Latest news with #Guntersville
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Sport
- Business Wire
Jacob Wheeler Notches Ninth MLF Bass Pro Tour Win at Lowrance Stage 5 at Kentucky Lake Presented by Mercury
CALVERT CITY, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At each of the past two Bass Pro Tour regular-season events, Jacob Wheeler has finished in second place, one bite short of the win. He fell 2-3 shy of Drew Gill on Lake Murray, then lost a heartbreaker to Jake Lawrence on Chickamauga and Nickajack, when Lawrence caught a 5-9 in the final seconds before lines out. At Lowrance Stage 5 Presented by Mercury on Kentucky Lake, Wheeler made sure no one else even got a chance to steal the trophy. Wheeler rallied after a slow morning and stacked up 110 pounds, 13 ounces on 46 scorable bass during Sunday's Championship Round. He turned what looked like it would be another slugfest with Lawrence, the home-lake favorite, into a rout, topping Lawrence by 32-7. The win is Wheeler's first of 2025 and ninth overall on the Bass Pro Tour, adding to his tour-best trophy count. This one carried special significance, not just because he was able to flip the script and get revenge on Lawrence, but because he grew up traveling to Kentucky Lake to compete in tournaments alongside his father, Curtis, who passed away from cancer in April. 'I just felt like he was with me all week,' Wheeler said through tears shortly after the victory became official. 'It's the first tournament that I've fished on a lake that we fished together, and this one had a lot of meaning to it. Obviously, he was a big part of my life, and I wouldn't be here without him. I just wanted to win it for him.' Link to Hi-Res Photo of Lowrance Stage 5 Presented by Mercury Winner Jacob Wheeler Link to Photo Gallery: Kentucky Lake Delivers During Stage 5 Championship Round Link to Photo Gallery: Championship Round Underway on Kentucky Lake Link to HD Video of Livestream from Day 4 Championship Round Competition Not only did Wheeler take home the trophy and $150,000 top prize at Stage 5, he put himself in an excellent position to win another title (and $100,000 paycheck). Wheeler now has a 38-point lead in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race over Lawrence, who moved up from fourth to second. As long as Wheeler makes the Knockout Round at each of the final two events of the regular season, he's virtually assured of his fourth AOY crown in the past five years. At this point, the better question might not be whether Wheeler will win Angler of the Year but whether he can break his own Bass Pro Tour record. Through five events, he's averaging a finish of 3.2. That's well ahead of the mark he set when he won his second points title in 2022 (5.4) for the best average finish in the seven-year history of the Bass Pro Tour. Given all he's achieved over the past seven years, it's natural to wonder whether the wins still mean as much. Wheeler's reaction after lines out erased any doubt that this victory is special. For one thing, he completed the unofficial Tennessee River Grand Slam – he's now won on Chickamauga, Guntersville, Pickwick and Kentucky. And Kentucky Lake has a particularly special place in Wheeler's heart. Growing up in Indianapolis, it was the closest venue that regularly hosted national-level events, and Wheeler's father drove him to the fishery to compete throughout his teenage years. As focused as he was on earning the win, every time he came across a familiar landmark, Wheeler couldn't help but think back to those times in the boat with his dad. 'I stopped at a point that my dad caught a 6 1/2-pounder on in March in a club tournament in practice just to reminisce,' he said. 'Stuff like that, as you're running down the lake, it just brings back insane memories at such a young age. That's what made it even so much sweeter.' The top 10 pros at the Lowrance Stage 5 Presented by Mercury on Kentucky Lake finished: 1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn. 46 bass, 110-13, $150,000 2nd: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 30 bass, 78-6, $45,000 3rd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 32 bass, 69-8, $35,000 4th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 27 bass, 62-13, $30,000 5th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 26 bass, 62-10, $25,000 6th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 22 bass, 53-11, $23,000 7th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 18 bass, 51-11, $22,000 8th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 16 bass, 44-11, $21,000 9th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 16 bass, 35-15, $20,500 10th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 12 bass, 29-10, $20,000 A complete list of results can be found at Cole Floyd won the Berkley Big Bass Award Sunday with a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that he caught on a crankbait early in the first period. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day. The four-day tournament, hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Calloway County Tourism Commission, showcased 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $650,000, including a top payout of $150,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship. Television coverage of the Lowrance Stage 5 at Kentucky Lake Presented by Mercury will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 25 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 1. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel. The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship. Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota. For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF's social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world's largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America's living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world's top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Boater struck by lightning on Lake Guntersville: Report
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Guntersville Fire/ Rescue chief told News 19 multiple crews are on the scene of a weather-related incident at Lake Guntersville Saturday. GFR told News 19 that crews with the department, as well as Hebron Volunteer Fire Department, North Marshall Volunteer Fire Department, Marshall Medical EMA and the Guntersville Rescue Squad are all responding to the incident. The chief said the Marshall County dispatch said a call came in about a boater possibly being struck by lightning before noon. The Chief said an off-duty Hebron Volunteer Fire Department firefighter helped get the boat near the Honeycomb Cemetery. The chief said the victim is believed to be a 50-60-year-old man who was struck by lightning while fishing. GFD units removed the victim from the boat, and they are being transported to Birmingham by Marshall EMS for treatment. The GFD Chief told News 19 the victim has 'serious injuries' and burns in several areas. There is still no word on if anyone else was in the boat with the victim at the time of the incident. This is a developing story. Stick with News 19 as we provide updates as information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Escrow shortages are leaving homeowners with unexpected bills
It's practically an annual ritual for homeowners: Around February, a letter comes in the mail detailing the results of your latest escrow analysis. If your account comes up short, you'll have to pay up, either via a one-time payment or by spreading the sum over next year's monthly payments. Escrow account shortages are a poorly understood phenomenon in the US mortgage system, but they're growing more common. The accounts hold money in reserve for property taxes and homeowners insurance that mortgage servicers — the middlemen that handle payment processing — pay on a homeowner's behalf. Taxes and insurance costs are rapidly rising in much of the country, resulting in many homeowners inadvertently underpaying those expenses. When those bills come due, owners can end up owing extra money if their escrow account balance isn't high enough. What seems like a fixed mortgage payment can suddenly end up increasing, sometimes by over $100 a month. The shortage notices — and subsequent bill increases — come as a shock to many homeowners, especially those already stretched thin by high home prices and mortgage rates near 7%. 'A lot of people see escrow as, you just forget about it,' said Lisa Araujo, a loan officer at Redmond Mortgage in Guntersville, Ala. 'You're trusting that it's being taken care of.' 'We do need to talk about how taxes and insurance can go up as well.' Read more: How does escrow work when buying a home? Around 80% of mortgage holders have escrow accounts. They're mandatory for any borrower putting down less than 20% to buy their home or using any type of non-conventional mortgage. Homeowners who are eligible to go without one are responsible for paying taxes and insurance on their own. But while the accounts are common, they can be confusing for many homeowners. Lereta, a firm that provides tax services for loans, found in a survey last year that 28% of homeowners were somewhat aware or not aware at all that escrow changes could affect their monthly payments, and 53% of homeowners who received a payment increase were surprised by it. When a homeowner gets an escrow shortage notice, rising property taxes are often to blame. Home values have increased rapidly since the pandemic, strengthening owners' equity positions but also leaving them with steeper tax bills when their property values are reassessed. Some, but not all, states cap annual property tax increases, and how those caps work also varies. 'There are people who have had to give up their homes because of the appreciation they received,' said Mitchell Dunn, a Bowling Green, Ky.-based loan officer at Loan Factory. Escrow shortages are one form of what are sometimes referred to as the 'hidden costs' of homeownership, which include taxes and insurance, homeowners' association dues, and routine maintenance costs. Dunn counsels his clients to make sure their housing payment is below 25% to 30% of their monthly gross income, even though they may qualify for a bigger loan. 'That will allow you to prepare for that rise in your mortgage payment,' he said. With a fixed-rate mortgage, the portion of a payment that's applied toward principal and interest technically doesn't change over the life of the loan. The escrow portion is usually bundled with it into a single monthly payment. Dawn Miller, who works for the Montana Department of Revenue, has seen firsthand how rising taxes have become a growing burden for many homeowners after prices exploded in the state. In Great Falls, Mont., where she lives, the median home was listed for $414,000 in April, up from $253,000 five years ago. 'I've had people come into my office and cry at my front office counter,' Miller, 54, said. 'They don't know how they're going to pay a $2,000 tax bill.' Her own taxes have gone up, too, which added to her monthly payment before she canceled her escrow account. She purchased her home nearly eight years ago, and initially paid around $875 a month. By last year, her monthly payment was up to $1,040, even after she made a separate one-time $800 escrow adjustment payment. She had enough equity to opt out, so Miller now sets aside money for taxes and insurance in a high-yield savings account instead. Since she now pays those expenses separately, her monthly mortgage payment is down to $740. 'It makes it easier to budget,' she said. Read more: How much money do I need to buy a house? Escrow shortages can affect all types of homeowners, but mortgage lenders say they can hit those who recently purchased new construction homes particularly hard. It can take a tax assessor a year or two to recognize the value of a home that was recently built on a once-empty plot of land. That means new construction homebuyers often initially pay taxes based on their land alone, and then find themselves with a big payment increase when their property is reassessed after a year or so of homeownership. 'If you're buying new construction, you need to put money away,' said Jennifer Hughes Hernandez, a senior loan officer at Legacy Mutual Mortgage in Houston. 'You need to figure out what your taxes are going to be — what they're supposed to be — and realize that's probably not what's being collected in the beginning.' Insurance is also a growing burden for many homeowners. In recent years, insurance premiums have been rising far faster than the rate of inflation as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and makes it harder for insurers to make money. Homeowners facing a big escrow shortage may have luck lowering their payments by shopping around for new insurance, though lenders say it's important for them to understand what kind of coverage they're getting, as some cheaper policies may have higher deductibles or provide more limited protection. Araujo, in Alabama, also recommends keeping an eye on annual tax assessments and servicer statements. Miscalculations can happen, and assessors usually allow homeowners to file protests. Esther Thomas, a project manager in Huntsville, Ala., was shocked when she logged into her mortgage account and discovered a $3,600 escrow shortage on a home she purchased last year. But after further review, and several marathon phone calls with her servicer, tax assessor, and others, she learned that her taxes were miscalculated when she bought the home. She ended up receiving a check for $2,000. "It's so important to advocate for yourself," said Thomas, 33. "I didn't have $3,600 to give to anybody." But Thomas isn't rushing to spend the windfall. Knowing her costs are likely to rise in the future, she's setting aside the money for future escrow payments. Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
