This episode we get to talk with a man that may be better with numbers than an engineer, our friend, Secretary of State John Merrill.

When we hear Secretary of State, we always think about elections. But, just as John tells us, his office handles so much more!

When we recorded this episode, we were exactly one year away from the 2022 General Election. So, what can we expect in the upcoming election? Could Alabama become the next Georgia? How are we going to keep our elections safe?

John helps us to understand how he has been working over the past few years in office to protect our election process. Including an explanation as to why curbside voting is such a bad idea in Alabama.

One other very important note, we have had to take a break from the pod cast because of some family medical issues and this will be the last podcast till the first of the year. We will try to get back on schedule starting in January.

This week we are pleased to have the Mayor of the North Alabama city of Tuscumbia, Kerry Underwood!

Kerry talks with us on what he has been doing as mayor and most of all, why he is running to be State Representative of the Shoals area, District 3.

We dig into what Kerry can bring to the table as a CPA in the Alabama legislature and how he would deal with hard decisions as a legislator.

Thanks again to Kerry for sitting in with use for this week’s episode!  You can find out more about Kerry on Facebook at Kerry “Bubba” Underwood State House District 3 | Facebook

This week we break somewhat from politics to talk with our friend Shaun Montgomery from The Shaun’s Show.

We do a little discussing on the worker shortages we have here in North Alabama and the impact it’s having on new business’s that are coming to the area.

We also discuss how the South get’s a bad name for so many things but there is one thing we never get a bad name about… Southern Hospitality!  This subject and the sandwich generation (that I’m part of) has been weighing on my heart for a while to discuss.  So tonight, we discuss a couple of things that we recently observed in our day to day lives that just sets our part of the country out from others.  Not that’s it’s specifically taught, but it’s a way of life.

Then we wrap it up with a little talk about what we are both doing our shows for.  Not to be a big shot or that we have all the answers.  But we can help our community/state and get information out to those that don’t know.  Doesn’t matter if it’s politics or the local football game.

Enjoy our fun chat with Shaun Montgomery of The Shaun’s Show and look him up on Facebook if you’re looking for some of that Friday Night Football Fever!

Can we get away with this?  I don’t know if we can!  Oh boy… we’re going to prison for this one…

This week we pick up with last weeks prison discussion with our friend Rep. Proncey Robertson and how it’s effecting the culture of today and how that has affected our society from a law enforcement perspective.  How do we start to overcome this in today’s culture?

Then we discuss the ribbon cutting of the Lockheed Martin Hypersonic Strick Missile Factory in Courtland and what does it mean for North Alabama and Lawrence County?  What does this mean for the United States?

If you missed Part 1, make sure to go back to last week and take a listen.

Thanks again to Representative Proncey Robertson for taking the time to sit down and talk with us about Alabama’s prison plan.

Can we get away with this?  I don’t know if we can!  Oh boy… we’re going to prison for this one…

This week we have our good friend Representative Proncey Robertson back with us.  We wanted to get a better understanding of Governor Ivey’s special session on prison reform and what it really means.  We break down why the legislature had to have a special session and the details of how that happens.  We discuss where is the money coming for this reform program and the additional infrastructure that is to be built and why is it that we’re not expanding the prison population even though we have an overcrowding problem.

We get into the grades of felony convictions and talk about why the man that murdered Sgt. Risner in Muscle Shoals was out of the street with such a long sentence from his previous charges.

We cut this episode into two parts because our entire discussion lasted almost two hours.  So come back next week for Part 2 of “We’re going to prison for this…”

Thank you to Rep. Proncey Robertson for joining us once again to give us an update on this issue.

There’s no “Bull” about this court!  No, we’re not talking to Judge Harry T. Stone either. If you’re not a child of the 70’s or 80’s you may not remember the sitcom Night Court or the above references. Just a play on words!

This week we get the honor of talking with current Lawrence County Circuit Judge Mark Craig.

We talk to Judge Craig about his background and how he became Circuit Judge. Then we discuss the responsibilities of the circuit judge in Lawrence County and the case load that is currently on our court system. Why do some cases take so long? Is there an audit system for our court system?

Judge Craig tells us about how technology has affected our court system in the past and the things that are being used now to keep us on the leading edge of technology in the court room.

We then talk about the use of Drug Court in our court system and how Community Corrections has been used in the past and its current status.

Special thanks to Judge Craig for joining us this week. If you want to find out more about Judge Craig and his campaign check out his page on Facebook @JudgeMarkCraig

If you have been enjoying our podcast, make sure to give us five stars/thumbs up and hit that subscribe button.

There is a special announcement from Flash Fiber coming at the end of the Podcast!

This week we take a small break from politics to talk with Michael Cornelison with Joe Wheeler’s new Flash Fiber! We get a progress update from Michael as to what was planned to be provided vs. what they can provide now that the system is being installed. We get an update as to where the fiber is currently being installed, how many customers are currently hooked up and even get into the technical information as Melissa (Russ’s wife) joins us to talk about the IT side of things.

Michael also explains how the fiber will be installed to your house and what the equipment will be and where to place the equipment in your house or business for the best reception.

We also step off into the political world just a bit as we thank the legislators that helped pass a key bill to allow JWEMC to use their own poles to hang the fiber.  With all the Federal and State money that is available for rural broadband, how Joe Wheeler is working to get grants to aid in the installation of the fiber system.

If you want to know more about rural broadband internet coming to Lawrence and Morgan Counties, then take a listen as we dive off into Flash Fiber!

Thanks again to Joe Wheeler Flash Fiber and Michael Cornelison for taking time to chat with us and give us a great update!

To learn more about Flash Fiber, find out when it will be getting to your area and sign up for Flash Fiber and the newsletter, go to www.jwflash.com.

We did it! We have made a great milestone! Welcome to episode 10! We’re celebrating with our friend and talk radio host Jeff Poor. If you are in the North Alabama area, you may remember Jeff from WVNN talk radio. Jeff is now on FM Talk 1065 WAVH in Mobile and you can follow him on social media on Twitter, Facebook and on the WAVH website (The Jeff Poor Show - FM Talk 1065).

With Jeff’s finger on the pulse of politics across Alabama, we dive of into a few issues concerning state politics.  First we take a moment to reflect on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11.  The we discuss President Biden’s vaccine mandate and why is it such a major issue.  We also discuss the possible upcoming special Alabama Legislative session on Prison reform and where that could lead in the future and then round out with a little talk on the US Senate race with Mo Brooks and Katie Britt.

If you enjoy what we’re doing please drop us a like and subscribe. We would love to hear from you on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/letstalkpoliticsalabama  feel free to leave us comments of what you like, how we can improve or any guest suggestions.