Joe Kovac Jr.
@joekovacjr.bsky.social
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Macon bureau chief, covering Middle Georgia 🗞️ Bylines: AJC.com, WashingtonPost.com, AtlantaMagazine.com, Macon.com 📧: [email protected]
Pinned
Joe Kovac Jr.
@joekovacjr.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Leader of a tiny Georgia high school band continues a mission to pay it forward
At Twiggs County High, band director Ernest Stackhouse tries to draw the best out of his students. In his own life, other people intervened early and made a big difference.
www.ajc.com
Two strangers paid his way to college after reading a newspaper article about him.
Thirty years later, he shares the beauty of their gift in a story about the power of kindness and hometown journalism:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Thirty years later, he shares the beauty of their gift in a story about the power of kindness and hometown journalism:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
I visited my hometown to write about Buc-ee’s and how their convenience superstores are “the guilty pleasure that might spring forth if Stuckey’s and Walmart and QuikTrip and Golden Corral and Six Flags and South of the Border and,” well, read on: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
Another Buc-ee’s breaks ground in Georgia. Are you on the beaver bandwagon?
Buc-ee's is planting its flag in the heart of Georgia. Soon enough, two of the Texas-based chain's convenience superstores here will be just 28 miles apart.
www.ajc.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I visited my hometown to write about Buc-ee’s and how their convenience superstores are “the guilty pleasure that might spring forth if Stuckey’s and Walmart and QuikTrip and Golden Corral and Six Flags and South of the Border and,” well, read on: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
I visited my hometown to write about Buc-ee’s and how their convenience superstores are “the guilty pleasure that might spring forth if Stuckey’s and Walmart and QuikTrip and Golden Corral and Six Flags and South of the Border and,” well, read on: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
Another Buc-ee’s breaks ground in Georgia. Are you on the beaver bandwagon?
Buc-ee's is planting its flag in the heart of Georgia. Soon enough, two of the Texas-based chain's convenience superstores here will be just 28 miles apart.
www.ajc.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I visited my hometown to write about Buc-ee’s and how their convenience superstores are “the guilty pleasure that might spring forth if Stuckey’s and Walmart and QuikTrip and Golden Corral and Six Flags and South of the Border and,” well, read on: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
The $500 million project remaking the junction at I-75 and I-16 in Macon began in 2017 and but isn't going to wrap up any time soon, @joekovacjr.bsky.social reports. An update on the construction: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
Construction on ‘dicey’ Georgia interstate interchange won’t end soon
The construction-gnarled nexus of two interstates linking Atlanta and Savannah in Middle Georgia are a jumble of snaking lane shifts and a source of headaches - or worse.
www.ajc.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The $500 million project remaking the junction at I-75 and I-16 in Macon began in 2017 and but isn't going to wrap up any time soon, @joekovacjr.bsky.social reports. An update on the construction: www.ajc.com/news/2025/09...
Overhead-bin Jenga (advanced, two-player version):
July 14, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Overhead-bin Jenga (advanced, two-player version):
Fifty-one years ago today: “Midnight at the … ol’ Omni”
June 20, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Fifty-one years ago today: “Midnight at the … ol’ Omni”
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
This may be Georgia’s most blue-collar diner:
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
Is this Georgia’s most blue-collar diner? Meet Macon's Cox Cafe.
This out-of-the-way restaurant in Middle Georgia caters to work crews but serves up staples of Southern breakfast and lunch fare to all comers in Macon's industrial district.
www.ajc.com
June 8, 2025 at 12:12 AM
This may be Georgia’s most blue-collar diner:
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
This may be Georgia’s most blue-collar diner:
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
Is this Georgia’s most blue-collar diner? Meet Macon's Cox Cafe.
This out-of-the-way restaurant in Middle Georgia caters to work crews but serves up staples of Southern breakfast and lunch fare to all comers in Macon's industrial district.
www.ajc.com
June 8, 2025 at 12:12 AM
This may be Georgia’s most blue-collar diner:
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
“The concrete-block edifice has walls painted white as hungry teeth. The facade screams, “Work boots required.” The thick metal door, red as a kidney bean, looks like it just might open to the sound of a secret knock.”
www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
An unclaimed iPhone with a cartoony, angel-winged teddy bear on its case kept catching the eye of Army Staff Sgt. Zach Winthers. …
May 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
An unclaimed iPhone with a cartoony, angel-winged teddy bear on its case kept catching the eye of Army Staff Sgt. Zach Winthers. …
An unclaimed iPhone with a cartoony, angel-winged teddy bear on its case kept catching the eye of Army Staff Sgt. Zach Winthers. …
May 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
An unclaimed iPhone with a cartoony, angel-winged teddy bear on its case kept catching the eye of Army Staff Sgt. Zach Winthers. …
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
More than a year after a drone strike killed three American service members, a U.S. soldier’s quest to return an unclaimed iPhone found at their remote military outpost along the Iraqi and Syrian borders led to a grieving family in Georgia: www.ajc.com/news/2025/05...
Long-lost iPhone connects grieving family to their daughter, a fallen soldier
A soldier's quest to find the owner of lost-and-found iPhone in Jordan led him to dial "Mama Bear," a call that allowed the Sanders family to "see" their late daughter again
www.ajc.com
May 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
More than a year after a drone strike killed three American service members, a U.S. soldier’s quest to return an unclaimed iPhone found at their remote military outpost along the Iraqi and Syrian borders led to a grieving family in Georgia: www.ajc.com/news/2025/05...
More than a year after a drone strike killed three American service members, a U.S. soldier’s quest to return an unclaimed iPhone found at their remote military outpost along the Iraqi and Syrian borders led to a grieving family in Georgia: www.ajc.com/news/2025/05...
Long-lost iPhone connects grieving family to their daughter, a fallen soldier
A soldier's quest to find the owner of lost-and-found iPhone in Jordan led him to dial "Mama Bear," a call that allowed the Sanders family to "see" their late daughter again
www.ajc.com
May 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
More than a year after a drone strike killed three American service members, a U.S. soldier’s quest to return an unclaimed iPhone found at their remote military outpost along the Iraqi and Syrian borders led to a grieving family in Georgia: www.ajc.com/news/2025/05...
The image is eye-catching: A young Augustan stands atop a Helene-felled tree and hits a golf ball not far from the Masters' manicured greens.
Here's the story behind the photograph:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Here's the story behind the photograph:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Not your usual Masters: Augusta golfer teed off Helene tree stump
The image is eye-catching: A young Augustan stands atop a felled tree and hits a golf ball not far from the Masters' manicured greens. Here's the story behind the photo.
www.ajc.com
April 9, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The image is eye-catching: A young Augustan stands atop a Helene-felled tree and hits a golf ball not far from the Masters' manicured greens.
Here's the story behind the photograph:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Here's the story behind the photograph:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Downtown Macon’s newest neighbor, the Otis Redding Center for the Arts: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
‘You are a star in this place.’ Otis Redding center spotlights arts, Macon
The Otis Redding Center for the Arts, a 15,000-square-foot space in the heart of downtown Macon, opens to the public this month.
www.ajc.com
March 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Downtown Macon’s newest neighbor, the Otis Redding Center for the Arts: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Forty-eight years ago tonight in Macon:
March 14, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Forty-eight years ago tonight in Macon:
‘Methodical’ weekend search for missing Lake Oconee boater yields few clues:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
‘Methodical’ weekend search for missing Lake Oconee boater yields few clues
Underwater search expert from Wisconsin helps scour Lake Oconee for missing Georgia boater Gary Jones, a Westminster Schools teacher and coach, who vanished Feb. 8.
www.ajc.com
March 9, 2025 at 2:33 AM
‘Methodical’ weekend search for missing Lake Oconee boater yields few clues:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID has restored its supply contracts
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID restores supply contracts
Mana, which produces peanut-butter based food pouches in Georgia, said USAID restored $12 million of its contracts to feed malnourished children in Africa.
www.ajc.com
March 3, 2025 at 4:47 PM
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID has restored its supply contracts
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID has restored its supply contracts
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID restores supply contracts
Mana, which produces peanut-butter based food pouches in Georgia, said USAID restored $12 million of its contracts to feed malnourished children in Africa.
www.ajc.com
March 3, 2025 at 4:47 PM
UPDATE: Georgia peanut butter maker says USAID has restored its supply contracts
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
Middle Georgia’s largest city boasts a verifiably rich musical history, but claims that Macon birthed the kazoo are more complicated. It wasn’t until 1977, more than a century after the buzzing gizmo’s supposed invention here, that locals even, um, caught wind of it:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Macon spawned Little Richard, Otis Redding — and the kazoo?
The kazoo, according to lore, was invented by a former slave and a German clockmaker in Macon, Georgia. Here's the story behind the story.
www.ajc.com
February 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Middle Georgia’s largest city boasts a verifiably rich musical history, but claims that Macon birthed the kazoo are more complicated. It wasn’t until 1977, more than a century after the buzzing gizmo’s supposed invention here, that locals even, um, caught wind of it:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Middle Georgia’s largest city boasts a verifiably rich musical history, but claims that Macon birthed the kazoo are more complicated. It wasn’t until 1977, more than a century after the buzzing gizmo’s supposed invention here, that locals even, um, caught wind of it:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Macon spawned Little Richard, Otis Redding — and the kazoo?
The kazoo, according to lore, was invented by a former slave and a German clockmaker in Macon, Georgia. Here's the story behind the story.
www.ajc.com
February 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Middle Georgia’s largest city boasts a verifiably rich musical history, but claims that Macon birthed the kazoo are more complicated. It wasn’t until 1977, more than a century after the buzzing gizmo’s supposed invention here, that locals even, um, caught wind of it:
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development is being felt in Georgia peanut country.
ajc.com/news/georgia...
ajc.com/news/georgia...
USAID cancels large contracts of Georgia peanut butter supplier
Mana, which produces peanut-butter based food pouches in Georgia, said USAID had terminated $12 million of its contracts to feed malnourished children in Africa.
ajc.com
February 28, 2025 at 12:50 AM
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development is being felt in Georgia peanut country.
ajc.com/news/georgia...
ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers …
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers
On Georgia's Lake Oconee, the mystery builds after woman found floating, dead, and her fiance can't be found after boat trip.
www.ajc.com
February 22, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers …
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers …
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers
On Georgia's Lake Oconee, the mystery builds after woman found floating, dead, and her fiance can't be found after boat trip.
www.ajc.com
February 22, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Lost on Oconee: A boat empty, a woman dead, a man missing, few answers …
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
A mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta woman and the disappearance of her fiancé at Lake Oconee has baffled the authorities …
www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Reposted by Joe Kovac Jr.
“I don’t know the guy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.” Volunteers searching Lake Oconee for missing boater Gary Jones felt compelled to lend a hand: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Volunteers searching for missing Lake Oconee boater want ‘to do something good’
LAKE OCONEE — David Wallace throttled up the 115-horsepower Mercury engine on his 21-foot fishing skiff and motored around a bend near Riley Shoals.
www.ajc.com
February 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
“I don’t know the guy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.” Volunteers searching Lake Oconee for missing boater Gary Jones felt compelled to lend a hand: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
“I don’t know the guy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.” Volunteers searching Lake Oconee for missing boater Gary Jones felt compelled to lend a hand: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Volunteers searching for missing Lake Oconee boater want ‘to do something good’
LAKE OCONEE — David Wallace throttled up the 115-horsepower Mercury engine on his 21-foot fishing skiff and motored around a bend near Riley Shoals.
www.ajc.com
February 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
“I don’t know the guy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.” Volunteers searching Lake Oconee for missing boater Gary Jones felt compelled to lend a hand: www.ajc.com/news/georgia...
Hypnotic South Georgia …
January 31, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Hypnotic South Georgia …