Alabama
Gov. Kay Ivey salutes new Miss America from Alabama: 'Incredibly deserving of this honor'
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey offered her congratulations to the new Miss America, Abbie Stockard, in social media posts this week. Stockard, who competed for the national title as Miss Alabama, won the national crown on Sunday, Jan. 5, in Orlando, Florida.
“Our very own Miss Alabama, Abbie Stockard, has won the title of Miss America!” Ivey said in a Sunday night post on X (formerly Twitter). “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Abbie, and I know firsthand what an outstanding young woman she is. She is incredibly deserving of this honor. Congratulations, Abbie!”
Ivey also trumpeted Stockard’s win with the same message in an Instagram reel and Facebook story.
Stockard, who grew up in Vestavia Hills, is the fourth Miss Alabama to become Miss America and the first Miss America from Alabama in 20 years. She’s following in the footsteps of previous winners Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005; Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995; and Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951.
READ: Who is Abbie Stockard? Miss America 2025 is the fourth winner from Alabama
Ivey and Stockard share a kinship as sorority sisters, through Auburn University and Alpha Gamma Delta. Stockard, 22, is a nursing student at Auburn University and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. Ivey, 80, an Auburn alum, pledged the sorority in the 1960s.
Stockard traveled to Montgomery to meet Alabama’s governor in October 2024, about four months after her win as Miss Alabama. “What an honor it was to meet with Alabama’s Governor, Kay Ivey!” Stockard said in an Instagram post. “We had a wonderful time discussing my work for Cystic Fibrosis advocacy across the state and giving a glimpse into the next few months as I prepare for Miss America!”
Stockard’s philanthropic platform as Miss Alabama, and now as Miss America, is Be the Change: Find a Cure — Cystic Fibrosis Awareness.
Another Miss Alabama winner with Auburn ties, Lauren Bradford, met Ivey in Montgomery after her win in the state pageant. Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, is an Auburn University alum and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She was named first runner-up at Miss America 2022.
“I had a great visit with Miss Alabama 2021 Lauren Bradford today discussing her historic win as the 100th Miss Alabama, our @auburnalphagam sisterhood, our beloved @auburnu & most importantly #COVID19 vaccinations,” Ivey said in an Instagram post on Aug. 5, 2021. She and Bradford can be seen in a video clip saying, “Get vaccinated, Alabama!”
The Miss Alabama organization posted about Bradford’s meeting with Ivey on Facebook, saying “Thank you, Governor Ivey, for your hospitality.”
Adrian Klemm, meet the challenge of a career.
Alabama football’s first-year offensive line coach is one of three new faces at Kalen DeBoer’s conference table. And, next year, history says there might be three more. At the major college level, heavy turnover among assistant coaches is business as usual. But make no mistake; Klemm was DeBoer’s most important hire of the offseason. He might well be the most important hire DeBoer has made in his 26 months on the job.
That’s the magnitude of the mess that Alabama’s 2025 offensive line left behind.
The Crimson Tide’s 2025 rushing attack was an insult to the word attack. It was more like a rushing surrender; ranked 123rd out of 134 FBS teams, and 15th of 16 SEC teams, at 104.1 yards per game. Rock bottom came in the SEC Championship Game, when Georgia sent it backward for minus-3 yards. It’s frankly remarkable that quarterback Ty Simpson assembled a 28-5 TD-INT ratio, as a first-year starter no less, with virtually zero help from a ground game. And while we’re on the subject of the passing game, Simpson wasn’t very well-protected, either. At 2.13 sacks allowed per game, UA ranked 90th in the country.
If Klemm even bothered to watch film of last year’s offensive line, he had to do it with one eye closed.
UA tried all sorts of combinations up front, looking for a solution to what was plainly its biggest problem. In 45 years paying attention to college football, I never saw so many substitutions on an offensive line as Alabama made in 2025. Backups got every chance that could have asked for. On one hand, it was understandable that now-fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic refused to stay with a failing five all season.
But it also smacked of desperation.
In the end, it was clear that no combination was effective; the first-team unit Kapilovic finally settled on late in the season was the one that got manhandled by Georgia in Atlanta.
It was a shock to the system for Alabama fans, who know what a dominant run game looks like whether they’re young or old. Jam Miller led Alabama with 504 rushing yards on the season; former UA star Derrick Henry once ran for 557 in a three-game stretch against Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State.
Miller, of course, is no Henry. But the gap between those two is no bigger than the gap between Henry’s 2015 offensive line and the disastrous line that took the field a decade later.
Klemm is tasked with turning that mess around in a single offseason, with only one returning part-time starter in sophomore Michael Carroll, a promising cornerstone to be sure. But an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link, and Klemm must find four links to line up beside Carroll. A collection of returning backups, transfers and incoming freshmen have a lot of improvements to make, along with a strong impression on a new position coach.
With spring practice underway, that process has begun in earnest.
And Klemm faces a taller task than any assistant on the practice field.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
The mother of an Enterprise toddler, reported missing Feb. 16, has been charged with capital murder, said Police Chief Michael Moore.
Adrienne Reid, mother of Genesis Nova Reid, reported her daughter as missing to authorities and said the two-year-old was not in the home and the door was open. On March 9, she was charged with capital murder of a child under the age of 14 and abuse of a corpse, Moore said. March 9 would have been Genesis’ birthday, he said. Adrienne Reid had previously been charged with filing a false report about her daughter’s disappearance.
She is being held without bond, Moore said. Adrienne Reid could not be reached for comment and court records do not show if she has an attorney.
The case shocked Enterprise and southeast Alabama. Hundreds of volunteers searched for her, and people were asked to wear pink to honor her.
Early on in the investigation neighbors told law enforcement that they hadn’t seen the child for several weeks.
Moore said evidence points to the capital murder charge even though Genesis’ body has not been found. The last time she was seen was Christmas night while visiting family in Dothan, Moore said. Video footage at the apartment complex where they lived showed Adrienne Reid about 11:30 p.m. Christmas night pulling a rolling duffle bag to a dumpster at the complex, and throwing the duffle bag inside, he said.
Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said his office began the process of planning to search the landfill early in the investigation. The landfill covers 100 acres. He said the area where the contents of the dumpster that allegedly contained Genesis’ body was likely dumped has been narrowed down to an area covering a few hundred feet.
Active searches will begin soon, he said. District Attorney James Tarbox said the state will be seeking the death penalty.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
BREWTON, Ala. — A 46-year-old woman is charged with the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Brewton, Alabama.
Deputies arrested Renotta Seltzer on Friday. She was booked into the Escambia County Jail in Alabama around 4:15 p.m. She’s being held without bond.
The shooting happened Friday on McGougin Road.
The victim is 27-year-old Anna Brown.
Sheriff Heath Jackson tells WEAR News that the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office is expected to release more details on Monday.
Stick with WEAR News on-air and online for more updates on this story.
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