LAURINBURG —Senior Zaymon Gibson scored 26 points as the Fighting Scots’ boys basketball team (11-11) defeated the Cape Fear Colts on the road, 58-55, Thursday. This victory helped Scotland get back on the winning track and even their record at .500.

Sophomore Kam Prince scored 12 points, while freshman Cornelius Davis contributed a solid nine off the bench. With this victory, the Scots took a significant step toward qualifying for the playoffs.

“The guys did everything we asked of them,” head coach Jarvis Cobb said. “With it being the end of the year, we want to be in the playoffs and have to be playing at our best.”

The Scots held a lead at the end of each quarter, but a tightly contested fourth quarter left the Colts with a 55-54 lead with 1:51 remaining. It seemed as if Cape Fear would pull away, but Scotland’s defense held strong and didn’t allow another score.

Zaymon Gibson and Kam Prince went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line down the stretch, and Cape Fear’s final heave for the tie fell short and Scotland walked away victorious.

“In our first meeting they [Cape Fear] gave it to us; we played one of the worst games of the season, but we bounced back and pulled out the victory,” Cobb said.

Scotland will be on the road in a rematch versus Gray’s Creek on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

LAURINBURG —After an abysmal loss to the Lumberton Pirates, 66-45, on Tuesday, in which senior Zaymon Gibson, the Scots’ leading scorer, was held to nine points, Fighting Scots head coach Jarvis Cobb has the team focused on a bigger prize: the playoffs.

Cobb has given this team the most wins (10) and a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in two years. With three games remaining this season, everything remains in front of Scotland.

“I will be content with winning the next two games to put ourselves in position for the playoffs,” Cobb said. “I want to double the win total the team had last year. As a first-year head coach, reaching the playoffs and winning double-digit games—that’s a successful season.”

It’s been a long road for Scotland. Having faced their fair share of adversity, it hasn’t been easy. Transitioning from a team that once had a full roster to one that now has to rely on junior varsity players due to varsity players being ineligible and off-the-court issues has been challenging.

In Tuesday’s defeat, the Scots led 28-27 at halftime over the No. 1 team in the conference. In the second half, Lumberton played with a different tenacity. Cobb told reporters after the game that the team “quit” once doubt crept in.

“We quit once [Lumberton] went on a run. We can play with any team as long as we keep it up for four quarters, but when you don’t, you lose,” he said.

Looking ahead, the Scots face a Cape Fear Colts team that defeated them on their home floor earlier this season. If Scotland is who they say they are—a resilient team that can beat anyone—there’s no better place to prove it. Scotland (10-11) travels to Cape Fear (8-13) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

LAURINBURG —Scotland High senior baseball player Dawson Williams joins fellow teammate Kaden Hunsucker as the latest Fighting Scot to sign with Erskine College. Here are photos from his signing day.

LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots girls’ basketball team (1-19) lost to the Lumberton Pirates, 68-31, on Tuesday. Here are photos from the game.

LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots girls’ basketball team (1-18) lost to the Gray’s Creek Bears, 46-9, on Monday. Here are photos from the game.

LAURINBURG — Senior Zaymon Gibson scored 14 points as the Fighting Scots boys basketball team earned their second win in a row, defeating the Gray’s Creek Bears, 59-54, Monday to improve their record to 10-10.

Sophomores Kam Prince scored 11 points, while Nazire’ Campbell contributed 10. Junior Collin Hill added eight points and 16 rebounds. The Scots pulled away from the Bears in the final moments of the fourth quarter, thanks to clutch free throws from Prince and Campbell down the stretch.

“We knew everything wasn’t going to go our way,” head coach Jarvis Cobb said after the win. “At the beginning of the game we didn’t make free throws or grab rebounds; in the clutch, we did both.”

“I love this team; they don’t quit. We’ve preached whenever your number is called, be ready. And Kam [Prince] usually starts, comes off the bench and was huge for this victory.”

The Scots shot 41% from the field and significantly improved at the free-throw line in the second half, sinking 13 out of 18. Scotland never trailed throughout the game in a hard-fought final home game of the season.

Scotland (10-10) will begin a four-game road trip to close out the season. They will hit the road Tuesday to face the Lumberton Pirates at 7:30 p.m.

LAURINBURG —Scotland High standout Shylan Harrell just received his second athletic scholarship from North Carolina Wesleyan University, after earning his first offer from Brevard University.

Harrell is a two-sport athlete who excels in both basketball and football, making significant contributions to each sport. Over his four years of playing football, he has recorded a total of 133 tackles, one sack, six interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He was selected as a member of the Shrine Bowl for football on Dec. 15, 2025. In basketball, he has averaged 6.9 points, 1.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

Congrats to Shylan Harrell!

LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots girls’ basketball team (1-17) lost to the Purnell Swett Rams, 50-11, on Friday. Here are photos from the game.

LAURINBURG — Senior Zaymon Gibson scored 19 points as the Fighting Scots boys basketball team defeated the Purnell Swett Rams, 65-53, on Senior Night Friday.

Juniors Javeer Pasley contributed 15 points, and Collin Hill added eight points and 14 rebounds to the final score. The Scots rallied from a 45-39 deficit at the end of the third quarter.

“This win feels amazing,” Gibson said. “We’re coming off a 0-4 conference record. As a team, we just wanted to shake off the bad mojo and get a winning streak going and make it to the playoffs.”

Scotland snapped a four-game losing skid to give their seniors a victory.

“We definitely wanted a win for the seniors,” head coach Jarvis Cobb said. “We challenged the guys; we’re at the bottom of the barrel, and it’s on us to see if we’re going to fight back. So far, they have accepted the challenge.”

The game mirrored the Scots’ season: they started 4-1 and let some games slip away, leaving them at 8-10. Against the Rams, Scotland jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Purnell Swett led at the end of the first half and third quarter. Unlike previous games, the Scots showed true fight.

“Usually, we get up on teams, and we allow them to come back,” Cobb said. “But tonight was something different. We jumped out, they [Purnell Swett] took it back and we fought back from a double-digit lead.”

“We came ready to play and gave them [Purnell Swett] everything we had. Just because we’re winning doesn’t mean we have the upper hand. The focus is to play an entire game with the same intensity and come away with a victory,” senior Shylan Harrell said.

Scotland shot 44% from the field and improved their record to 9-10. They will host the 3-15 Gray’s Creek Bears Monday at 7:30 p.m.

LAURINBURG — The Scotland boys’ bowling team participated in the conference bowling tournament on Friday. Garrett Boyer finished in first place and bowled a perfect game in the individual competition. Kenean Smith finished third in the conference, and Grayson Leviner placed seventh. The team finished third overall and qualified for the state championship Friday at the Sandhills Bowling Center in Aberdeen at 10 a.m.

I pray this morning that we will strive to have a good reputation. Each day we live, we are building a reputation. Let’s make sure that our reputation is a good one and not a bad one.

I remember some years ago when we were in the parking lot of a church where I had been invited to preach. When we got there, nobody was there. We waited, and nobody showed up. A member of the church passed by, saw us sitting outside the church and pulled in to ask what was going on. I told her we had been invited to come that evening to render service.

She, being a member, said she didn’t know anything about the service. It wasn’t announced in church, and the pastor had not said anything about it. She asked with a smile, “Well, who was it that invited you to come?” I told her the individual’s name — and her whole facial expression changed. It dropped. She knew who I was talking about. She knew her reputation, and I knew it too and wasn’t surprised.

She hadn’t told her pastor or the church about the program. She didn’t call me to say she wasn’t having a program after she had invited me. We drove all the way there from McColl, South Carolina, wasted gas, and to this day she has not called or apologized for that incident. A bad reputation.

Community, y’all don’t want to be talking to somebody and they’re smiling, and then you call the name of your church, a church member or your pastor, and their expression changes and their face drops. And I don’t want to be talking to somebody about some of you as a church member and their facial expression drops. Readers, if someone were to ask your neighbors, co-workers, close family members or church members about you, what would they say? How would they look? A good reputation.

Are we honest, with moral conviction about what is right, and refuse to change? We don’t deal under the table. We don’t lie to get food stamps. We try to keep our word. We don’t park in handicap parking — even if we have a handicap sticker that is not ours — when we are not handicapped and have two good legs, while someone who really needs it can’t get in and has to struggle to walk from a distance. Integrity. We don’t take what doesn’t belong to us. We don’t break the law. We are law-abiding citizens. We have a good reputation.

That’s exactly what Jesus meant when he said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light so shine before men” — family, co-workers, neighbors, the unchurched — “that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

The world is looking for true peace, hope, purpose, love and a reason to live. They are thirsty, but they’re drinking from the wrong fountain. Drugs won’t quench this thirst. Alcohol and sex won’t quench this thirst. Being a celebrity or a sports superstar won’t quench this thirst. Working all the time, playing the lottery and getting rich won’t quench this thirst. Going from man to man, woman to woman won’t quench this thirst. A sex change won’t quench this thirst.

Christian friends, sinners are all around us. We should be drawing them to our light. A good reputation for Christ is like a magnet, like a light. A good reputation is meant to shine and give direction. We ought to be light-radiating people. Nothing stands out like a good reputation.

And what is a good reputation? The Apostle Paul told Titus in the book of Titus, Chapter 2, verses 6-8, to be sober-minded and a pattern of good works for others to follow — clean, sincere and serious. He reminded Titus to be careful in his speech and how he talked, lest the enemy find something to criticize. We have to be careful, too. Nothing is worse than a foul-mouthed Christian.

A person with a good reputation doesn’t use profanity, doesn’t talk out of both sides of their mouth, doesn’t engage in foolish talk, doesn’t swear, doesn’t lie or spread rumors. Their word is “yes, yes” and “no, no” (Matthew 5:37). They have sound speech that cannot be condemned (Titus 2:8).

Community friends, Satan can lie on you, but nobody will believe it when you have a good reputation. You don’t have to speak for yourself — your reputation will speak for you. Doors will open for you. The Lord will bless your socks off when you have a good reputation. The devil’s fiery darts will bounce off, and no weapon formed against you will prosper when you have a good reputation (Isaiah 54:17).

Community, our shouting and spiritual dancing is no good. Saying hallelujah and waving your hand in the sanctuary is nonprofit. Prophesying, speaking in tongues and speaking into other people’s lives is no good if you don’t have a good reputation.

God doesn’t want our praise when our reputation is not good. Our worship is no good without it. So, community, let’s keep our noses clean. Let’s keep our hands out of the cookie jar. Let’s lift up clean and holy hands (1 Timothy 2:8). Let’s have a good reputation for Jesus Christ.

LUMBERTON — Heritage Winds from the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band will perform at the Carolina Civic Center and Historic Theater in downtown Lumberton on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Audiences can expect to be charmed by the artistry of Heritage Winds. The five Air Force professionals bring a fresh and innovative approach to chamber music, creating an intimate and memorable concert experience. From the timeless elegance of classical composers to the cutting-edge sounds of the 21st century, Heritage Winds explores the full spectrum of wind ensemble repertoire. More than musicians, the group’s members are dedicated airmen who use the power of music to honor veterans, inspire patriotism and share the Air Force story with communities across the region.

Activated in 1941, the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band has a long history of inspiring public patriotism and enhancing esprit de corps across all U.S. military service branches. The world-class musicians are stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, and travel throughout the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, presenting more than 350 events annually for the general public, as well as for airman morale and protocol events. The band remains at the forefront of communicating Air Force core values while preserving and enriching America’s military and musical heritage in the 21st century.

The concert is free and open to the public, with general seating.

Next on the theater’s schedule is the annual Bluegrass on the Blackwater concert, featuring The Country Gentlemen Show, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12.

Tickets for the Mainstage Series can be purchased online at www.carolinaciviccenter.com. Tickets also may be purchased in person with cash or credit card from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through the administrative offices on the theater’s second floor, accessible from the Fourth Street entrance, or by calling the Civic Center at 910-738-4339. When available, tickets also may be purchased at the door. The theater lobby box office opens one hour prior to each performance.

PEMBROKE — They crossed two commencement stages in two days, earned two degrees from two universities and closed out five demanding years of engineering study.

On Dec. 11, three UNC Pembroke students, McLean Pait III, Caleb Locklear and Kendrick Oxendine, graduated from N.C. State University. Two days later, they crossed the graduation stage at UNCP, completing the 3+2 dual-degree engineering program that opens doors to advanced engineering opportunities through an intentional, student-centered pathway.

Through the 3+2 partnership, students spend their first three years at UNCP completing foundational coursework — typically in applied physics or geo-environmental studies — before transferring to NC State’s College of Engineering for two additional years. Graduates earn two bachelor’s degrees: applied physics from UNCP and an engineering degree from NC State. Since its launch in 2016, the program has expanded from mechanical and electrical engineering to include civil and environmental engineering pathways, providing students with multiple options in high-demand fields.

For Pait, a mechanical engineering major, the experience was both demanding and enriching.

“It’s been very challenging at both universities, but we’ve had a great time,” Pait said. “My experience at UNC Pembroke greatly prepared me for the engineering program at NC State. I had great professors at UNCP who provided the foundation I needed. Being in that program allowed me to move into the NC State program seamlessly.”

Pait also said being among the first students to complete the pathway is a point of pride.

“It’s a great honor and it’s exciting to see other students coming behind us now.”

Locklear, who is already working in the engineering field with Sentinel Fence, said the program gave him access to opportunities he never imagined.

“Graduating with two degrees is mind-blowing,” said Locklear, a native of Maxton. “I chose UNCP because of the 3+2 program. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

Locklear credited UNCP faculty for preparing him for the transition to NCSU’s demanding engineering curriculum.

“Many of the things brought up at NC State were introduced to us at UNCP. The professors at Pembroke are amazing. They really helped us get here,” Locklear said.

For Oxendine, a member of the UNCP Honors College who began taking college classes while still in high school, the dual graduation was the culmination of years of steady preparation.

“It’s unreal. I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my head around it,” Oxendine said. “UNCP’s faculty and staff prepared me for NC State. Moving from small classes to large 60- to 100-student lectures can be intimidating, but UNCP did a great job getting us ready.”

Oxendine, who is interviewing with Mills Wright Services, an agricultural engineering firm based in Lumberton, said he looks forward to helping future students in the program.

Dr. Bill Brandon, professor of physics and coordinator of the 3+2 program, said the success of this graduating trio reflects both the rigor of the pathway and its rapid growth in recent years.

“What we’re seeing now is the result of a program that has matured and gained momentum,” Brandon said. “The dual-degree structure gives students a solid physics foundation that prepares them to transition seamlessly into specialized engineering programs at NC State, particularly in mechanical and electrical engineering.”

Brandon noted that faculty mentorship, hands-on laboratory experiences and collaborative projects have played a key role in student engagement and retention.

“Graduates of this program are increasingly competitive,” Dr. Brandon said. “They enter the workforce with a versatile skill set that bridges scientific theory and engineering application, which is exactly what employers are looking for.”

The program’s enrollment growth was modest in its early years; however, interest has accelerated significantly in recent years.

“Using 2020 as a baseline, we saw approximately a 30% increase in enrollment by 2024, followed by more than a 70% increase last fall,” Brandon said. “That growth speaks to the value students see in earning two degrees and the confidence they have in the preparation they receive at UNCP.”

LAURINBURG —After finishing 7-16 on the season, including a trip to the state playoffs, the Fighting Scots boys’ soccer team looks to build on the success of the 2025-26 season. Here are some key players to watch.

Freshman forward - Nathan Ward

Ward will enter his second year of play after leading the team with 26 goals and 56 shots on goal last season season. During the first half of the season, he was the nation’s leading scorer among freshmen. A versatile player who can not only play forward but also wing and midfield, Ward will look to build on his career numbers and lead the Fighting Scots’ offensive attack.

Sophomore forward - Dakota Locklear

Locklear will look to play a key role in the Fighting Scots’ offense next season. Entering his third year, Locklear has 14 career goals and 54 career shots on goal. His speed and aggressive approach will set the tempo for the Scots’ offense. With Locklear and Nathan Ward leading the attack, Head Coach Jeremy White will be entering his second year as the team’s coach and is anticipating another impressive season and even more goals scored.

Junior midfielder - Jackson Hernandez

Two-year starter Jackson Hernandez will begin his senior season with a total of three career goals, 23 career assists, 39 career shots on goal and 35 career steals. Last season, he led the team in both assists and steals. Hernandez, who has also played center back, is being considered as a possible replacement for the defensive standout, senior Elijah “Tre” Kennedy. According to White, Hernandez knows soccer due to having parents who have played and coached soccer at the collegiate level.

Sophomore center back - Billy Gilmore

Sophomore Billy Gilmore, who started alongside Elijah “Tre” Kennedy at center back, is looking to lead the defense for the Fighting Scots’ next season. White emphasized Gilmore’s love and dedication for the game, which he wishes every player possessed. After coming off the bench as a freshman, he entered last season as a starter and accumulated 16 steals on the season.

Junior goalkeeper - Andrew Medlock

Junior Andrew Medlock will take over as the varsity goalkeeper from senior Chris White. Medlock enters next season with 204 career saves and only two goals allowed per game during his junior varsity tenure. A leader on the team, White expects him to step up and lead the varsity team for the upcoming season.

Sophomore midfielder - Braden Smith

With four of the Fighting Scots midfielders graduating this year, White is looking to third-year player Braden Smith to step up and take the lead in the midfield attack. Smith, who boasts a career scoring average of 60%, offers the team a valuable scoring threat from the midfield position.

At the outset of the American Civil War, a young and at the time relatively undistinguished U.S. Army officer from Illinois who would later rise swiftly through the ranks, offered a simple and straightforward assessment of the political situation in his divided and troubled country in a letter to his father.

“There are but two parties now, traitors and patriots,” said Ulysses S. Grant, “and I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter, and I trust, the stronger party.”

Grant’s trenchant and ultimately famous observation has surfaced frequently in the national political conversation in the present era as those opposed to Donald Trump’s blitzkrieg against democracy and the Constitution have grasped for ways to characterize and rally the resistance.

Some observers, of course, rightfully point out that while the current situation is deeply worrisome, it remains a far cry from the reality Grant was watching play out in April of 1861. The United States of 2026 may be a hot mess right now, but there is little indication that we are on the precipice of mass violence – much less a civil war that would take the lives of 2% of the nation’s population.

That said, it’s also undeniable that there is a painful and powerful truth in Grant’s statement that resonates today as forces led by a rogue president work aggressively to discard decades of established constitutional precedent and societal progress and establish what amounts to a lawless and violent autocracy.

And right now, thankfully, North Carolinians are watching as this development plays out in the strong and even courageous statements and actions of their senior U.S. senator, Thom Tillis.

The most recent example: Tillis’s powerful and the on-the-mark takedowns of Trump’s outrageous and un-American immigration enforcement regime. As veteran political observer Thomas Mills observed in an insightful column last week, when it comes to the disaster playing out in the Department of Homeland Security and the crisis it has precipitated in Minnesota, “Tillis is leading that charge. He’s put himself out there despite a vindictive White House and he’s making clear that other Republicans are with him, even if they are too cowardly to speak up. His politics are right on this issue.”

Mills notes further that these actions come on the heels of Tillis’s previous breaks with Trump on several other definitive issues – including Putin’s war on Ukraine, Greenland, pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists and the use of the Department of Justice against Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.

That it has come to this is something that would have seemed unlikely even a few years ago. Though Tillis has never really been a true Trump loyalist, he also caved into the demands of Trump and his minions for years and, in many instances, has happily championed much of the far right’s policy agenda.

And even today, as Tillis prepares to enter forced retirement in 11 months thanks to the demands of the Trumpist far right, it would be delusional to think that he has somehow been transformed into a fighting progressive. That he is still the same man who once infamously called upon conservatives to “divide and conquer” the Americans receiving public assistance by encouraging people with physical disabilities to “look down” on those without them seems likely.

But of course, it would be equally delusional to imagine that such incongruities weren’t fully present at the time of Grant’s statement and throughout the Civil War era.

As even a cursory review of history reminds us, the Americans and their leaders who remained loyal to the Union were a hugely diverse lot – a group that included not just dedicated abolitionists and human rights supporters, but an ample supply of white supremacists, capitalists on the make, cynical and ambitious politicians, and scoundrels of all kinds.

At some basic level, however, what united these people and bestows upon them all, in retrospect, a measure of nobility and heroism was their commitment – as Grant neatly summed it up – to side with preserving and extending the American experiment in human freedom.

They may have disagreed, even vehemently, on scores of hugely important issues, but at some basic and core level, they came together, often messily and inefficiently, on what was a fundamental matter of right and wrong. And their successful effort to resist the establishment of a new nation premised on the evil of slavery remains one of the great and seminal achievements of modern human history.

And so it is that today, at what amounts to another getting-down-to-brass-tacks moment in our nation’s history, North Carolinians are right to give Senator Tillis credit, thanks and support for finally saying and doing the right things.

Caring and thinking people can and will rightfully disagree with the senator on numerous important matters, but there will always be time for those debates. Right now, when it comes to the issue that dwarfs all others – Donald Trump’s ongoing effort to rend American democracy and impose authoritarianism – Tillis is siding with the patriots.

Editor’s note: The views in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Laurinburg Exchange.

LAURINBURG — Senior Taylor Johnson has been named the conference swimmer of the year and has qualified for the state swim meet. She will be competing in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle events. The meet is scheduled to take place at the Triangle Aquatic Center on Feb. 13.

Here are three stories about North Carolina’s economy that made headlines last week — each undeniably newsworthy and yet each requiring more information to put in proper historical context.

First, North Carolina’s gross domestic product grew by 5.6% in inflation-adjusted terms during the third quarter of 2025, far exceeding the national (4.4%) and regional (4.5%) averages. Only five states experienced faster growth during the quarter.

Second, North Carolina attracted more domestic in-migration last year — more than 84,000 net new residents from mid-2024 to mid-2025 — than any other state in the nation.

And third, North Carolina officials announced major new investments in manufacturing facilities for John Deere tractors (in Kernersville), Corning optical cable (in Hickory), and Genentech biotechnology (in Holly Springs).

All good news, to be sure. But one shouldn’t assess economic performance on the basis of a single week, month, quarter, or year. Conditions and trajectories change. No state or region ever holds the top (or bottom) spot for a long period of time. North Carolinians can be justly pleased with their state’s relative performance in recent years, and their elected officials justly proud of the policy reforms they’ve enacted, while also recognizing ample room for improvement.

If we widen the GDP statistic from a single quarter to a decade, for example, North Carolina ranked 13th in inflation-adjusted growth from 2015 to 2025, with our 31% increase in real GDP beating the national average (27%) while merely tying the Southeastern average. South Carolina (34%), Tennessee (34%), and Georgia (32%) modestly outpaced us.

With regard to domestic in-migration, North Carolina was tops in the net number of Americans moving to our state but not in rate of in-migration. Our smaller neighbor South Carolina exceeded us there. More significantly, the Carolinas added new residents at a comparatively high clip but our populations are actually growing a bit slower than they did during past decades. America as a whole is experiencing slower population growth, a combination of lower birthrates and less immigration from overseas.

Finally, while job announcements qualify as good news — and I have no reason to doubt that John Deere, Corning, and Genentech will follow through and prosper — there is by now a long history of companies and economic-development officials announcing new or expanded investments that end up smaller than promised, or wholly ephemeral.

The most prominent recent example is Vinfast, the Vietnam-based automaker that years ago announced a new electric-vehicle plant in Chatham County. There’s been little movement on the site. Its fate is, at best, uncertain.

In this case, the plural of anecdote is, indeed, data. Rather than assess the trajectory of North Carolina’s production and labor markets on the basis of headlines, we should focus on broad datasets available over long periods of time.

Take manufacturing jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were some 453,000 North Carolinians employed in manufacturing in December 2025. Twelve months earlier, the figure was 461,000. More generally, the annual average number of manufacturing jobs in North Carolina in 2025 was the second-lowest in a decade. Only in the pandemic-suppressed year of 2020 were fewer North Carolinians working in the sector.

By no means do I offer these clarifications as criticisms. North Carolina’s economy is better than most, and the fiscal and regulatory policies enacted by the General Assembly since 2011 have made our state a more attractive place to live, work, shop, and invest. As for manufacturing, it is making up a decreasing share of total employment because manufacturers have gotten more productive, not because North Carolina is deindustrializing. Our manufacturing output remains robust.

My point is simply that “good” can always be upgraded to “better.” Other states, including some of our neighbors, have been enacting their own reforms. North Carolina policymakers should keep pressing forward — on land-use regulation, permitting reform, hospital competition, workforce housing, education, infrastructure, and other priorities.

Economic development isn’t a sprint. It isn’t even a marathon. It’s a high-stakes race with no finish line.

Editor’s note: John Hood’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Laurinburg Exchange.