Press Releases

Forty-seven individuals and organizations will be honored as Main Street Champions at a recognition ceremony on March 13th in Mooresville, celebrating their outstanding contributions to downtown revitalization and community building in 2024. With the addition of this year’s recipients, the North Carolina Department of Commerce has now recognized a total of 962 Main Street Champions since 2000. The ceremony is a key highlight of the annual North Carolina Main Street Conference, the nation’s largest statewide downtown revitalization gathering.

Ten communities will receive awards for excellence in downtown revitalization during the annual North Carolina Main Street Awards Ceremony, Wednesday, March 12 in Mooresville. North Carolina Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary of Rural Development Kenny Flowers and N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center Director Liz Parham will present awards in design, organization, and economic vitality.

Today, Governor Josh Stein announced that Ralliant Corporation, a global company providing precision technologies for a range of industry sectors will establish its global headquarters in Wake County, creating 180 jobs.  The company will invest $2.1 million in the North Hills area of Raleigh."North Carolina’s technology hub has attracted another great company to our state,” said Governor Stein. “We welcome Ralliant to the Research Triangle, where they can tap into our highly skilled workforce and workforce training systems to supercharge their business.”

Today, Governor Josh Stein visited Kate’s Korner, a Durham child care center, to announce a new Task Force for Child Care and Early Education and highlight the need to invest in North Carolina families. Co-Chaired by Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and Senator Jim Burgin, the group is tasked with identifying solutions to expand access to affordable, high quality child care across North Carolina and support the child care workforce.

There are only four days left to timely apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for 39 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. The deadline to timely file for DUA benefits is March 10. Approximately 19,680 survivors of Hurricane Helene have received $81,175,356 in disaster-related unemployment benefits since the storm swept across Western North Carolina in late September 2024. This surpasses the number of people who received benefits from Hurricanes Matthew (2016), Florence (2018) and Fred (2021) combined.

The March 10th deadline to timely apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for 39 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina is quickly approaching. DES will review late applications on a case-by-case basis. Applications for DUA can be filed online at des.nc.gov.

Governor Josh Stein today announced that the Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved 13 grant requests to local governments totaling $9,627,500. The grants include commitments creating a total of 785 jobs, 414 of which were previously announced. The public investment in these projects will attract more than $165.9 million in public and private investment. 

Today, the Commerce Department’s Division of Employment Security launched ‘Felix,’ a new Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbot to help anyone who files a new claim for unemployment benefits navigate the process of submitting a claim.“We designed Felix to help streamline the claim filing process, creating a more efficient and accessible system to apply for unemployment benefits,” said DES Assistant Secretary M. Antwon Keith. “This is an easy-to-use tool that will assist people any time of the day, allowing them to get answers quickly.”

Today, Governor Josh Stein announced that Barrier Fencing Supply Company, a business offering a broad selection of aluminum and vinyl fences to residential and commercial markets, will create 151 jobs in North Carolina. The company reports it will invest $15 million to establish a headquarters and manufacturing center in Columbus County.

Today, Governor Josh Stein announced that Provalus, an information technology outsourcing firm, will establish a Center of Excellence in Edenton that will create 61 jobs. The Provalus project brings an investment of $6.48 million to Chowan County and will add to the company’s existing presence in North Carolina.