North Carolina
Robeson and Scotland counties are growing, slowly, for the first time in years | Robesonian
Robeson and Scotland counties grew between 2020 and 2023, mirroring population increases across much of rural North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robeson County grew by 0.91% during the three-year span, accounting for an increase of 1,056 people, according to a new report from the North Carolina Rural Center. Neighboring Scotland County grew by 0.25%, an increase of 86 people.
While any growth is welcome news in the economically distressed counties in southeastern North Carolina, population increases lagged behind the average for the state’s 78 rural counties. From 2020 to 2023, rural North Carolina grew 2.7%, adding almost as many people in three years as in the previous decade.
In Robeson County, which lost more residents than any other in the state between 2010 and 2020, County Commissioner John Cummings attributed the growth to “overflow from Fort Liberty.”
“We’re at the crossroads of the state,” he said, “and it’s ideal for industrial growth.”
The population in rural America dropped slightly between 2010 and 2020, the first decline in 50 years, according to the report. But rural North Carolina grew by 2.9%, adding more than 106,600 people.
The report attributes much of the rural growth to increased net migration that began in the late 2010s and increased during the pandemic, when schools switched to remote learning and many companies allowed employees to work from home.
“COVID-19 had some undeniable effects on population change,” the report said. “North Carolina appeared to already be on a path of rural growth, COVID-19 just pushed it along at a faster rate.”
Urban and suburban counties have seen the most growth, however, growing by about 4% from 2020 to 2023. And it’s important to note that rural growth has not been spread evenly across the state.
Much of southeastern North Carolina saw population losses during the last decade, including Robeson, Scotland, Columbus and Bladen counties. (Bladen saw a 16% drop during the decade, the biggest among the four Border Belt counties.)
Uneven growth continued over the past few years. “While growth was expansive, the counties with the largest population increases appear to be those rural and suburban counties around major urban centers,” the report says.
Brunswick County, which neighbors Wilmington, saw the largest growth in the state between 2020 and 2023, growing by 18%.
But nearby Bladen and Columbus counties saw population decreases of 0.5% and 0.74%, respectively. They were among 18 counties, all rural, that lost population during that time. Most of the other counties were in the northeastern region of the state.
Columbus County is on the cusp of growth, though. More than 10,000 homes are slated to be built in the southern part of the county in the coming years.
Bill Holmes, communications director for the N.C. Rural Center, said rural growth is a balancing act. Some rural residents are resistant to change and don’t want their communities to grow dramatically. But they also want to ensure there are enough people and local amenities to keep their communities vibrant.
“You’re either growing or you’re dying,” Holmes said. “So it’s great to see so many of these communities growing after a long period where they were losing population.”
Mark Ward, economic development director for Scotland County, said the loss of factories over the decades has hurt the area.
“We saw two manufacturing facilities close and the people left in droves,” Ward said. “So even that slow trickle in is something we welcome.”
Ward said Scotland County is well positioned to slowly grow because neighboring Hoke and Moore counties have water issues that could stagnate growth. Meanwhile, Scotland has expanded its water system, receiving nearly $30 million in this year’s state budget for upgrades.
Scotland County Manager April Snead said the focus has always been on ensuring enough resources for everyone, regardless of population size.
“With population growth comes families, schools, entertainment and health care needs,” she said. “It’s a range of needs for people to be healthy and enjoy their quality of life.”
Ward said the key is to attract industries while “making sure we don’t lose that rural charm.”
“This growth, however small, didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “It may be one percent growth this year, but in six or seven years we might see five or six percent. We know this is a marathon and we are going to do what we can to make small steps yield better results in the years to come.”
Campbell Soup Company recently announced it would invest $150 million at its Robeson County facility, creating about 100 jobs in Maxton. Cummings said he hopes the jobs will attract young families.
“I would prefer my daughters to be living here than anywhere else,” Cummings said. “But the only way to do that is if Robeson County continues to grow.”
While population growth is a good sign for rural North Carolina, the report cautioned that the trends might not last. Data suggests that national population shifts are returning to pre-pandemic realities.
“We don’t know if this is short-term growth,” Holmes said, “or if this is going to kick off a long-term trend.”
North Carolina
NC Foundation at center of I-Team Troubleshooter investigation could face contempt charge
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — New details in an I-Team investigation into a Durham foundation accused of not paying its employees.
The North Carolina Department of Labor filed a motion in court to try to force the Courtney Jordan Foundation, CJF America, to provide the pay records after the state agency received more than 30 complaints from former employees about not getting paid.
The ABC11 I-Team first told you about CJF and its problems paying employees in July. The foundation ran summer camps in Durham and Raleigh, and at the time, more than a dozen workers said they didn’t get paid, or they got paychecks that bounced. ABC11 also talked to The Chicken Hut, which didn’t get paid for providing meals to CJF Durham’s summer camps, but after Troubleshooter Diane Wilson’s involvement, The Chicken Hut did get paid.
The NC DOL launched their investigation, and according to this motion filed with the courts, since June thirty one former employees of CJF filed complaints with the agency involving pay issues. Court documents state that, despite repeated attempts from the wage and hour bureau requesting pay-related documents from CJF, and specifically Kristen Picot, the registered agent of CJF, CJF failed to comply.
According to this motion, in October, an investigator with NC DOL was contacted by Picot, and she requested that the Wage and Hour Bureau provide a letter stating that CJF was cooperating with the investigation and that repayment efforts were underway by CJF. Despite several extensions, the motion says Picot repeatedly exhibited a pattern of failing to comply with the Department of Labor’s investigation. The motion even references an ITEAM story on CJFand criminal charges filed against its executives.
The NC DOL has requested that if CJF and Picot fail to produce the requested documentation related to the agency’s investigation, the employer be held in civil contempt for failure to comply. Wilson asked the NC Department of Labor for further comment, and they said, “The motion to compel speaks for itself. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
ABC11 Troubleshooter reached out to Picot and CJF America, but no one has responded. At Picot’s last court appearance on criminal charges she faces for worthless checks, she had no comment then.
Out of all the CJF employees we heard from, only one says he has received partial payment.
Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Kate Barr is a Democrat.
But when voters in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District open their ballots in the March primary they’ll find an “R” next to her name.
She is literally a RINO or Republican In Name Only.
Barr considers herself a Democrat but said she’s running as a Republican to make a point about gerrymandering.
“Fundamentally… I hate gerrymandering. That is pretty much my core motivation for everything I do in politics,” Barr told Spectrum News 1.
The district, west of Charlotte, is solidly Republican.
The current congressman won by 16 points last election.
Barr said it speaks to just how gerrymandered North Carolina is. State Republican lawmakers recently approved a congressional map that favors Republicans in 11 of the state’s 14 congressional districts.
That’s in a state that only voted for President Donald Trump by three points in 2024 and elected a Democrat for governor.
“When the North Carolina state legislature passed the new congressional maps that further gerrymandered this state it became clear there has to be a political price for this behavior,” Barr said.
This is not the first unusual campaign for Barr.
In 2024 she ran as a Democrat in a district that heavily favored Republicans. The focus again was to draw attention to gerrymandering.
Her motto was “Kate Barr can’t win.”
She did not win, losing by 30 points.
But Barr was encouraged by some of the results she saw and in November launched her campaign for Congress.
This time she decided to run as a Republican.
She’s hoping that gives her an edge because in North Carolina voters not registered with either major party, known as unaffiliated, are the largest voting block in the state, and can participate in the Democrat or Republican primaries.
“Voters understand that the way to have a say is to choose which primary is actually going to elect their leader and vote in that primary,” Barr said. “I can absolutely win in this one… because primary turnout is so low it just doesn’t take that many people showing up and saying we’ve had enough to unseat an incumbent.”
Barr faces former North Carolina Speaker of the House and incumbent Republican congressman Tim Moore. His campaign told Spectrum News 1 that “Kate Barr’s latest stunt is an insult to Republican voters. Folks know a far-left fraud when they see one, and she doesn’t belong in our primary.”
Whether she wins or not, Barr hopes to encourage a fix to gerrymandering, an issue that’s front and center in North Carolina and around the country.
“Gerrymandering is wrong no matter which party is doing it, and we need to put an end to it. Period,” Barr said. “The goal, end result, is to have an independent commission in every state made up of citizens.”
Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.
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