Spartanburg City News Podcast

Today on the podcast, we're sitting down with City Manager Chris Story to get an update on the impressive list of major projects in the works for Downtown Spartanburg and our city's Northside.

Late last year, the City was awarded a $1 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a new City initiative, "Lead-safe Spartanburg." Today on the podcast, we're giving you details on the program and how the process works.

As COVID-19 continues to imact our community and we're all doing our part to flatten the curve by staying home when possible, practicing safe social distancing when in public, and wearing a cloth mask in situations where distancing is difficult, we wanted to offer a way to both share our own tips on how you can get through these challenging times and to offer our residents the chance to share their tips with us as well. So today we're kicking off our #SafeInSpartanburg campaign!

Today on the podcast, we're talking with City Manager Chris Story about the Governor's "Work or Home" order, requiring all people in South Carolinians to stay at home unless reporting to work, traveling for essentials, visiting relatives, or engaging in individual recreation. We also have an update on current City operations and a look forward at the weeks ahead.

One of the most critical ways for our community to ensure that it gets the critical Federal resources it needs depends on all of us, and in 2020, it's never been easier to do your part.

An update on COVID-19 in Spartanburg

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting communities throughout the world and Spartanburg is no different. Today on the podcast, we're offering tips on how you can stay informed and help stop the spread of this virus.

It's one of the most popular outdoor amenities in our city, and like so many other parts of Spartanburg, the Cottonwood Trail was hit hard during the recent tornado that swept across our community. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Clay McDonough and Alix Refshauge of SPACE (Spartanburg Area Conservancy) about recovery on the trail, its place in the Spartanburg community, and about the organization's broader land conservation mission.

It cut right through the heart of our city, and no one can ever remember seeing any weather event in Spartanburg quite like last Thursday's tornado. Today on the podcast, we're talking with City Manager, Chris Story about the City's response.

For the next installment in our #Spartanburg2020 podcast series, we're talking with a trio of guests about what it's like to live, work, create, and play in Downtown Spartanburg. Our guests share their perspectives and their reasons for making Spartanburg home.

Looking back on 10 years of public, private recreation investment in Spartanburg

Change is seemingly everywhere you look in Spartanburg these days, and the arts are no exception to this incredible journey of growth. Today on our next #Spartanburg2020 podcast, we're talking with Chapman Cultural Center President and CEO Jennifer Evins about the amazing surge she's seen in Spartanburg's arts community and what that growth has meant for both local artists and for the community as a whole.

More than 30 years ago, Spartanburg became the first city in South Carolina to hold an official event celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a simple ceremony around the flagpole outside Spartanburg City Hall. From the seeds sown there, Spartanburg's annual celebration has grown to include an annual gathering attended by thousands each year, and new events have been added to both honor and continue Dr. King's mission of equity, inclusion, and service.

Can you remember a more transformative decade in Spartanburg than the one we're bidding farewell to in 2019? We certainly can't. In fact, even trying to list the changes seen since 2010 quickly devolves into a spiral of "what did I leave out?" doubt. It's with that tremendous change in mind that we're launching a new project in January that will encourage locals to answer one question: What, to you, was the most transformative in Spartanburg over the last decade?

Today on the podcast, we're talking with City Manager, Chris Story about what we believe has been the most transformative decade in living memory. From the hundreds of millions invested in Downtown Spartanburg, to the combined public, private, and nonprofit efforts on our city's Northside, the city we had in 2010 was in an enormously different place from the one we call home today.