Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Commerce will recognize 42 individuals and organizations at the N.C. Main Street Champions Recognition Ceremony on March 12 in New Bern.  Nominated by their respective Main Street communities, these award winners are honored for their commitment to downtown revitalization and building strong communities in 2025.

Thirteen communities will receive awards for excellence in downtown revitalization during the North Carolina Main Street Awards Ceremony, Wednesday, March 11 in New Bern. North Carolina Department of Commerce Chief Deputy Secretary Kenny Flowers, Assistant Secretary of Rural Economic Development Reginald Speight, and Director of the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center Liz Parham will present the awards in categories that include Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.

Seventy-two small businesses from Murphy to Manteo have earned the designation as a Certified North Carolina Destination Business by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Launched by the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center in 2025 with 33 businesses, this statewide initiative strengthens small businesses and enhances community vitality by transforming local shops into destination-worthy experiences.

Today Governor Josh Stein announced US Forged Rings, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty steel products, will establish a major production facility in Hertford County. The company says the project will involve three phases and carry a planned total investment of $875 million. According to the company, the project’s first two phases are estimated to create 625 new full-time jobs.

Governor Josh Stein today announced that North Carolina’s Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved 15 grant requests for local governments totaling $5,876,853. The grants include commitments to create a total of 277 jobs, 71 of which were previously announced. As a result of these grants, the additional investment in these projects, from private and public sources, is expected to reach more than $43 million.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it received $75.8 million from the

Today Governor Josh Stein celebrated the Siemen

This weekend, as Americans tune in to watch the Winter Olympics in Italy, Governor Josh Stein and First Lady Anna Stein are visiting several of North Carolina’s ski resorts to celebrate the mountains and the people who make North Carolina the Winter Sports Capital of the South. Today, they visited Appalachian Ski Mountain’s French-Swiss Ski College and will visit Beech Mountain Ski Resort. Tomorrow, they will explore the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort.

Film and television production activity in North Carolina generated an estimated $185.5 million in direct in-state spending in 2025. The total reflects robust investment across feature films, streaming and television series, reality programming, commercials, and independent projects, and the sum ranks as the fourth-highest year-end total since the current version of the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant program went into effect in 2015.

In 2025, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, along with its Rural Economic Development Division and the state’s Rural Infrastructure Authority, awarded rural communities across North Carolina $136.3 million in grants to revitalize housing in local neighborhoods, install and upgrade industrial infrastructure, upfit older buildings to attract businesses, and advance projects in downtown districts.