CANTON, N.C. — Four months ago, nearly 1,100 mill workers were shocked when they were told the paper mill would close after 115 years. Political anchor Tim Boyum and his team spent weeks in Canton as the small western North Carolina community grieved the news of the plant’s closing.

They were there when the final whistle blared for the last time, and they were there when workers clocked out for the very last time. The mill survived war times, pandemics and two historic floods, but this is the biggest crisis in the town’s history.

After 115 years of high-paying jobs, the smokestacks are now clear. So what’s next, and can this small town survive with the loss of 1,100 jobs?

Host Tim Boyum talks with the town’s mayor, workers who spent over 50 years in the mill and business owners who worry people will now move away.