Dare County Commissioner Carson Creef addressed his recent arrest during closing remarks at Thursday’s Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting and asked for forgiveness.

The 2026 primary election takes place on Tuesday, March 3, with early voting kicking off next month and absentee voting already underway. Across the Outer Banks, voters’ primary ballots depend on their geographic location and political party affiliation.

The “Land of Beginnings” is gearing up for a series of events this year to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

A courtroom electronics ban went into effect across the seven-county First Judicial District for both superior court and district court settings. Public opinions vary, as do possible exemptions for journalists.

The Rules Review Commission during its Thursday morning meeting in Raleigh approved the rule designating Jockey’s Ridge an area of environmental concern after over two years of objecting to the rule and returning it to the Coastal Resources Commission for revisions.

A temporary North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles’ (NCDMV) driver license office is open in Manteo for four days amid a two-week-long closure of the Nags Head office due to an insect infestation.

A judge on Monday ruled that the district attorney can withhold case information from the mother of the teen fatally shot outside Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills in July.

The Dare County Board of Elections certified the results of the 2025 municipal election in its Friday, Nov. 14, canvass meeting, including a Kitty Hawk mayoral race decided by three votes.

Voters in the towns of Kitty Hawk and Manteo have selected new mayors, with the Kitty Hawk mayoral race decided by two votes, according to unofficial North Carolina State Board of Elections results published Tuesday night. The 2025 municipal election cycle included a total of 20 local governing board seats across the six towns in Dare County.

In this year’s municipal election, two incumbent leaders in the Town of Kill Devil Hills and two incumbent leaders in the Town of Southern Shores are all running unopposed for reelection.

Community members concerned with an expected rise in food insecurity amid an ongoing federal government shutdown and in the face of the first-ever anticipated federal pause on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been seeking and creating ways to help their neighbors.

In this year’s municipal election for the Town of Manteo, two candidates are running for the contested mayor seat, while three other candidates are running unopposed for three open town council seats.

In this year’s municipal election for the Town of Nags Head, three candidates are running for two open commissioner seats, another three candidates are running for one open unexpired term commissioner seat and the mayor’s race is uncontested.

In this year’s municipal election for the Town of Kitty Hawk, two candidates are running for the contested mayor seat, while two others are running unopposed for open town council seats.

Six candidates are running for the five available town council seats in the Town of Duck. The town’s next mayor will be selected from among the incoming council members.

Dare County has a Wednesday deadline for homeowners to apply for a federal grant program that would potentially purchase threatened homes or raise homes in several years. Interested homeowners can fill out an ongoing county survey to be contacted about future grant opportunities.

Voters residing within the town limits of Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Manteo and Southern Shores are eligible to cast ballots in the upcoming election.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners at its Wednesday meeting in Manteo unanimously approved a zoning map amendment to increase the density on a group of Colington lots.

The long-awaited new Dare County license plate agency will open in Kitty Hawk on Thursday, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The General Assembly voted “The Power Bill Reduction Act,” sponsored by 10 Republican senators including the two representing the Outer Banks, into law over Gov. Josh Stein’s veto. Independent analyses claim the legislation will do the opposite of its short title, increasing household bills.