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Alabama Slips to 43rd in National Child Well-Being Rankings as Poverty, Health Gaps Worsen
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama has fallen to 43rd in the nation for child well-being, according to the 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book, marking a sharp decline from last year’s 39th place finish and underscoring deepening challenges for the state’s youngest residents. The annual report, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, paints a troubling picture:…
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Walker County Sheriff Arrested After Indictment for Hiring Unqualified Officers
JASPER, Ala. — Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith was arrested Monday morning after a grand jury indicted him on six misdemeanor charges for hiring law enforcement officers who were not properly certified, according to court documents filed June 9, 2025. The indictment, handed down May 30, alleges Smith knowingly employed individuals—including school resource officers, deputies,…
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Demopolis Times Closure Marks Another Chapter in Alabama’s Newspaper Decline
DEMOPOLIS, Ala. — The Demopolis Times, a fixture in west Alabama since 1887, published its final edition this June, joining a growing list of Alabama newspapers lost to shifting economics and digital disruption. The closure comes on the heels of a statewide trend. In 2023, The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, and Mobile’s Press-Register—three of…
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The Gopher’s Journey: Clarence Moore at Moundville
In the spring of 1905, a most peculiar sight appeared on Alabama’s Black Warrior River—a white steamboat called the Gopher, outfitted like a floating laboratory and carrying one Clarence Bloomfield Moore, a wealthy Philadelphia gentleman with an uncommon passion for ancient Indian mounds. Moore had made his fortune in the family paper business, but he’d…
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ICE Detains Dozens of Immigrants During Routine Check-Ins in Birmingham, Gadsden
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained dozens of immigrants during routine check-ins in Birmingham and Gadsden this week, prompting alarm among local advocacy groups and immigrant families. Community organizations and legal advocates say that individuals who had previously been allowed to remain free pending further hearings were unexpectedly taken into custody. The…
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Alabama Cities Move to End Water Fluoridation Amid Shifting Trust in Science
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Across Alabama, a growing number of cities and counties are reconsidering or halting the long-standing practice of adding fluoride to public water supplies, a trend that public health experts warn could worsen the state’s already declining oral health. Madison, Alabama, is set to stop fluoridating its water on June 16 unless the…
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