The 2020-2021 hunting season will bring big changes for white-tailed deer hunters in a few parts of Alabama with the creation of two new deer zones. The newly created zones D and E will allow hunters to gun hunt before and during the peak of the rut (deer breeding season) in those locations. Zone D […]

Governor Kay Ivey has proclaimed Friday, July 17, as Artemis Day in the state of Alabama, honoring the Yellowhammer State’s incredible contributions to the historic space program that will return Americans to the surface of the moon and eventually take the first humans to Mars. An official proclamation signed by Ivey earlier this week highlighted […]

Friday on Birmingham radio Talk 99.5’s “Matt & Aunie” show, Gov. Kay Ivey explained her reasoning behind instituting a statewide mask ordinance as COVID-19 cases continue to spike around the state. Ivey insisted the decision made by her office and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris was based on advice from government officials, including Dr. […]

BAE Systems announced this week that it has received $179 million in total awards from the U.S. Army as part of the Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS) Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) program. According to a release from the company, this award includes orders for the first two production lots and funding to enable fielding […]

State Sen. Randy Price (R-Opelika) on Friday released a statement confirming he has been hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19. Opelika-Auburn News earlier this week reported that Price had been in the ICU at East Alabama Medical Center at the toughest time in his battle with the disease. His wife, Lee County Revenue Commissioner Oline Price, also […]

Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington on Friday announced that the state’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted June unemployment rate was 7.5%. While this was down from May’s revised rate of 9.6%, it was also far above June 2019’s rate of 2.9% as Alabama still feels the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The latest unemployment […]

Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth earlier this week came out against a statewide mask mandate that went into effect on Thursday. It was announced by Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday in the name of mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Almost immediately following that announcement, Ainsworth put out a statement expressing his opposition. During an interview with […]

The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) announced Friday that it is encouraging each of its 24 member institutions to develop a hybrid system for the upcoming fall semester that emphasizes combining online instruction with traditional on-campus classes. The ACCS has issued a set of rules and guidelines, but each community college in Alabama is allowed […]

Governor Kay Ivey announced on Thursday that the State of Alabama is funding grants to make high-speed internet available in seven communities across the state. The seven grants together total $2.9 million, with the biggest of those, $1.3 million, going to eastern Cullman County. The money for the grants comes from the Alabama Broadband Accessibility […]

Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday announced the formation of Alabama’s first statewide commission on entrepreneurship and innovation. A release from the governor’s office outlined that the Alabama Innovation Commission, known as Innovate Alabama, was officially created by her Executive Order 720 and will serve as a platform for innovators to engage policymakers, exchange ideas and identify […]

7. Georgia isn’t allowed to require masks While the statewide mask mandate has gone into effect across Alabama, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is banning any counties or cities from making any kind of mask requirements. Kemp has previously said that mask mandates are “a bridge too far.” Georgia is still encouraging citizens to wear masks, […]

While the results of Tuesday’s U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff may not have been a surprise, the margin of victory could have been. Former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville defeated former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions by 20 points and took wins in 64 of 67 counties from the candidate who had previously served […]

U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) hit on several major topics in a telephone call with Southwest Alabama residents on Thursday, according to a report from Mobile’s FOX 10. In the wide-ranging, one-hour tele town hall, Jones was reportedly asked by a constituent about the notion of slavery reparations in the United States. In response, Alabama’s […]

Nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor announced today a partnership with Bronze Valley to fuel the growth of business startups emerging from Birmingham, the state of Alabama and throughout the Southeast. Through this partnership, gener8tor will launch the Bronze Valley Accelerator program – a free version of gener8tor’s accelerator program that provides individualized mentorship and coaching for up to 15 […]

Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association (ALBBAA) on Thursday announced the “Feed Your Adventure — Flavors of the Black Belt Trail” campaign. A release explained that the campaign features nine themed trails which feature “a bounty of cold drinks, good eats, and back road treats created by the locals across the Black Belt.” The full brochure […]

U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr has appointed Prim Escalona to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. Escalona steps into the role on an interim basis after Jay Town recently made the decision to step down and join the private sector. Escalona is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College and the […]

Maybe it was inevitable, but as much as we didn’t want it, Governor Kay Ivey has put in place a modified “Safer-at-Home” order that requires you to wear masks as of 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. A lot of rage followed this decision, but there seems to be some logical reasons for her decision. Lt. Governor […]

C Spire on Thursday morning began accepting consumer pre-orders for its ultra-fast, fiber-based Gigabit speed internet services in parts of Jasper and Trussville, Alabama. The announcement was made in a virtual press conference. Speakers included: Ben Moncrief, C Spire’s senior vice president for strategic relations; Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed (R-Jasper); State Rep. Connie Rowe (R-Jasper), […]

Boeing, NASA’s lead industry partner for the International Space Station (ISS) since 1993, will continue supporting the famous orbiting laboratory through September 2024 under a $916 million contract extension. The announcement, made Wednesday in a press release, comes as the world marks two decades of constant human habitation on the ISS — an incredible record […]

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is urging Alabamians to shop local during this weekend’s sales tax holiday in an effort to support companies harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic is affecting all kinds of businesses, but it’s been especially hard on small, independent businesses,” NFIB state director Rosemary Elebash said in a […]

With Tuesday’s runoff election result of former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville defeating former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, incumbent U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) now knows who he will face in November’s general election. During an interview with Huntsville radio WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Jones said he anticipated a “very spirited” election […]

7. Low rent in Alabama isn’t low enough The annual “Out of Reach” report released by the National Law Income Housing Coalition suggests that even though Alabama has one of the lowest rent costs in the country, it’s still too high and unaffordable for minimum wage workers.  The report says that most minimum wage workers […]

When the House returns to business next Monday, we will take up the National Defense Authorization Act I wrote about last week. Then, we will take up appropriations bills for next fiscal year, which begins October 1, and likely another coronavirus bill. This spring I voted for both of the CARES Acts, which together spent […]

Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) on Wednesday hosted Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, at the Alabama State Capitol. Ivey, Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris and Birx met first in the governor’s office, before moving to a roundtable discussion with various state health care professionals, members […]