Crowd celebrates restored Old Tombigbee River Bridge

A crowd was on hand to witness the Old Tombigbee River Bridge officially begin its second act as a pedestrian walkway and special event location at the Columbus Riverwalk on Friday.

Caledonia Days, a ‘celebration’ of the town, begins tonight

Caledonia Days begins tonight and the mayor of the north Lowndes County town said despite rain the past few days, he expects perfect weather for the 10th annual two-day event.

Ladies bowling league offers fun, companionship

Every Monday night for the last six weeks a group of women have descended on GT Lanes in Columbus and claimed 12 lanes.

They are the Monday Night Ladies League.

Water rates likely changing for Caledonia customers

By the end of this week Brandon Presley, the public service commissioner for Mississippi’s northern district, will sign an order allowing Caledonia to change the rate at which it charges customers for water.

School of Easy Flyin’ opens doors in Columbus

The small business Les Pogue began in Columbus recently is one most people will never have a need for. The few who do have a need for it, might not seek it out.

What Pogue offers is something for pilots called “upset recovery training.”

PSC commissioner holds public hearing in Caledonia

There is a public hearing Tuesday evening in Caledonia regarding a proposed water rate case for the town. Brandon Presley, Mississippi public service commissioner for

Hospital executives weigh in on healthcare act

Officials with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle say all the changes the Affordable Care Act will bring to our nation’s healthcare system have yet to shake out. From the hospital’s standpoint, that doesn’t matter.

Lowndes County moving along on vocational school

The plan moving forward for the Lowndes County School District’s proposed vocational school is becoming clearer.

The state of cotton: As statewide acre totals dwindle, Golden Triangle farmers see an increase in cotton acres

They are out there now, those pieces of stray cotton crowding the edges of some Golden Triangle roads.

For decades, around this time of year when farmers head into fields to harvest, cotton has been roadside scenery in Mississippi.

Developer: Hyatt Place to open early next year

A Columbus hotel whose construction on Highway 45 has seemingly been on and off for three years will open for business early next year, the hotel’s developer says.

Buffalo Wild Wings eyeing Columbus location

Columbus residents can expect two new dining options to open on Highway 45 North, one offering old-fashioned hamburgers and the other providing a sports-themed grill and bar.

KiOR to build second biorefinery

KiOR announced Wednesday that it is building a second biorefinery in Columbus but the Texas-based alternative fuel company says it’s too early to speculate on how many jobs will be at what is being called “Columbus II.”

Golden Triangle Airport doing runway work

By the end of the year the Golden Triangle Regional Airport will have repaved its taxiway and widened the exits and entrances to its runway.

The renovation project will cost $3.43 million, according to Mike Hainsey, the airport’s executive director.

Columbus grocery store likely closing

An east Columbus grocery store may be closing its doors.

Southern Family Markets on Alabama Street is owned by Belle Foods, a bankrupt Birmingham, Ala.-based company that operates 43 stores through Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

Columbus resident to receive French Legion of Honor

On the 640-acre Alabama farm he grew up on, 16-year-old Joseph R. Johnson told his father he wanted to join the Army after World War II broke out.

Being underage, Johnson needed his father’s signature to go off to war. His father didn’t like that idea. Johnson persisted.

“We had a world to save,” he said last week. “If we left Hitler alone he would take over the world.”

What really happened to Jimmie Lee Griffith: 48 years later, Sturgis man’s death remains shrouded in mystery

Something felt wrong.

A nagging unrest. A shadow lurking in her mind. She couldn’t figure out what it was. It made her worry, though, and stayed all day long.

This was a Friday nearly a half-century ago. It was almost fall, before the leaves turn, and she remembers her son had a high school football game that night. She didn’t want to go. Whatever unseen ghost was bothering her had not gone away. But she gave in and off they went, a carload of family and friends heading south through Winston County to watch a game.

Waste company to cut recycling program

Mississippi Industrial Waste, a commercial solid waste company in Columbus, will stop its curbside recycling program at the end of this month.

The company sent notice letters to local customers this week.

Great Gators!: Hunting party catches big Golden Triangle alligator as Mississippi concludes its hunting season

They couldn’t get it in the boat.

This was last Sunday at midnight. Ben Mask and his father, Wayne Mask, and their friend, Dusty Kelly, had caught it a couple of hours earlier, about 10 p.m., in Tibbee Creek in Clay County: a 620-pound alligator.

Newspaper’s 9/11 promotional advertisement draws criticism

“Disrespectful.”

“Awful.”

“Heartless.”

And “Who thought this was a good marketing promotion?”

Those were some of the online responses people had to a Starkville Daily News advertisement in Wednesday’s edition of that daily newspaper.

Sanders Oil sold to Alabama company

Sanders Oil Company has been sold.

Word of the sale of the longtime Columbus company had been whispered for several weeks. The details were finalized Monday morning, according to Will Sanders, the company’s vice president.

The buyer was Midstates Petroleum Company in Vernon, Ala.