Hagaman. The letter was written to Hagaman in spring 2018 after an intern, Appalachian social work graduate student Mollie Mellishrencken, studied inmate recidivism — the cycle of coming in and out of incarceration on multiple occasions.

Dula family reunions in western North Carolina include members of the black and white sides of the family. But for decades these two sides did not communicate or even acknowledge their relation. Filmmaker Beth Davison, a faculty member at Appalachian State University, explored this story in her recent documentary “Dulatown.”

As most visitors can quickly tell, the restaurant and cafe in South Charleston, West Virginia is located inside a former church building. But Cafe Appalachia is about more than food. It’s nourishment for the community and intended to serve as a support tool in helping fight the opioid epidemic by providing a safe learning and working environment for women in long-term recovery programs, says Cheryl Laws, the founder and chief executive of the nonprofit organization Pollen8.