SPD: Man offered multiple people $5K to commit murder

Authorities at a probable cause hearing for a Starkville man arrested for conspiracy to commit murder said the suspect attempted to pay multiple people $5,000 to kill the victim of a Friday night homicide.

Monday profile: ‘Miss Ann,’ Kroger’s beloved greeter, still has much to share

Ann Wozniak works 20 to 25 hours a week at Kroger in Columbus.

You are as likely to hear she is at work as see she is at work.

The chorus of “Hey, Miss Ann!” echoes through the busy grocery store as customers encounter the store’s official greeter and unofficial goodwill ambassador and employee mentor.

Pelfrey encourages airmen to ‘show people the light’

The program for Friday’s Columbus Air Force Base 2018 Awards Ceremony featured a two-page bio of the event’s guest speaker, retired Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Pelfrey. The bio included highlights of his 30-year career in the Air Force.

It also included a color-coded chart explaining the various run-way control signals, which seemed an odd thing to include in a bio.

Airport property bill, sales tax increases in GTR cities, all make it out of committee

Legislation for local projects survived a critical Tuesday deadline in the Mississippi Legislature for moving general bills from committee to the full House and Senate.

Adeline Rollins: A year later

It’s only been a year, but Adeline Rollins is almost twice the girl she used to be.

“She’s up to 33 pounds now,” said Adeline’s mom, Margaret Rollins. “She’s at about the average weight for a 2-year-old.”

Smithsonian exhibit broadens understanding of how water has shaped our world

Like a bracing splash of water to your face that awakens your senses, the Smithsonian Water/Ways exhibit greets you as soon as you step through the door at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum.

Caledonia, Columbus sue opioid companies, citing addiction’s costs to communities

Columbus attorney Corky Smith has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the town of Caledonia against more than 20 opioid manufacturers and distributors seeking a yet to be specified amount in damages.

4-County weighs broadband in light of new legislation

When the Mississippi Legislature took up a bill that would allow the state’s electric cooperatives to provide broadband service to its customers, the term “high speed” was the operative word — in more ways than one.

River advocate, guide and outfitter speaks of life on the Lower Mississippi

Imagine going on an adventure that would take you to one of the world’s greatest, most diverse natural wonders of the world, brimming with an exotic array of plant and animal life, a remarkable ecosystem where 40 percent of America’s songbirds and 60 percent of North America’s migratory birds pass through, a place where white-tail deer and black bears still make their homes, a dynamic landscape that few people seem to know about.

‘I still like the T-38’: Columbus native recalls being the first to land trainer plane at CAFB

For 55 years now, the T-38 jet trainer has been a familiar sight in the skies over Columbus.

Used as the primary aircraft for training U.S. Air Force fighter and bomber pilots, there have been untold thousands of T-38 takeoffs and landings at Columbus Air Force Base, which currently has 91 of the T-38s at its disposal.

Johnson to leave post as public affairs head for CAFB

When Richard Johnson assumed the role of public affairs director for the 14th Flying Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, even his nickname seemed to make him a unique fit for the job.

For almost 15 years, Johnson — known by airmen and community members alike as “Sonic” — used his credentials as a training pilot and his passion for sharing the story of CAFB with the community.

County will get no hospital trust funds from 2018

When the two firms who managed Lowndes County’s hospital trust fund portfolio provided their year-end reports to County Administrator Ralph Billingsley, the information confirmed what Billingsley already knew: For the first time in the five-year history of the investment program, the county will have no dividends to pull from the account.

Slimantics: The Founding Fathers had it right: newspapers are essential

This is going to sound a bit self-serving, I realize, but newspapers — no matter the platform — are essential to nation’s welfare, something our Founding Fathers realized from the start.

Slimantics: Davis proves you can go home again

The 1983 movie “Trading Places,” starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyrod, was a comic farce built on the premise of a homeless scam artists and a pampered commodities broker places as part of a bet by a couple of sinister millionaires.

Posey leaves legacy as kind-hearted change agent

Don Posey, who died Wednesday at age 75, will be most broadly remembered as Oktibbeha County’s first county administrator, but he will also be remembered as a member of the 1963 Mississippi State basketball team that snuck out of town to play in the NCAA Tournament in East Lansing, Michigan, against an integrated Loyola-Chicago team, in defiance of segregationist Gov. Ross Barnett and the Jim Crow attitudes that dominated the era.

Former CPD officer named interim marshal in Caledonia

The Caledonia Board of Aldermen moved quickly to name an interim town marshal and could have a permanent replacement for its previous marshal, Ben Kilgore, within a month, Caledonia Mayor Mitch Wiggins said Wednesday.

Slimantics: The race that matters most

This year, Mississippians will go to the poll to elect hundreds of county and state officials.

Tagert will not seek re-election as MDOT commissioner

Mike Tagert is not a term limits advocate, with one exception: His own.

Tagert, of Starkville, has confirmed he will not seek re-election as the state’s Northern District Highway Commissioner.

Flying high: GTRA travel increased 10 percent last year

For the second straight year, Golden Triangle Regional Airport has set a record for passenger traffic, with 48,717 passengers boarding planes during 2018, an increase of 9 percent.

Cedarhill founder dies at 74

Kay McElroy’s remarkable “second career” as the head of an animal sanctuary may have been inspired by a couple of items she discovered in a newspaper.