Franklin’s downtown outdoor gear store just got bigger.

Ronan MacGregor didn’t know where he came from.

He knew he was of Scottish decent, but that was about it. It wasn’t until he moved to Macon County several years ago and wandered into the Scottish Tartans Museum in downtown Franklin that he began digging into his family’s past.

You’ve sung it in the shower, in the car with the windows rolled down, at weddings, in karaoke bars, and perhaps just because you simply can’t get it out of your head.

“All Out of Love” by Air Supply is a melody that’s inescapable. It overtook the world and, decades later, still resonates deeply in those who continue to support the beloved classic soft rock group.

A group of folks allegedly raising funds on behalf of an out-of-state church have sparked complaints and questions from Franklin residents puzzled, and sometimes troubled, by the troupe’s origin and tactics.

A state-of-the-art training facility built by Drake Software is the latest addition to Macon County’s economic landscape.

All loaded up and no place to shoot — such is the plight of gun owners in Macon County, especially when its raining or snowing outside. That’s because the closest indoor shooting range to Franklin is as far as Asheville or Brevard.

After struggling through a year of poor fundraising, the veterans’ memorial in Franklin desperately needs to sell some bricks.

In a move that could save nearly 100 jobs and keep a Franklin factory from closing, an English-based company struck a deal early this week to purchase the assets of the Whitley Products plant, a struggling metal manufacturer.

For nearly $3 million, Tricorn Group bought Whitley’s Franklin factory and equipment owned by the company, some of it located at another plant site in Indiana, according to a press release from Tricorn. The property was valued at more than $4 million and had been held by a third party receiver since January.

Rhiannon Giddens is an old soul, but one that embraces modernity.

Vocalist/fiddler of renowned Americana string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Giddens is a jack-of-all-trades in not only her instrumentation but also her exploration of the history and evolution of American music.

Whether it’s a new dad catching a breather after his wife’s marathon labor or a grief-stricken daughter who just watched her mother slip away in her arms, overwhelmed hospital visitors sometimes need to escape.