Despite living with the calm, coastal lifestyle of the island, Gulf Coast Media readers for Islander content were kept on their toes in 2025.
Between the first-ever commercial airline flight, …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
Despite living with the calm, coastal lifestyle of the island, Gulf Coast Media readers for Islander content were kept on their toes in 2025.
Between the first-ever commercial airline flight, Sand in My Boots having a successful inaugural year and Gulf Shores announcing no festival for 2026, election coverage and general growth or seasonal things for the area, there is never a dull moment in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Just to give you an idea of some of the surprises this year, this list doesn't even mention Gulf Shores seeing a rare municipal election recount, Orange Beach's ban on certain commercial activities on the beach, 50 kilos of cocaine washing up on Fort Morgan, DNA testing the shrimp at Shrimp Fest or both island cities having discussion around e-bikes and both seeing their police chiefs retire.
In case you missed other earlier coverage, here are some of the biggest stories that happened on the island this year, in no particular order.
On May 21, Baldwin County's first-ever commercial flight landed at the Gulf Shores International Airport (GUF/JKA) when the Allegiant Travel Company flight from Knoxville, Tennessee landed safely at the airport.
In July, the airport announced a terminal expansion and partnership with LuLu's as the first official food and beverage provider for the airport. During the 2025 summer season, GUF had over 40,000 travelers pass through. By November, the airport had seen about 60,000 total passengers.
Throughout the year, Allegiant announced future routes, bringing the airport to the 13 nonstop routes currently planned for next summer.
GUF Airport Director Jesse Fosnaugh encouraged residents to check out the five routes offered currently.
"Take a chance and just go," he said.
The inaugural Sand in My Boots Festival, curated and headlined by Morgan Wallen, was held May 16-18 in celebration of Hangout Music Festival's 15th anniversary. The 40,000 tickets for the event sold out after 90 minutes.
2025 was the last year of the city's contract with AEG Presents, organizers of the festival. Before voting on renewing any contract, the city hosted public input meetings on whether the city should host Hangout Festival/Sand in My Boots again.
Most speakers at the input meeting and residents commenting via online survey were in favor of continuing a contract with AEG presents.
At the July 28 Gulf Shores City Council meeting, a one-year franchise agreement to host Hangout Music Festival in 2026 was unanimously approved, with a potential for another event in 2027.
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said if the lineup was not like Sand in My Boots the city will not agree to hold the event in 2027.
However, at the Dec. 8 council meeting, Craft announced Hangout Music Festival would not be returning due to a lack of time to "produce a successful festival in 2026."
Later, Sand in My Boots posted on social media that Sand in My Boots was "never planned to return next year."
Craft said the city plans to approve an event for 2027 since "they've got time now to pursue the type of talent we want."
Baldwin County residents as far as Bay Minette were interested in the Orange Beach election, as the audience of over 1,000 people at a mayoral debate came from across the county.
One focus of online discussion followed July 8 reporting from Mobile-based Lagniappe on police response to a domestic violence call at the city's Coastal Resources building over Labor Day weekend in 2024. Reporters Rob Holbert and Kyle Hamrick raised questions on Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon's use of the office space and whether he was involved in the incident. A woman reportedly saw a man on the office balcony naked and screaming at a woman. Kennon's name does not appear in police reports.
That same month, GCM requested video footage from the police response and was denied access as the city's policy follows state law, in which enforcement reports and investigative material are not considered public records in Alabama.
A week before the election, audio from the body camera footage from Labor Day weekend was published by Lagniappe via an anonymous source. In the audio, the man in the office space where the domestic violence call was made identifies himself as Kennon.
Orange Beach resident C.C. Dixon-Moreno also requested body camera footage in July. She filed a lawsuit against the city's mayor and other municipal staff members for not giving her the footage. On Oct. 1, she refiled her lawsuit after it was dismissed Sept. 2.
In May, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the upcoming Margaritaville Resort in Orange Beach, of which the first phase is set for completion in spring 2027 and the full resort expected to be complete by 2029.
Orange Beach also approved and extended two moratoriums this year, halting construction of certain multi-family projects/subdivision applications and any development within 15 feet of wetland territory. Both the multi-family and wetland moratoriums are set to expire, unless extended further, by Sept. 30, 2026.
One big project that kicked off in Gulf Shores this year was the start of the Pedestrian Bridge project and the Waterway Village Plaza surrounding the base on either side of the Intracoastal Waterway. As of the start of this month, the bridge was at 40% completion and has an expected completion date by Jan. 14, 2027.
While construction of the new Gulf Shores High School started in Dec. 2020, the $137 million project is set to be completed in time for high school students starting in fall 2026. In October, GCM got a tour of the 200-acre construction site seeing the new open classroom styles and extra technology features embedded in just about every detail.
Other projects completed or in progress on the island include:
- Orange Beach's completed Veteran's memorial;
- Bids approved for Orange Beach's fire training facility;
- Completion of Orange Beach City School's athletic facility;
- Gulf Shores Justice Center construction begins;
Many animals experienced snow for the first time this year thanks to Winter Storm Enzo. Those at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo enjoyed the weather as the zoo regularly adapts practices and care routines as the weather changes.
In the wild, no cold-stressed manatee sightings were reported for the area during the historically cold weather. In Gulf Shores' Little Lagoon, a fish kill occurred after the temperature dropped and stayed below freezing, resulting in thousands of mullet washing up on the lagoon's shores and canals.
GCM also covered seasonal sightings such as the Portuguese man o' war — which should start showing up in the Gulf soon — sea turtles, beach-nesting birds, sargassum seaweed and jellyfish.
This year, sea turtle season saw an earlier start as a rare Kemp's Ridley nest was found a day before the official start of the season and another Kemp's Ridley nest was found three days later.
