🗞️ A little love letter to Kernersville, and to calling North Carolina home

🗞️ Krispy Kreme narrows its loss as the turnaround rolls on

🗞️ A revolving door at the top: 6 superintendents in 7 years

🗞️ The Home Grown Arts Fest returns to Harmon Park on August 22

⛅ Warm and muggy | High: 88°F | Low: 72°F

Another sticky one. Look for partly sunny skies with a very warm, humid afternoon and a stray thunderstorm possible as the day heats up, rain chance around 30%. The weekend keeps the same feel, upper 80s and muggy, with a passing storm here and there, so outdoor plans are fine, just keep one eye on the radar.

Every so often it is worth stopping to notice how good we have it.

We do not always say it out loud, but there is something special about this little pocket of North Carolina. Kernersville sits right in the heart of the Triad, close enough to Winston-Salem and Greensboro for a big night out, yet small enough that you still wave at folks you know at the Harris Teeter. You can spend a Saturday morning at a downtown cruise-in, an afternoon wandering the halls of Körner's Folly, and an evening on a back porch listening to the cicadas wind down. Not many places let you do all three in one day.

And the state around us keeps giving. In a single tank of gas you can be standing in the Blue Ridge with the whole world falling away beneath you, or you can be on the coast with your toes in the Atlantic by lunch. In between there is everything: barbecue arguments that will never be settled, Friday night football, sweet tea that is somehow always sweeter here, and four real seasons that each show up on time and put on a show. Spring covers the dogwoods in white, summer stacks up thunderheads like this week's, fall turns the mountains to fire, and winter gives us just enough of a dusting to feel like a treat.

But if you ask most of us what we love, it will not be the scenery. It will be the people. It is the neighbor who mows the strip of grass on your side without being asked. It is the way the whole town seems to show up when a family is hurting, whether it is a fundraiser at the Shepherd's Center or a line out the door to give blood. It is volunteers building a festival out of nothing but goodwill, and strangers who hold the door and mean the how are you they tack onto it.

None of this is by accident. It is built, one small kindness at a time, by folks who decided this is home and worth tending. So on an ordinary muggy Friday in August, here is your reminder: we live in a genuinely good place, full of genuinely good people. Thanks for being one of them. Now go enjoy your weekend, Kernersville.

Our hometown doughnut company is still climbing, but the numbers are pointing the right way.

Winston-Salem-based Krispy Kreme reported a second-quarter loss of $20.3 million on Thursday. That is not a profit yet, but it is a big improvement from the $22.8 million loss the quarter before and a world away from the $441 million loss a year ago, which included a large one-time writedown. Sales came in at $331 million, down about 13% from last year, mostly because the company closed roughly 1,400 underperforming U.S. shops last fall and ended its short-lived breakfast deal with McDonald's.

Chief executive Josh Charlesworth said the company made continued significant progress on a turnaround built on shedding debt, leaning into franchising instead of company-owned stores, and tightening operations. Krispy Kreme has been selling off pieces to raise cash, including part of a western U.S. joint venture and its Japan business, and outsourcing much of its U.S. delivery to cut costs. It reaffirmed its plan to open at least 100 shops worldwide this year.

For a company that started with a single Winston-Salem storefront back in 1937, the ups and downs are worth watching from here. The hot light is not going anywhere, and after a rough couple of years, the trend lines are finally starting to bend in the right direction.

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With the news this week that Superintendent Don Phipps is retiring on September 30, it is worth stepping back to see just how much turnover our schools have weathered.

Since the long-tenured Don Martin retired in 2013, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has cycled through one leader after another. Beverly Emory served nearly six years and resigned in 2019. Kenneth Simington filled in as interim that year. Angela Hairston took over in September 2019 and stepped down just over a year later, in the middle of the COVID crisis. Tricia McManus led from 2020 until retiring amid the district's financial crunch in June 2025. Catty Moore bridged the gap on a six-month interim contract. Then Phipps was named superintendent in December 2025 and will leave after only about 10 months on the job, citing the need to care for his ailing 88-year-old mother.

That is six superintendents in roughly seven years, counting interims, and the board says it will begin an active search for the next interim right away. Phipps does leave the district on steadier financial ground, having helped close a $46 million deficit during his short tenure.

Stability at the top matters for the people who feel it most: teachers, principals, and the families sending kids back to class in a few weeks. Here is hoping the next chapter brings a longer one. We will keep you posted as the search moves forward.

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Mark your calendar for a laid-back day of local craft, good food, and time in the park.

The 12th annual Home Grown Arts Fest is back at Harmon Park, 152 S. Main Street, on Saturday, August 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Put on by the Kernersville Arts and Crafts Guild, this free outdoor show brings together more than 40 juried artisans selling their own handmade work: pottery, jewelry, woodworking, fused glass, fiber arts, natural body products, and all sorts of pieces for the home. Everything is handcrafted by the maker, so it is a great spot to find a one-of-a-kind gift and to hear the story behind how it was made.

Food trucks will be parked throughout the day, and Harmon Park's open lawn, shade, and playground make it an easy outing for the whole family. You can browse the booths, grab a bite, and let the kids run while you shop.

It is exactly the kind of homegrown event that makes a late-summer Saturday here so easy to love. Admission is free, so bring a friend and come support our local makers.

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