May. 13, 2025

On the podcast today we have the 1979 story of the photographer and reporter who followed a car with a hand sticking out of its trunk.

The rest of today's report follows. Thanks for reading,

Ike

Looking for the podcast? Click here or check other options below.

It appears that plans are coming together to put a replacement rocket at the I-65 welcome center at the Tennessee line, reports AL.com's Scott Turner.

State Rep. Andy Whitt, who chairs the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee, said $7 million has been secured for the project and that it's likely that the U.S. Space & Rocket Center will oversee construction of the new rocket.

The rocket will be a replica of the Saturn 1B rocket that stood tall at the state line from 1979 until it was disassembled in 2023 because of the wear and tear from time and the elements. It's a little smaller than the Saturn V that landed men on the moon during the days of the Apollo space program. The Saturn 1B handled other jobs, such as launching Skylab.

North Alabama Congressman Dale Strong still sounds confident about U.S. Space Command coming to Huntsville after years of evaluations, politics and back-and-forth, reports AL.com's Scott Turner.

Strong said he spoke with President Trump about the topic on Air Force One en route to Trump's speech at the University of Alabama. He said the decision could come after the Senate confirms the nominee for Air Force Secretary, something he said could come this week or next.

Strong also said he expects Space Command to bring around 4,700 jobs -- 1,700 directly and 3,000 more as industries grow in the area in support of Space Command.

If the Trump trade wars mean the government will be offering strategic advantages to domestic businesses, then some of those businesses want in on that action.

AL.com's William Thornton reports that four food-production organizations are asking President Trump to do them a solid and target their foreign competition with import tariffs.

This food-industry coalition represents food producers throughout the South. They say that the current trade environment has allowed foreign honey, catfish, crawfish and shrimp to pour into the markets here. Alabama has a hand in all those industries.

They claim their industries face collapse without immediate action in the form of import tariffs and tighter scrutiny of their overseas competitors.

Mercedes-Benz confirmed that its GLC crossover SUV will begin rolling off its Alabama assembly lines in 2027. (Image courtesy of Mercedes-Benz)

How do y'all name your dogs? According to a study from U.S. News and World Report, our top names aren't really different from the top names nationally.

Which is a little sad to me, culturally. I guess I'm still looking to call Bear, Bo or Skynyrd off a cold trail while the modern world wants to call Bella over to put on her doggie sweater.

Sigh.

Alabama's top two dog names last year, according to U.S. News, seemingly were at least partly inspired by the Harry Potter characters Bella and Luna, in that order. (Does that mean millennials never turned over pet-naming power to their kids?)

Tied for third among Alabama dog names are Coco and Max.

Nationally, the top 5 dog names last year were Luna, Bella, Charlie, Max and Daisy.

“We believe this is partial justice for Jamea. It’s not over.”

Tuscaloosa County’s chief assistant district attorney Paula Whitley, after a jury convicted Michael Davis in the January 2023 murder of Jamea Harris. Former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles is the other man who was charged in the case.

In 1903, early actor Paul Page of Birmingham.

In 1914, boxing legend "The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis of Chambers County.

In 1993, actress Debby Ryan, who was born in Huntsville but left Alabama at an early age.

If you miss that feeling of sitting down with in-depth, local reporting, consider subscribing to the Huntsville Times, Birmingham News, or Mobile Press-Register. 

By subscribing, you’ll get a new daily digital edition in an email link, or you can use an app to download the new edition every day on your smartphone or tablet. You also get exclusive access to stories written for our subscribers. 

“Down in Alabama” listeners get your first month free by going to al.com/digitalsubscription/exclusive and enter the promo code DIAPOD. 

We go way back in the archives for a story about the time a couple of Birmingham News journalists followed a car that had a man's hand sticking out of the trunk.

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places:

We appreciate you for taking the time to read today. Hope you're able to check back soon. Meantime, reply to this email with any suggestions you might have.

If you're so inclined, we'd love it if you'd forward to friends who might be interested in reading. (And if you're someone who's been forwarded this newsletter, we encourage you to subscribe and get this in your inbox every day.)