By: Stephen Leverton
In local news, The Watauga Democrat reports that the Watauga County Board of Education has voted to re-approve the mask mandate for students and staff members. The original mandate was passed on August 9th. Members of the community present during the meeting had mixed feelings about the mandate. The board of education will meet again on October 11th.
In state news, the News and Observer reports that both Duke university and UNC Chapel Hill ranked high in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of universities nationwide. Duke came in 9th overall, with UNC being 5th highest for public universities nationwide. App State ranked 6th overall among the southern universities. The ranking measures academic quality, outcomes, graduation rates, and student debt.
In national news, CNN reports that comedian Norm Macdonald passed away on Tuesday due to complications with cancer. He was just 61. Macdonald was on Saturday Night Live as its Weekend Update host from 1994-1998. He also hosted his own show called “The Norm Show” from 1999-2001. Comedians around the world mourned the life of someone most would call their friend.
Your Boone weather comes from booneweather.com. Wednesday’s afternoon weather is partially cloudy with some potential thunderstorms that night. High tomorrow is 76 degrees with a low of 57 degrees.