A family in Montgomery that has seen nine of their 10 kids enter college by age 12 is set to produce a 19-year-old lawyer. Parents Kip and Mona Lisa Harding, a couple who live in Alabama’s capital city, have 10 kids. So far, nine of them have entered college by age 12. Their youngest is […]

Alabama’s historic DeSoto Caverns will reopen to visitors on Thursday, May 21. “[T]his closure for the Caverns was its first time in thousands of years not to be experienced by people,” said Desoto Caverns president Joy Sorensen about the recent COVID-19-induced shutdown. The family business that owns and runs DeSoto Caverns says their team coordinated […]

Chris Hodges, founding and senior pastor at Church of the Highlands, joined Micah McElveen recently to discuss the spiritual path forward during these uncertain times. According to McElveen, founder and CEO of Vapor Ministries, Church of the Highlands is his organization’s largest supporter. McElveen called Hodges a mentor and a friend. Referencing one of his […]

BhamStrong has launched a program to fight COVID-19 by providing Birmingham Strong Service Corps members to help staff local nonprofits performing relief services. In the BhamStrong Nonprofit Partnership, service corps members work under the supervision and direction of approved nonprofit organizations for two to eight weeks, while being paid a living wage by BhamStrong. BhamStrong’s mission is to empower workers […]

Brianna McAnnally, a woman from Sumiton, Alabama, has created a customer sticker pack of iconic Alabama locations during her COVID-19 quarantine downtime. McAnnally sells the stickers herself, via the website Etsy; one pack is $7 When not making stickers, McAnnally is normally a dance teacher at the Athletic Art Center in Jasper, while pursuing a […]

Cullen Stafford, an officer in the Birmingham Police Department, hopes to make a return to the force in 2021 after being shot multiple times in 2019 while responding to a robbery. Stafford’s updated recovery and initial shooting were both first reported by WBRC. The 36-year-old officer was gifted a t-shirt, signed by dozens of his […]

The Auburn Twitter-sphere is abuzz after an incoming professor admittedly posted his "first controversial tweet" as an Auburn University faculty member.

Alabamians looking to buy local have a new tool at their disposal. Sweet Grown Alabama has launched a searchable database which members of the public can use to search for locally grown products in their area. “The mission of Sweet Grown Alabama is to connect farmers and families, and this database does just that,” said […]

The Archdiocese of Mobile is resuming public masses on Tuesday in light of Governor Kay Ivey’s amended safer-at-home order, but other Christian denominations are waiting a little longer. Ivey’s order removed the 10-person limit on gatherings, allowing houses of worship to legally resume on Monday, May 11. However, the governor urged each faith leader to […]

The coronavirus pandemic has brought on calls for the United States to rethink its relationship with the Chinese government. As government officials are taking up that cause, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) explained that not everyone has always been skeptical of China and its practices, especially regarding human rights and its persecution of Christians under […]

Fred Rogers, who helped raise millions of American children over three decades as public television’s icon of kindness, offered the following advice for helping them – really, all of us – deal with disaster: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look […]

David Platt recently joined Vapor Ministries founder Micah McElveen on a video conference to discuss radical service during the time of a pandemic. Platt is a former pastor at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham and now pastors McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia. His book, “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American […]

A Montgomery plumbing company is providing lunches to area healthcare workers as a way show its gratitude to them and to honor the legacy of its founder. “What the doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers have done the past 2 months is nothing shy of extraordinary,” explained Will Imbusch of Bill Bradley Services in a recent […]

Not all superheroes wear capes – some wear masks. Instead of fighting felons, they battle truly deadly forces: COVID-19, cancer and other diseases or illnesses. Wanda Roden is a registered nurse with a passion for her patients and a desire to make the work shift brighter for her co-workers. When she’s not at work, Roden […]

The World Police and Fire Games Federation has awarded the 2025 World Police and Fire Games to Birmingham, officials announced Wednesday. “From the beginning, we were impressed by all that Birmingham has to offer,” said LC Collins, World Police and Fire Games president. “We believe that this city is the whole package – from its venues, infrastructure and history […]

Automatic Seafood & Oysters in Birmingham is one of 10 finalists for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” award. The foundation defines the category as “A restaurant opened in 2019 that already demonstrates excellence in cuisine and hospitality, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.” A James Beard […]

NFL quarterback and Alabama native Jameis Winston gave away $25,000 in free meals to Birmingham families on Friday. “People in this city and people all over the world are going through a tough time right now so the least I can do is come out here and serve my community the best way I can,” […]

One North Alabama physician believes the latest data, and the whole well-being of the state’s citizens, call for an immediate, full reopening of Alabama. Dr. Andrew Hodges practices in internal medicine in Jackson County. Earlier this week, he wrote a letter to State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris outlining the reasons why he thinks the […]

It takes a lot to impress a 103-year-old World War II veteran who landed on the beaches of Normandy. Alabama head coach Nick Saban pulled it off earlier this month when he surprised the American hero with a call. WVTM 13’s Rick Karle reported Major Wooten’s encounter with Saban and posted video of the scene […]

Governor Kay Ivey proclaimed Thursday that Alabama will join the United States in celebrating the 69th annual National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 7. The governor’s proclamation says, “[W]e specifically thank God for those who defend our freedoms and ask for peace throughout our state, nation and world.” The National Day of Prayer traces […]

While bookstores in Alabama were considered nonessential and mandated closed to the public for nearly a month, many owners turned to online sales and curbside deliveries to keep revenues streaming amid what had been more than a decade of steady book business nationwide. Publishers Weekly said Americans paid more than $5 billion to buy nearly […]

Orchestra Partners and REV Birmingham have partnered to launch The Parkside Trail, a temporary conversion of First Avenue South into a car-free, multi-use trail modeled after The Open Streets Project. Beginning Saturday, May 2, the First Avenue South corridor between 12th Street and 20th Street will be closed to vehicles and become a multi-use trail […]

You might say William Carter has always had basketball in his sole. He has not only spent a lifetime playing and coaching the sport, he has devoted a large part of his life to collecting basketball shoes and sneakers because of his love of the sport and the great players of the game. Carter has […]

Perhaps overlooked by some as the state of Alabama is continuing its ban on religious gatherings in the name of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 is the financial harm inflicted on churches and other religious institutions. However, this trend is not going unnoticed by State Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills). In an appearance on Huntsville […]