Good News Friday: A Brand New Crayfish Species, Business Booms, and One Big Idea From a NC HBCU

Our weekly roundup of things to feel good about in North Carolina today.

Last week, we started a new Friday tradition. Good News Friday, because there is just plenty of things to feel bad about. Let’s talk about the good too.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

5 NC Cities are Ranked Among the Best Places in the Country to Start a Business 

Two WalletHub studies analyzed data from cities around the country to see which ones had the best environments to support new businesses. Durham, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem made it into the top 15 slots of the best large cities, and Morrisville was ranked number 10 in their list of small cities.  

Each study calculated city rankings on about 18-19 factors such as business survival rate, labor costs, and growth rate. 

NC A&T Launches the Fresh and Local Incentive Program 

Earlier this month a team at NC A&T, one of NC’s biggest historically Black colleges, launched a program that increases accessibility to fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables for people who receive SNAP benefits, better known as food stamps. There are 24 food deserts in Guilford County and this program addresses the need for affordable and nutritious fresh food. 

Community Supported Agriculture boxes, which are filled with produce from local farmers, are available for half of the estimated cost and can be purchased with SNAP benefits. 

2 New Species of Crayfish Discovered in North Carolina  

The Stony Fork crayfish and the Falls crayfish were recently discovered in western North Carolina. They were found in the upper Yadkin River basin, and are specifically acclimated to those conditions – meaning it’s the only place in the world the two species call home. 

Their existence also means there might have been a point in time when the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico were connected by an ‘aquatic bridge’, even while at present they are separated by the Eastern Continental Divide. 

NC Highways Are Some of the Best in the Nation 

North Carolina’s state-run highway system was rated the second best in the nation in terms of cost effectiveness and conditions. The Annual Highway Report  found that our state has an “excellent highway system” and out of the 13 judged categories, we ranked in the top 25 spots in 11 of them.