Opelika Daily News recorded 2,768 page views in September, up 228% from August, and clicks from Google search grew ninefold. Thank you for reading and sharing. Read More
Category: General Comments
New Forensic Evidence: 1990 Cold Case Victim Was Likely a Teen — $5,000 Reward Offered
May 18, 2026 Just days after exhuming remains from Evergreen Cemetery, the Opelika Police Department released a major forensic update in a 35-year-old cold case: new analysis suggests the unidentified homicide victim found in a creek bed off Anderson Road in September 1990 was likely a teenager between 15 and 18 years old — not a young adult as originally believed based on the 1990 autopsy. The revised age profile reopens missing persons cases that… Read More
Cam Hunt Defeats 27-Year Incumbent Jay Jones in Lee County Sheriff Primary
May 19, 2026 In one of the most closely-watched local races of the 2026 cycle, former Lee County Sheriff's deputy Cameron "Cam" Hunt narrowly defeated incumbent Sheriff Jay Jones in the May 19 Republican primary for Lee County Sheriff. Hunt received 9,301 votes (50.84%) to Jones' 8,994 votes (49.16%) — a margin of just 307 votes out of 18,295 cast. Jones had served as sheriff since 1998, a 27-year tenure. The race carried unusual backstory… Read More
City Ends Color Fountain Displays at Courthouse Square
May 8, 2026 The City of Opelika announced it will no longer change the color of the Courthouse Square fountain to recognize nonprofit causes, organizations, or awareness campaigns. According to the city's May 8 announcement, the coloring system has increasingly created significant maintenance challenges and proven costly to operate over time. Moving forward, the fountain will remain in its standard appearance year-round. City officials emphasized their continued commitment to supporting community initiatives through other means… Read More
Youth-Authored Report Highlights Rising Teen Nicotine Addiction in Lee County
April 28, 2026 — Lee County, Alabama A youth-authored report published by the Opelika Observer documents a troubling rise in nicotine and vaping addiction among Lee County teenagers. The piece was co-written by four local teens ages 16–18: Kelsey Kintz-Roberts, Aryana Pratt, Camden Coburn, and Bailey Cunningham. The student-reporters interviewed peers ages 15–18 and found that addiction has become "normalized in our schools' and community's social circles, covered up easily by teenagers and reinforced by… Read More
We’re in 2026 Now
It’s been so hard to get back into writing this blog. Everyone gets their Opelika news via Facebook; it’s hard to be funny anymore, since everyone takes issue with anything that anyone says. But with that said, I’ll work on getting this back and active. I’ve begun finding old lost posts and will be working on getting them here. There’s lots of history there, so let’s bring it back before it is lost forever.
What can you expect?
From it's early years it was a great place to learn about events. Then with so much social media available I didn't try to compete. After all, I did have a full time job. And social media can be so caustic. I'll still have some personal comentary, some positive and maybe a few negative thoughts on things in the city, but remember, I really enjoy Opelika. It's been my new home for over 25 years… Read More
Not Related to Anything – Just a Rant
I’m not here to poo-poo anyone’s adventure to the edge of space. I’m glad Katy Perry, Gail King, and others had a successful Blue Origin flight this morning (April 14, 2025). As a big fan of William Shatner, aka Captain Kirk, he is also a Space Tourist. None are astronauts, none have gone through the years of training to make that claim. Just because I can get on a Delta flight to Las Vegas doesn’t… Read More
Happy Anniversary – 10 Years Since Walking Dead films in Opelika (Not Really)
Holly Molly – Ten years ago (April 1, 2015), really. I had posted my usual April Fools joke on my blog at the time of the day, opelikadailynews.com. And Bam! It went viral. The Alabama Film Commission called local officials to find out more, and blog traffic over three days reached over 85,000 views. And after several hours of searching, a local news reporter (with great hair) found me. She asked for an interview, and… Read More
