Miss GA overcomes disability, store manager killed & more: top Columbus stories
A pageant contestant overcame a disability to become Miss Georgia, a Dollar General manager was fatally shot, and residents sued the city over an ordinance allowing a hyperscale data center to be built in their neighborhood — these are among last week’s top local news stories.
Here are key takeaways from the five most-read Ledger-Enquirer articles about Columbus in the past seven days:
A University of Georgia student who underwent 20 surgeries before age 20 was crowned Miss Georgia 2026 at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus. She felt “speechless” after her name was called, and an emotional encounter just five minutes after being crowned left her stunned. Click here to read the full story.
The 44-year-old manager of a Dollar General in Columbus was shot in the head and killed, according to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. He described the sequence of events inside the store before the shooting. Click here to read the full story.
An EF-1 tornado with winds up to 90 mph touched down in Midland on June 18 and tore 4.5 miles into Upatoi — but the outdoor warning sirens never sounded. The Columbus emergency management director explained why. Click here to read the full story.
Residents living near the northeast Muscogee County site of the proposed $5.18 billion hyperscale data center called Project Ruby sued the Columbus Consolidated Government, the mayor and the Columbus Council. The complaint lists seven reasons. Click here to read the full story.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson responded to the lawsuit by insisting the city’s process to pass the technology overlay ordinance prescribing rules for a hyperscale data center followed “strict compliance with Georgia law.” Henderson said the council’s action will be “vigorously defended.” Click here to read the full story.
These summaries were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. All the Ledger-Enquirer articles linked in this recap were reported, written and edited by journalists.
