Nick Wooten is the Southern Trends and Culture reporter for McClatchy’s South region. He is based in Columbus, Ga., at the Ledger-Enquirer but his work also appears in The (Macon) Telegraph and The Sun Herald in Biloxi. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Ga.