The 59th Annual CMA Awards Took Place Of November 19th Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the 2025 CMA Awards took place on Wednesday (November 19) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Country Music Association (@cma) Along with handing out awards like Female Vocalist of the Year, Song […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Country Music’s Leading Stars Get All Dressed For The 2025 CMA Awards Country fans had so much to look forward to ahead of the 2025 CMA Awards—the performances, the jokes from host Lainey Wilson, and of course, the photos of the best-dressed stars! The 2025 CMA Awards were held on Wednesday, November 19th. The program […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Back-to-Back Champ Coach Steps Down Staff Reports November 19, 2025 4:56 pm Crestview, Football, Niceville, Okaloosa County, Schools and Education In Brief: Head Football Coach KC Woods is stepping down after winning his second straight SSAA state championship. Woods will remain at Rocky Bayou Christian School as Assistant Principal. The school has begun its search for the next head football coach. Rocky Bayou Christian School announced that Head Football Coach KC Woods will step down from his coaching responsibilities following a historic run that includes two consecutive SSAA state championships. Woods will continue in his full-time role as Assistant Principal, a position he has held while leading the football program. Woods said his decision comes after significant thought and discussion with his family. Balancing administrative duties, a growing football program, and responsibilities at home has prompted him to shift his focus toward his Assistant Principal role and his time with his wife and their two young children. During his tenure as head coach, Woods played a central role in turning the Knights into a competitive and cohesive program. The team secured back-to-back state championships, increased player participation, and elevated expectations within the school community. Players, families, and staff credited Woods with establishing a steady, disciplined environment that supported both athletic development and character growth. School administrators noted that Woods’ leadership will continue to be felt on campus. As Assistant Principal, he has taken on a range of responsibilities, including student support, campus operations, and academic oversight. His decision to step... Read More

Zach Bryan Celebrates Two Months Sober Country singer Zach Bryan shared he’s now two months sober after experiencing a series of severe panic attacks during a difficult period with his mental health. Earlier this year at the Born & Raised Festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, Bryan made headlines when him and Gavin Adcock shared what started as a heated […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

‘I don’t want to get a call that my son is gone’: Family fears Okaloosa inmate’s health is spiraling Collin Bestor November 19, 2025 1:30 pm Okaloosa County In Brief: Family says 33-year-old Robert Riddle is in constant pain and rapidly declining Advocates say national sickle cell care guidelines aren’t being met inside the jail NAACP report and family letters raise broader systemic questions about inmate healthcare CRESTVIEW — When the video screen clicked on during a November jail visit, Eunice Mims stared for several seconds before speaking.   Her son, 33-year-old Robert Riddle, bore no resemblance to the man she remembered. His face was swollen, his skin and eyes tinged a yellowish hue.   “He does not look good,” his sister, Michaela Smith, said in an email obtained by Mid Bay News. “His face is swollen, his eyes are yellow, and he is in nonstop pain.”   The visual his mom saw that day has added a growing panic among his family that the Okaloosa County Jail, where Riddle has been incarcerated since 2024, is dangerously unequipped to treat his severe sickle cell disease, and that the weeks ahead may carry risks he will not survive.   Despite repeated warnings, they say, Riddle’s condition has steadily deteriorated throughout 2025. County officials, meanwhile, insist he is receiving adequate medical care and has not voiced concerns to jail leadership.   The conflict unfolding over his treatment reflects a deeper, systemic struggle over the quality of inmate healthcare in Okaloosa County —... Read More

Jon Bon Jovi And Jelly Roll’s Unlikely Friendship Rock icon Jon Bon Jovi and rapper-turned-country star Jelly Roll teamed up earlier this year to release a reimagined version of Bon Jovi’s 2024 song, “Living Proof.” According to Good Morning America, the pair developed a friendship after meeting in 2024 at the MusiCares Person of the […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Death Row Timeline Nears End for Frank Walls Staff Reports November 19, 2025 11:36 am Crime, Okaloosa County, Public Safety In Brief: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a December 18 death warrant for Frank Athen Walls, convicted in the 1987 murders of an Eglin airman and his girlfriend and linked to three additional Okaloosa County killings. Walls’ execution adds to a record-high year for Florida, which has scheduled more executions in 2025 than any year since capital punishment was reinstated. Attorneys for Walls are expected to appeal to both state and federal courts as the execution date approaches. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Frank Athen Walls — the Okaloosa County man convicted of a string of brutal killings in the 1980s — according to reporting from the Associated Press. Walls, now 58, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on December 18 at Florida State Prison, marking yet another addition to what has become the most execution-heavy year in Florida’s modern history. Walls’ case has haunted Okaloosa County for nearly four decades. The crimes that ultimately put him on death row began on a July night in 1987, when prosecutors say he slipped into the mobile home of Eglin Air Force Base Airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson. According to court records, Walls tied the couple up in what investigators later characterized as a robbery that escalated into extreme violence. Alger managed to free himself and fought back—forcing Walls to slash his throat, then shoot... Read More

The Yet-To-Be-Titled Film Will Follow The Fall Of A Country Star Country music is no stranger to Hollywood. Films like James Mangold’s Walk The Line (2005) and Michael Apted’s Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) sought to dramatize the life and legacy of significant country stars, respectively Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. There’s even Robert Altman’s ensemble […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Okaloosa County opposes Gulf drilling, citing national security and tourism risks Collin Bestor November 19, 2025 8:45 am Okaloosa County In Brief: Commissioners say drilling in the eastern Gulf would endanger the nation’s largest military test range and weaken U.S. defense readiness. Local leaders warn even the perception of oil risk could devastate the county’s multibillion-dollar tourism economy. A formal letter urging permanent protection of the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range will now be delivered to state and federal leaders. SHALIMAR — Okaloosa County Commissioners moved unanimously on Tuesday to oppose any efforts to resume drilling in the eastern Gulf, saying that drilling would endanger U.S. national security and threaten the region’s multibillion-dollar tourism economy.   The move followed Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel’s push for the board to sign a letter calling for permanent protection of the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range, a vast military operations area used by every branch of the armed forces.   Ketchel, who serves on the Defense Strategic Initiatives Board, said offshore drilling would “completely ruin the mission field” for Eglin Air Force Base, which she noted supports about 70% of the county’s economy.   Although she noted her support for President Donald Trump, Ketchel criticized what she described as his “drill, baby, drill” stance and argued that federal leaders may not fully grasp the threat offshore drilling poses to the test range and the area’s tourism industry.   The letter will be delivered to the White House and to members of the State... Read More

‘Minutes Matter’: Hurlburt Commander says traffic and housing now threaten U.S. Special Operations Collin Bestor November 19, 2025 8:30 am Hurlburt Field In Brief: Traffic delays and long commutes are now directly impacting rapid-deployment missions at Hurlburt Field. Rising housing costs and limited childcare are straining young families across the 1st Special Operations Wing. Mental-health access — especially for spouses and children — remains one of the wing’s most urgent support gaps. SHALIMAR — Col. Mark L. Hamilton, a career special operations aviator and the new commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, warned Okaloosa County Commissioners on Tuesday that worsening traffic, soaring housing costs, childcare shortages and limited mental-health access are now directly affecting the wing’s ability to launch global missions within minutes.   Hamilton, who took command of the wing Oct. 6, oversees 67 manned and remotely piloted aircraft, including the AC-130J, MC-130J, and MQ-9, and leads 21 squadrons with more than 1,300 Air Commandos trained for worldwide special operations missions such as high-value targeting, unconventional warfare, and personnel recovery.   As installation commander, he is also responsible for base support to 22,000 personnel and more than 40 tenant units at Hurlburt Field.   “Our primary mission is to be ready anytime, anyplace,” Hamilton told commissioners. “The 1st Special Operations Wing has to be ready in minutes. When we measure our success in minutes, traffic becomes a threat to national security.” Traffic delays risk mission readiness Hamilton said U.S. Highway 98 and other choke points... Read More