Decatur

A pro jiu-jitsu league is bringing grapplers from across the globe to a small city in Alabama

For acclaimed grappler Brandon Mccaghren, Decatur, Alabama, was the perfect place to grow the Professional Grappling Federation from idea to reality.

This swampy paradise is Alabama’s winter haven for sandhill cranes

As many as 25,000 sandhill cranes migrate to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge every winter, along with a handful of highly endangered whooping cranes. 

Another Legislator Indicted in Corruption Case Involving Diabetes Health Clinic

  by Virginia Martin   Alabama Rep. Randy Davis has been indicted on allegations he was involved in a plan to pressure Blue Cross Blue Shield to cover diabetes treatments at a string of health clinics with which he was involved. Davis, a Republican from Daphne, was charged by federal prosecutors in Montgomery with several […]

Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 2

Sometimes, poorly run disadvantaged schools defy the statistics and turn themselves around. Sometimes, they even achieve at a level so high they become national models for education in any neighborhood. In the conclusion of our series on "Turnaround Schools," Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen picks up the story of an elementary school that did just that. How did it happen? It wasn’t easy, but persistence, teamwork, and a belief in the students is winning out.

Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 1

Imagine a school in a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood. It has discipline problems, a dismal reputation, and some of the worst test scores in Alabama. That was Mobile's George Hall Elementary in 2004. Now imagine an award-winning school known around the country for its innovative teaching and high student performance. That's George Hall Elementary now. So how'd it happen? In Part Four of our five-part series on "Turnaround Schools," WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen takes us there to find out.