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EDA announces federal investment award to dredge the Port of Epes Industrial Park

The grant will be matched with $540,000 in local funds and is expected to create 85 jobs and generate $175 million in private investment.
October 21, 2020

Alabama’s First Class Pre-K a bright spot in state’s Black Belt, report finds

Alabama’s Black Belt communities continue to be hard-hit when it comes to unemployment and a declining population, but according to a report released Tuesday, the region’s Pre-K program is a bright spot.  The University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center released its latest report in the center’s “Black Belt 2020” series, each looking at different aspects … Continued
September 22, 2020

Perry County Schools threatened by charter schools

They stand as silent sentinels of a time gone by.  Watch towers on the past.  “They” are sturdy concrete silos, rising 40-50 feet above Perry County’s black prairie land.  Head south out of Marion on Highway 5 and you’ll spy one every few miles.  Each a reminder a dairy was once there and those silos … Continued
December 12, 2019

A bipartisan solution to the net neutrality impasse could boost Telehealth

Telemedicine holds the potential to reshape health care delivery in rural America.  Advances in technology and broadband connectivity could open up a world in which farmers and factory workers in rural Black Belt counties have the same access to world-class medical specialists that residents of the world’s largest and wealthiest cities already take for granted. … Continued
October 15, 2019

Sewell announces $127,877 grant to support opportunity zones in the Black Belt

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, announced Wednesday the Delta Regional Authority has awarded $127,877 to Opportunity Alabama in support of rural revitalization and development in opportunity zones across the Black Belt. Alabama’s Black Belt is the only region in the state with five consecutive opportunity zones, areas where investors receive tax incentives to invest in … Continued
August 15, 2019

What will our Congressional districts look like after the 2020 Census

Preparations are being made to take the 2020 Census. This process is not just a fun game to spell out demographic changes and interesting tidbits about us as Americans. It is a very important mandate dictated by the Constitution. The number of people counted determines how many seats each state has in Congress. Thus, it … Continued
January 16, 2019