POLAR EXPRESS AT THE RITZ

FLORENCE — The annual Polar Bear Plunge will take place at 1 p.m. on New Year's Day at the beach at McFarland Park. 

The new year is almost upon us, and so is the second semester of the school year. 

Despite having limited experience with horses as child, Alex Dollar Jones decided to follow her dreams to the rodeo. Her recent gold buckle at the Southeastern Circuit Finals Championship, held in November in Davies, Florida, proves she made the right choice.

Mindy Bates, who serves as the vice regent for the Chief Colbert Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, has traced her ancestry all the way back to the Jamestown Colony of Viriginia, where members of her family tree were living in the early 1600s, including her…

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty.

MIAMI (AP) — Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year, a consequence of a safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022.

RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville Elementary School was recently named a 2024 Safe School Award Winner by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. 

SHEFFIELD — Sheffield High School sophomore Jack Vallejo recently brought home a national championship for the Gaming Dogs esports team. 

RUSSELLVILLE — When Aaron Lynch was a junior at Russellville High School, he spoke with a firefighter at career day and became interested in the field. 

Richard Perry, a hitmaking record producer with a flair for both standards and contemporary sounds whose many successes included Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Rod Stewart’s “The Great American Songbook” series and a Ringo Starr album featuring all four Beatles, died Tuesday. He was 82.

SHEFFIELD — Bank Independent's 14th annual Toy Share Drive collected a record number of toys this year. 

TUSCUMBIA — Spring Park's new disc golf course is set to open at noon on New Year's Day. 

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — The scent of bratwurst and pretzels filled the air as horses clopped down the main street, hauling a carriage full of tourists. Nestled in her mother's arms, a baby reached out to touch a shop window display, peering toward the sequin-covered reindeer behind it, as color…

Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.” On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra.

The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time.

TUSCUMBIA — The Spring Park waterfall is flowing once more, but more repairs to some of the park's water features are necessary. 

The Rev. Shannon Blosser sees how his son loves church — the music, the singing, the communion. But the United Methodist pastor said his family hasn’t always felt like 11-year-old Noah, who is autistic, has been welcome.

WASHINGTON — Changes are coming to the cold and cough aisle of your local pharmacy: U.S. officials are moving to phase out the leading decongestant found in hundreds of over-the-counter medicines, concluding that it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion.

TUSCUMBIA — The Tuscumbia city council officially purchased land from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame for the new North Alabama Welcome Center. 

ROGERSVILLE — Joe Wheeler State Park will join the nationwide "First Day Hike" initiative with a guided hike from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 1. 

FLORENCE — A new exhibition, "A Winter's Day with Quilts," is open through Jan. 16 at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts. 

Bryan Roberts laughed and called his obsession with Christmas a “slippery slope” as he tinkered with a string of lights that had gone out near his front door.

Ricky D. Young, a 72-year-old world champion equestrian from Florence, returned from the 2024 American Quarter Horse Association competition in November reeling with excitement for the next chapter in his riding career.

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SHEFFIELD — During a special called meeting on Friday, the city council appointed Police Capt. Chris Tate the new police chief.