Georgia Trend Daily – Sept. 30, 2025
Sept. 30, 2025 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Major food company investing over $120M, creating ‘at least 48 new jobs’ in Columbus
Mark Rice reports that a nationally renowned food and beverage company is investing more than $120 million to create “at least 48 new jobs” and expand its manufacturing facility in Columbus, officials announced Monday. Hostess Brands LLC, a subsidiary of the Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Co., made the anouncement in a news release from Choose Columbus, the economic development organization funded by the Columbus Consolidated Government and the Development Authority of Columbus.
Sept. 30, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Catching up with… Bárbara Rivera Holmes
Rachel Wallenstein reports that Bárbara Rivera Holmes took office in April and is the state’s first Latina constitutional officer. Before joining the department, Holmes served as president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sept. 30, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lockheed Martin’s future in Georgia is likely to grow beyond the C-130
Emma Hurt reports that Lockheed Martin Marietta has been a fixture in Cobb County for more than seven decades. As American military needs have changed, so have the defense and aerospace contractor’s manufacturing lines and workforce training to make sure that the site and its 5,600-member team remain prepared for what’s next.
Sept. 30, 2025 WABE
Georgia high school graduation rates reach new record since 2011
Meimei Xu reports that graduation rates among Georgia high schools reached 87.2% for the Class of 2025, a new record since federal law began requiring the adjusted cohort calculation in 2011. The state graduation rate rose from 85.4% in 2024 and has risen 19.8 percentage points since 2011.
Sept. 30, 2025 State Affairs
Cause for concern? Lottery ticket sales drop as costs for HOPE, preschool climb
Beau Evans reports that lottery revenues fell short of covering costs to run preschools and scholarship programs for the second straight year in Georgia amid a drop in ticket sales due to severe weather and fewer $1 billion jackpots. Scratch-off games and big-dollar drawings drummed up about $1.47 billion for public education programs between July and June 2025, marking the second consecutive year of revenue declines following record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sept. 30, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Industrial growth in North Bryan expected to increase
Latrice Williams reports that Stacy Watson, director of economic and industrial development for the Georgia Ports Authority, says North Bryan will play a leading role in industrial growth in the region. A short drive through North Bryan County shows some of the massive concrete warehouses have already gone vertical and can be seen on U.S. 280 and 80.
Sept. 30, 2025 GlobalAtlanta.com
Germany’s Largest State Makes Its Case to Atlanta Investors, Incubators
Trevor Williams reports, seeing is believing when it comes to expanding into Europe via Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia — and traveling there is just the first step — tech companies and business boosters told Atlanta companies during an August forum. While many U.S. companies looking at the European market opt for better-known locales, the state known as NRW is trying to make the case that it’s “Europe’s heartbeat,” the true advanced industry and tech center of the continent.
Sept. 30, 2025 WABE
Changes coming to Georgia’s work requirement Medicaid ‘Pathways’ program
Jess Mador reports, it could soon get easier for Georgians with health insurance through the state’s Pathways to Coverage Medicaid program to maintain coverage. The program is set to continue until the end of 2026 after the Trump administration granted an extension, shortly after a recent Government Accountability Office report revealed the state has spent more on running Pathways than providing health care.
Sept. 30, 2025 Savannah Morning News
New assessment shows that numbers of one of Georgia’s most popular sport fish are dwindling
Jillian Magtoto reports, just over 10 years ago, Charter boat captain Carl Evans saw the numbers of the red-eyed, black-spotted redfish begin to decline. “Fifty per day was a good day,” he said. “Now, it’s just three or four a day.”
Sept. 30, 2025 Augusta Chronicle
Just a TAD? Augusta considering special tax district to attract elite pickleball complex
Joe Hotchkiss reports, Augusta’s government could create a special tax district to help bring a premium multimillion-dollar pickleball complex to one of the city’s busiest intersections. The city’s Finance Committee agenda for Sept. 30 includes an item to consider forming a tax allocation district, a government instrument that leverages targeted tax increases into development assistance.
Sept. 30, 2025 The Brunswick News
City finance committee recommends permeable parking at two city squares
Taylor Cooper reports that the Brunswick Finance Committee gave a favorable recommendation Monday to new permeable paved parking spaces at Palmetto and Orange squares. The committee is made up of Mayor Cosby Johnson, City Commissioner Felicia Harris and Finance Director Henry Perry.
Sept. 30, 2025 Marietta Daily News
Kemp denies Cobb Election Board’s request to amend special election date
Isabelle Manders reports that Gov. Brian Kemp has denied the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration’s request to amend the special election date to fill the vacated seat of former state Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta. Esteves resigned to run for governor on Sept. 10. His former District 35 seat includes parts of Cobb and Fulton counties.
Sept. 30, 2025 GPB
Georgia needs an educated workforce. That means making college more affordable, state senator says
Donna Lowry reports that Georgia leaders are tackling the rising costs of higher education, with lawmakers exploring new solutions to help more students afford college and complete their degrees. By 2031, 72% of all jobs in Georgia will require more than a high school diploma.
Sept. 30, 2025 The Current
Report: Ending Affordable Care Act subsidies could raise Georgia health costs by $2 billion
Margaret Coker reports that the topic at the center of the budget dispute that could lead to a federal government shutdown at midnight Tuesday is health care — specifically, should Congress extend enhanced federal subsidies for the so-called Obamacare health insurance plans beyond the end of the year? For consumers and hospitals in Georgia, the stakes are high as Republicans — most of whom are ready to end the subsidies— and Democrats — who want to continue them — try to find common ground.
Sept. 30, 2025 Macon Telegraph
GA’s Buddy Carter says he won’t consider restoring Medicaid money to avert shutdown
Lucinda Warnke reports, U.S. House Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview Friday that he wouldn’t agree to Democrats’ demands to restore Medicaid funding to avoid a government shutdown. Carter also advocated for the plan from President Donald Trump’s administration to consider cutting federal workers if there is a shutdown.
Sept. 30, 2025 Georgia Recorder
History-making Georgia Democratic lawmaker launches campaign for governor
Maya Homan reports, at least one more Democrat is jumping into the race to be Georgia’s next governor. State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a public policy consultant, once made history as the first Muslim woman to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives and the first Palestinian American to be elected to any public office in the state back in 2022.
Sept. 30, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5 questions about the looming federal government shutdown
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report, unless Congress passes — and President Donald Trump signs — a bill to keep the government funded, then the single largest employer in the United States will shut down at midnight. The consequences would be swift for the tens of thousands of federal workers in Georgia, depending on how long the drama drags out.
