Huntsville Hospital System + Lawn Mowing Man

Good morning, Huntsville! Before we get started, I want to say a very happy birthday to my dad! In today's Daily, we'll look at the latest on Rodney Smith of Raising Men Lawn Care Service, the newest hospital to join the Huntsville Hospital System, and MrBeast, Guy Fieri, and Mariah Carey in Huntsville.

First, today's weather:

Today will be partly cloudy with some isolated showers likely. High: 87 Low: 68

Patch Pick:
A Youtuber/Tiktoker from Illinois, Robert Carpenter, drove seven hours from Illinois to Florence, Alabama, playing “Sweet Home Alabama'' by Lynyrd Skynyrd the entire way. Carpenter has over 1000 followers on Youtube, 2000 on Tiktok, and over 65,000 likes on Tiktok. Lynyrd Skynyrd offered to let the boys come to a concert and promised they only play the song once a night. (WISTV)

Here are the top five stories in Huntsville today:

1. According to an analysis by HighSpeedInternet.com, Huntsville had the biggest jump in internet speeds in the country for the period between February 2020 and February 2021. Huntsville’s internet speeds jumped 200%, which is far above the 140% of second-place Rochester, New York. This brought Huntsville up to number 12 for fastest internet speed in the country. (AL.com)
2. Scottsboro’s Highlands Medical Center has announced they will become part of the Huntsville Hospital System as of October 1 of this year. The Jackson County Health Care Authority will still be an advisory board after this takes effect. (AL.com)
3. The Limestone County Schools District launched its Summer of Achievement in Reading (SOAR) program Monday. The program will help bridge any gap in learning that was caused by interruptions during the pandemic. (WZDX)
4. Hometown Lenders has donated a training simulator to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. The simulator will be able to put the officers in situations that they are likely to encounter, such as a traffic stop where the driver has a weapon, and figure out how to best deescalate those situations so that it is easier to do so when they face the problem in real life. (WZDX)
5. The Huntsville City Council is set to propose changes to the Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council, such as changing the number of members to 13 from the current 10. This is planned to be introduced at tonight’s city council meeting. (WZDX)

Today in Huntsville

• Huntsville City Council Meeting (5:30 p.m.)
• Summer Cube Arrangement Class @ The Flower Shoppe of Providence- learn to arrange flowers into a glass cube with materials and instruction included in the $49 price! (6:30 p.m.)
• Russian Tutor for Beer @ Yellowhammer- Grab a beer and learn conversational Russian and about Russian culture! (6 p.m.)
• Youth Dance Class @ the Calvary Hills Community Center (3:30 p.m.)

Huntsville Patch Notebook

• Rodney Smith, a Huntsville citizen known around the country as the "Lawn Mowing Man" for his Raising Men Lawn Care Service, has been awarded the Madison City Coin from District One City Council Member, Maura Wroblewski. (Details)
• Did you know that you can get food from Youtuber MrBeast, Guy Fieri, and Mariah Carey all from Bravo! on Bridgestreet? (Details)
• Hometown Lenders is donating $30,000 worth of wound kits to the Huntsville Police Department! (Details)
• Athens City Schools is looking for input through a survey on how to best spend money granted to them after the pandemic. (Details)
• Southbound traffic on I-565 is being rerouted onto Exit 347 again today from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Details)

You're all caught up! I'll see you tomorrow for more!

-Amy