THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column | Opinion OPINION – There are some topics that should never be a Sunday Column. Common sense, for instance, that should just be a given. And also, pedestrian accidents at the Cleveland County Agricultural Fair. This is the 102nd year. It’s one of those things that says fall has officially arrived in Cleveland County. I like the Fair. The rides, the food, livestock, people you haven’t seen since last year’s fair and, of course, the

By Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square Senate Democrats are withholding support unless Republicans push back SNAP cost-sharing requirements by at least two years. | Wix file photo National / AFFECTS LOCAL – American farmers, ranchers, and the agricultural industry will have to wait until at least September for the U.S. Senate to take up the long-delayed farm bill. “We’re going to come back in that first week and have another vote on the same bill again,” Senate Agriculture

Staff reports | Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers’ Market Kings Mountain – The Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers' Market will kick off the 2026 market season on Saturday, April 25 with a special Grand Opening event. The market will operate at 313 S. Battleground Avenue from 8 am until 12 noon every Saturday morning through September 26. The Grand Opening on April 25 will include an Earth Day celebration that will provide attractions and activities for market shoppers of all ages.

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina’s agriculture and agri-business economic impact is an estimated $111.1 billion annually. | The Shelby Independent file graphic (The Center Square) – Plausible reductions in agricultural exports because of retaliatory trade policies stemming from aggressive U.S. tariffs could cost North Carolina farmers $695 million, a new report says. Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman of N.C. State University, for the conservative-leaning John