Columbus AFB runway opens after construction

The longest runway in Mississippi is officially open for business again.

At Columbus Air Force Base on Friday morning, a little more than 100 people stood on one end of the base’s 12,000-foot long center runway to watch a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Nunnelee says ‘No’ on Syria; wants more info

On Tuesday at noon, Mississippi 1st District Congressman Alan Nunnelee said that if he had to vote “right now” on whether the United States should intervene in Syria, his vote would be “No.”

Columbus wildlife event scheduled for Thursday

It’s called the Hunters Extravaganza, but organizers of this week’s event say most of the Golden Triangle should feel welcome.

Howlin’ Wolf festival ready to howl

On Thursday afternoon, Richard Ramsey, the executive program director of the Howlin’ Wolf Memorial Blues Festival, said “the phone calls are still coming in.”

Where from?

“All over Mississippi,” he said, and from Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri.

Columbus fair organizers expecting bigger crowds

The Lowndes County Fair had about 3,000 attendees in 2011.

That number jumped to nearly 5,000 last year and if you ask Jane Burns Jordan, the president of the Columbus Fair and Livestock Association, the reason for the increase is clear.

“We brought livestock back,” she said.

Veterans’ cross-country trip to focus attention on U.S. Constitution arrives in Columbus

In early May two veterans put some canned chili and a few hundred copies of the U.S. Constitution in a Chevrolet Astro van and took off from San Diego for Washington, D.C.

They took a southern-route. On Tuesday, they made it to the Golden Triangle.

Son follows father through pilot school

He crossed the stage inside the Kaye Auditorium at Columbus Air Force Base just like his classmates, but 2nd Lt. Jon Koritz did something special Friday.

When Koritz, a 27-year-old from Chapel Hill, N.C., became one of the 23 newest pilots in the U.S. Air Force, he followed in his father’s footsteps — literally.

New owner of unfinished Columbus mansion has big hopes for property

Last week, Rick McGill, a local real estate agent, was driving Highway 45 North with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a cell phone to his ear.

KiOR may add another plant in Columbus

KiOR officials say they are considering building a second plant next to the current facility in Columbus.

Farese: A flair for the law

Steven Farese Sr. is not exactly your father’s Atticus Finch.

Instead of Harper Lee’s illustration of Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” this small-town lawyer (Ashland, population 569) is known for the high profile clients he defends and the demeanor he uses in the courtroom. He’s calm, cool, somewhat eccentric and often sporting a smirk that suggests he is in on a joke to which you aren’t privy.

MSU’s Davis Wade Stadium expansion on schedule

Chip Hoover will take his infant son to a Mississippi State University home football game for the first time this season.

Hoover is a Greenville native. His father went to Mississippi State. He went to Mississippi State. It’s fair to say his son, in 17 years or so, may also go to Mississippi State.

KiOR reports second-quarter loss

KiOR on Thursday reported a second quarter 2013 net loss of $38.5 million, or 36 cents per share. This is a 7.2 million increase in net loss from the year’s first quarter.

Two Columbus post offices go to shorter ‘summer hours’

Two of the three post offices in Columbus have reduced their hours.

The shorter retail window hours of operation at the U.S. Postal Service’s locations on Alabama Street and Main Street began Monday. The windows are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Laine to headline 10th annual Caledonia Days festival

The 10th annual Caledonia Days is a little more than two months away and organizers say plans for the two-day fall festival are falling into place.

MDOT begins removal of roadside memorials

Kirk Sudduth gets them himself. That way, he knows it is done right.

“I live here. I was born here. I was raised here,” said Sudduth, the superintendent for the Mississippi Department of Transportation in Lowndes County. “So I’m sympathetic to them.”

Longtime Columbus coach Bourland dead at 81

J.D. “Tuffy” Bourland, a longtime Columbus coach and educator, died Friday at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.

He was 81.

Woman drowns at Gilmer Inn

A 21-year-old woman has died after apparently drowning at the Gilmer Inn pool Thursday evening.

Rave reviews of ‘Rivers’ putting Smith at ease

Michael Farris Smith, wearing sandals, a white T-shirt and shorts, opened his Columbus front door Thursday afternoon looking laid back and calm. He admitted, though, that on the inside, his emotional state is quite different.

Bojangles closes in Columbus

Bojangles Famous Chicken and Biscuits has closed in Columbus.

The restaurant’s last day open for business was Wednesday.

Gateway Shopping Center gets new tenant

Rainbow Apparel, a women’s clothing and accessory retail store, has opened a store in Gateway Shopping Center.