Let’s be honest: North Carolina has never really been a college football state. 

In the modern era, we have flirted with it a few times. The Phillip Rivers years at NC State were exciting. Duke has had moments. So has Wake Forest. Coach Mack Brown made some noise at UNC-Chapel Hill, but never really delivered. 

In fact, you could argue that one of the biggest North Carolina football wins of all time didn’t come from the Big Four schools, but from App State, which pulled off a huge upset of Michigan in 2007. 

That hasn’t stopped our teams from playing like the future of civilization depended on it though.

Thursday night offered two intra-state battles, including NC State and East Carolina—which wrapped last season with an infamous brawl—and Elon vs. Duke. Check out the scores here. 

There’s more fun to be had. Tonight, App State plays Charlotte in the Queen City, and Wake plays Kennesaw State. On Saturday, Coastal Carolina plays Virginia. The most anticipated game might be UNC’s first game with some guy named Bill Belichick. They’ll play perennial contender TCU at 8 p.m. on Monday in Chapel Hill. 

An East Carolina fan expresses her appreciation for an NC State touchdown Thursday night in Raleigh. (Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Happy Friday to all who celebrate the weekend, which is all of us. Cardinal & Pine will take a day off Monday for Labor Day, but we’ll see you back here Tuesday. 

Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

Cardinal & Pine reader Elena Gallenberger sent us this beautiful shot of a monarch butterfly in western NC. 

It’s that time of year when these butterflies migrate south for the winter, which gives me the delightful image of a kaleidoscope of monarchs passing through. Interestingly, the monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration, flying north in the spring and south in the fall. 

(MementoJpeg/Getty Images)

Ever heard of a crisis pregnancy center?

They are mostly faith-based organizations designed to convince women not to get abortions. But as some women have found out, they present themselves as unbiased medical providers.

As Cardinal & Pine’s Jessica F. Simmons reports, there are more than 90 of them today in NC. Recently, Simmons talked with a 27-year-old woman who says she went to Queen City Pregnancy Resource Center in Charlotte expecting to see a medical provider about her unplanned pregnancy, which happened despite having an intrauterine device (IUD).

From the minute she walked in, she knew she was not in the right place. This is a must-read. Click below to read and make sure to share with your friends and family. 

1. Five unsung films that dramatize America’s rich labor history. The Conversation

“Hollywood studios and independent producers have long depicted the collective efforts of working people to improve their lives and gain a voice in their workplaces and the larger society.”

2. NC is still the worst state to work, Oxfam reports. Axios

“In August, CNBC crowned North Carolina as the No. 1 state for business. But it’s continually ranked the ‘worst’ place for workers—an unwanted title that the business news source acknowledges in its own report.”

3. NC treasurer finds $170M in state money sitting in previously unknown account. WRAL

“The account, which was opened about 25 years ago, was a catch-all for excess or unused capital funds.”

(Tai’s Captures/Unsplash)

Last week’s round of “Where are we in NC?” was tricky. Why? There are a whole lot of old theaters named “Carolina Theatre” in North Carolina.

We got answers like Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Durham, Concord, and more. But the most skilled of our readers correctly named Greensboro’s Carolina Theater—the fastest one to do so was reader Richard Ellington.

A huge shoutout to you, Richard.

Now, who’s got this week’s entry? Same rules. Fastest one to get it right gets the win.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Cardinal & Pine is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us.

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