The Nice List 2025

A Small, Private College Got $40 Million in State Funds for Cybersecurity Training

I nominated this story on tiny, private Montreat College scoring $40 million from the General Assembly for cybersecurity programs—though several schools within the state’s higher education system could have made better use of the money. Montreat has failed to deliver a return on taxpayers’ investment. Indeed, it has spent very little of the funds so far, and what it has spent hasn’t gone to education. Instead, Ren showed that the college has used taxpayer money to plan for future construction and bolster Christian ministries. This is perhaps the best exploration I’ve read of how a pet project can get funded with little oversight. It is also an example of what The Assembly does best.

—Jeffrey Billman, politics reporter

When I first read Ren Larson’s reporting on Montreat College, I started sending the link to my friends and family before I was even finished with the story. This is the sort of reporting which proves why paying attention to the state legislature matters. In the context of the several other great stories this spring about small colleges struggling with their finances, this story on how a private college got $40 million in state funding seemed especially notable and baffling. Plus, this story has some of Ren’s signature beautiful data visualizations.

—Grace McFadden, head of engagement

UNC’s Risky Belichick Math

This story revealed that UNC-Chapel Hill was shifting millions of dollars to support athletics even before it agreed to spend $10 million on Bill Belichick’s salary. It also raised thoughtful questions about UNC-CH’s goals for both athletics and academics, including which schools the state’s flagship would strive to emulate. And finally, it yielded my favorite scoop of the year: That Belichick had asked a UNC athletics spokesperson to copy his girlfriend on all emails to him.

—Emily Stephenson, managing editor

Longtime N.C. Voters May Have Their Ballots Wrongfully Tossed in Supreme Court Race

The prolonged state Supreme Court race between Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin was in my view the biggest political event of the year. The story of mine that most stands out is my reporting on longtime voters who had incorrectly been challenged as never living in the state. When the state Supreme Court said those “never residents” should be removed from the vote count—without any evidentiary hearing—I poured through spreadsheets and knocked on doors to find people who were incorrectly given that label and at risk of having their votes thrown out. A federal judge later appeared to reference that reporting. It still bothers me that none of the partisans sniping at each other about the race ever looked into whether these voters lived in the state. Facts matter. That’s what I hope we all take away from this episode.

—Bryan Anderson, politics reporter

A College Sports Fan’s Lament

College sports fans are frustrated. Players change schools every year and regional rivalries have been diminished as conferences have expanded, sometimes across the country. Andrew Long tapped into that frustration by telling the story of a Duke grad who took out his frustration on social media after the Blue Devils’ baseball coach bolted for UVa.

—John Drescher, senior editor

I Salvaged $6,000 of Luxury Items Discarded by Duke Students. Why Did It Make Me Feel So Terrible?

One Duke student’s trash is one normal person’s treasure. Lena rooted through a discarded pile of Durham’s most privileged students and came out with $6,000 of goods. She chronicled (and spreadsheeted) her experience for our entertainment.

—Chase Pellegrini de Paur, Durham reporter

How the N.C. Legislature Bankrolls Anti-Abortion Centers

The piece shines a light on troubling encounters naive young women face when stumbling into the publicly financed centers. They are often given bad medical advice and emotionally fraught guidance from religiously motivated rather than medically driven institutions that carry life-altering consequences.

—Johanna Still, health care reporter

One of my favorite stories of the past year was this investigative piece from Ren Larson and Whiney Clegg. It is a complex and sensitive story that took months of work and is grounded by interviews with people who had sought services at these crisis pregnancy centers only to learn later what these centers were really about. This is accountability reporting at its best.

—Michael Hewlett, criminal justice and courts reporter

Prosecutors Made a Rare Concession in a Murder Case. But Will It Matter?

Talk about putting on a clinic on how to weave an engaging narrative out of years—decades, really—of legal twists and turns, personal drama, questions about justice and the justice system. Pays to be a veteran with deep subject knowledge and we’re lucky to have a number of those folks out there reporting for us.

—Joe Killian, Greensboro editor

I Traveled Between Durham and Raleigh on Amtrak. It Was Great, Until It Wasn’t.

Good reporting should make people feel closer to their world. Chloe did that through her own research on the question “How feasible is it to commute between Raleigh and Durham by train?” Amid some travel drama, she also lays out the state of funding and ridership in the Triangle. Must read for any train or infrastructure enthusiasts.

—Chase Pellegrini de Paur, Durham reporter

The Berger King

Jeffrey Billman’s profile of state Senate leader Phil Berger not only shed new light on how North Carolina’s most powerful politician operates, it also featured my favorite quote of the year. “You know as well as I do that you don’t scrape a pimple off a gnat’s ass without Bill Rabon and Phil Berger’s permission in the North Carolina Senate,” state Sen. Bobby Hanig told Billman. That’s a turn of phrase I won’t forget.

—Carli Brosseau, education reporter

Why Most Counties Aren’t Doing All Required Restaurant Inspections

Anyone who’s ever seen Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares, or has gotten food poisoning like he did several times on the show, can vouch for how important inspectors like Vera McConnell, the one at the center of this story, are to food safety. Yet, before Jimmy Ryals’ piece, I never thought about what it takes to train and hire someone to do the job. It’s an example of what I love about so many of The Assembly’s stories: They ask questions about things I never knew I had questions about.

—Morgan Casey, health reporter

A Labor of Love

This story did a lot of things and did them well. In just 600 words, Sayaka shared a deeply personal story about her family, gave an insight into what food means to her and gave a spotlight to an excellent new restaurant that’s now in the physical space that was once her family’s place. Food writing can do a lot of things, when it’s done well. This is a great example.

—Joe Killian, Greensboro editor

I’ve Seen How the Neo-Nazi Movement Is Escalating. You Should Worry.

This story is gripping from beginning to end—even though you soon realize there’s really no end, because the threat is ongoing. Jordan Green seamlessly blended personal essay with relentless, detailed reporting. He manages to convey how his work uncovering domestic extremists upended his family’s life with emotion and depth, while still delivering clarity and context about what he learned in the process. It’s truly the kind of story you won’t see in many other outlets, and I’m so proud we were able to work with him to publish it.

—Kate Sheppard, executive editor