“Truth belongs on the record. Justice belongs in the open. The community belongs at the center—24/7.”
DINA news desk
Raeford and Hoke County government, schools, public safety and community reporting.
24/7 identifies DINA’s continuing coverage desk. Each report displays its publication date; this page does not imply a new report every hour.
Election Information Clarification · Hoke County · Public Service Correction
DINA corrects an unverified meeting date: the November 12, 5:30 p.m. listing concerns 2020. Hoke County’s 2026 calendar lists canvass for Friday, November 13, at 11 a.m., in the County Commissioners Meeting Room. Confirm any November 12 meeting directly with the Board of Elections.
Public Service Guide · Hoke County · Election 2026 · Ballot Status · Canvass · Voter Assistance
A step-by-step public service guide for checking early-voting, Election Day, absentee-by-mail and provisional-ballot status before Hoke County's canvass.
Hoke County Legal Notices · Public Procurement · Requests for Proposals · Opioid Settlement Funding · Government Accountability
Bid ID 80 advertises a three-year, reimbursement-based program with a $200,000 annual aggregate ceiling and an effective $600,000 initial-term ceiling—but the county-linked document still says “Leadership Draft,” “RFP Number TBD,” and final designation before release.
Hoke County Legal Notices · Public Records Bulletin · Foreclosures · Property Sales · Court Process · Government Meetings
A verified, time-sensitive index of four active upset-bid deadlines, post-election public meetings and the North Carolina rules residents should confirm before relying on any notice.
Breaking News · Election 2026 · North Carolina · U.S. House · NC-9 · Hoke County · Independent Political Analysis
Richard Ojeda unseated NRCC chair Richard Hudson as Cyril Jefferson, Paul Barringer and Lakesha Womack toppled GOP incumbents. Hoke County's mobilized electorate supplied nearly 78% of Ojeda's districtwide edge after former primary challenger Lent Carr endorsed Ojeda at the April 11 county convention and urged party unity behind the nominee.
Breaking News · Hoke County · North Carolina · Election 2026 · U.S. House District 9 · Accountability · DINA Analysis
Hoke supplied most of Ojeda's 6,015-vote lead. The new state provisional count cannot erase it by itself, but canvass and certification remain unfinished.
Special Investigative Report · Hoke County · Raeford · Local Government · Public Finance · Public Safety · Elections · Accountability
DINA's verified review of Raeford's proposed $1,015,203.59 financing, preliminary police-building plans, county budget transfers, land-use matters and the nearly 74% vote against a local sales-tax increase.
Breaking News · Hoke County · Election 2026 · Post-Election Audit · Public Records · Accountability · DINA Analysis
North Carolina's random drawing selected all Hoke absentee-by-mail ballots and the Rockfish Community Center one-stop group for a public hand count of the U.S. Senate contest.
Breaking News · Election 2026 · North Carolina · U.S. Senate · Hoke County · Federal Government · Accountability · DINA Analysis
The State Board's 10:48 p.m. unofficial return showed Cooper ahead by 782,782 votes with 94.02% of precincts reporting. He carried Hoke County 65% to 32% in the complete precinct return.
Breaking News · Election 2026 · Hoke County · Raeford · Local Government · School Board · Sales Tax · Accountability · DINA Analysis
All 15 precincts are reporting: the sales-tax vote stands at 11,140 against and 3,917 for. Gill, Robinson and Southerland lead the school-board field; Thomas, McMillan-Evans and Southerland lead for commissioner.
DINA Investigative Report · Election 2026 · NC House District 48 · Hoke County · Scotland County · Statistical Analysis · Accountability · Editorial Judgment
Ralph Carter’s early-vote spin meets the public record: a near-zero map shift, an assessment favoring Pierce, and a veteran legislator’s documented investments in water, health care and community life.
Election 2026 · Hoke County · Special Election Guide · Public Service Journalism
Every precinct. Essential voter guidance. Official help and complaint contacts. A practical reference for voters across Raeford and Hoke County.
Opinion · Political Science · Legal Analysis · AMERICA VOTES 2026
Updated: Hoke County’s accepted early-and-mail total reached 11,049 after the final Saturday—35.65% above the comparable full 2022 period. The original signed analysis and its October 30 cutoff are preserved below.
Community Alert · Hoke County · Water Service · Highway 211 · Public Infrastructure · Accountability
Water service on Equestrian Way in the Steeplechase subdivision is expected to be interrupted for four to six hours Tuesday as crews work on lines connected to the Highway 211 widening project.
Sunday Special · Hoke County Election · Investigative Op-Ed · Early Voting · Demographics · Gerrymandering · Public Law 119-21 · Political & Legal Analysis
An investigative Sunday Election Special: 6,317 accepted Hoke ballots expose a Democratic participation advantage, a Black civic surge and the structural power of gerrymandering—but no candidate has won yet.
DINA Breaking News · Investigative Election Update · Data Analysis · Progressive Opinion
Five thousand one hundred forty-four ballots were recorded in seven voting days. Democratic participation is running far ahead of prior midterm pace, unaffiliated voters are the great accelerant, and Republicans have lost substantial share of the early electorate—even as their raw Hoke turnout is not actually below 2018 or 2022.
Investigative Analysis · Election 2026 · NC-09 · Hoke County · Working Families · Accountability · DINA Editorial Analysis
Two Democratic-sponsored surveys place Richard Ojeda within four points of Republican incumbent Richard Hudson in a district Donald Trump carried by 16.
Election Update · Public Service · Hoke County · Voting Access
Hoke County has recorded 3,131 ballots as the civilian absentee-request deadline arrives; the county elections board also lists a 5:30 p.m. meeting with its location still marked TBD.
Breaking News · Investigative Special Report · Hoke County · Public Office · Press Ethics · DINA Legal Analysis
Power, Money, Public Office and the Press Collide in Hoke County on the Eve of Voting
Election 2026 · Hoke County Special Edition · Opening-Day Report · DINA Analysis
Early voting opened with 37,737 registered voters, five candidates for three county commission seats and ten candidates for three school board seats. Registration is not turnout, and no first-day total had been posted at publication time.
Public Safety Alert · Hoke County · Raeford · Severe Weather · DINA Service Journalism
Hoke County moved from a marginal-risk outlook to a tornado watch and radar-based warning Sunday morning. The warning expired at 12:15 p.m., and the latest NWS outlook says hazardous weather is no longer expected.
Breaking News · Hoke County · Public Safety · Accountability
The Sheriff's Office says deputies recovered multiple shell casings after responding to an occupied residence early Sunday. No injuries, suspect or arrest were reported.
Investigative Report · Hoke County Infrastructure · DINA Analysis
From underground water mains to a new Justice Center, a 53,000-square-foot recreation complex, affordable housing, transit expansion and public-safety infrastructure, DINA examined the audits, Census tables, state financing records, contracts and commissioner minutes behind Hoke County’s transformation from 2014 through 2026.
Local Watchdog Report · DINA Analysis
Contracts, opioid settlement funds, water agreements, zoning, sheriff overtime and budget amendments are set for action, but the posted notice leaves the dollars and terms largely unseen.
Community Alert · Public Service Update
Hoke County says all residents should be back online; some customers may temporarily see low pressure or air in the water as the system stabilizes.
Investigative Report · Opinion & Legal Analysis
Recovered candidate positions, verified budget figures and current law reveal the decisions Hoke’s leaders must make together—and the claims that still need evidence.
Investigative Report · Political Analysis
DINA reconstructs the public forum, quotes the candidates, fact-checks the record and measures each answer against North Carolina law and Hoke County’s published data.
Political Insight · Opinion & Analysis
Hoke County and Raeford held tax rates steady while investing in schools, safety and infrastructure. The next democratic test is whether residents can see—not merely be told—how those promises are delivered.
Breaking News · Opinion & Analysis
One day short of 49 years after North Carolina created its first medical cost-containment commission, Hoke County’s nationally honored rural physician was called to confront the unfinished crisis of cost, access and medical inequality.