| Thursday, August 9, 2018 |
| Bulldog Free Tuition program available at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Mississippi State University announced a new program called Bulldog Free Tuition that enables active service members with the Mississippi National Guard to qualify for free tuition. "It's going to be a huge recruiting and retention push for the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard," says Kim McCoy, the recruiting office supervisor at Key Field. This program also includes students at MSU-Meridian. "The service member must be a full-time undergraduate students with the university, must be in good standing with their unit and cannot be within one year of expiration of their term of service," says Kristi Dearing, the coordinator of advising at MSU-Meridian. Service members are already taking advantage of this new program. "I received a call within just an hour or two of the announcement yesterday morning and so I was pleasantly surprised someone had seen it online," Dearing says. |
| Mississippi State, National Guard announce Bulldog Free Tuition Program | |
 | Mississippi State University and the Mississippi National Guard announced a new program Tuesday that will ensure free tuition for Mississippi National Guard service members enrolled full-time at MSU. MSU President Mark E. Keenum and Maj. Gen. Janson D. "Durr" Boyles, Adjutant General of Mississippi, both signed a memorandum of agreement establishing the Bulldog Free Tuition program during a ceremony at MSU's G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans at Nusz Hall. MSU Center for America's Veterans Director Bryan Locke said the program will go into effect for students in the National Guard in time for the new fall semester for those who meet the criteria. Locke said MSU is the only institution of higher learning in the state that offers this program, which allows students in the National Guard another option to pay for their education. |
| SMART undergoes route changes | |
| The Starkville-MSU Area Rapid Transit (SMART) bus system is making some changes next week. SMART is a free public transit system linking Starkville and Mississippi State University's campus. SMART will be closed Aug. 13 and 14 for driver training, and the new routes will begin at 7 a.m., Aug. 15. Howell said the free Double Map smartphone application allows riders to track buses in real time and see their arrival times. Riders can also text message their stop number to 662-268-5180 for bus stop times, which is a free service this year. For questions or more detailed route information and maps, call 662-325-5204 or visit www.smart.msstate.edu. |
| Midtown movement in Starkville | |
 | Jeffrey Harless, Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based developer, confirmed three official tenants in Starkville's Midtown mixed-use development on University Drive. State Floral, Suite 3, will open within the next two months. Other than large and small floral arrangements, State Floral will offer gifts for every occasion, balloons, Mississippi State University merchandise and local artist items. Orange Theory Fitness, which offers hour-long cardio and strength-training classes, will open in Suite 5 of Midtown by the end of September. Strange Brew Coffeehouse's second location is currently under construction at Midtown. Harless said it will be opening in Suite 7 of Midtown in about three months. Moving away from Midtown, What's for Dinner? Store owner Cindy Brown has the answer to that question. Customers can come to What's for Dinner? at 506-1 Academy Road, for frozen casseroles ranging from chicken spaghetti, lasagna, tomato pie, enchiladas and more. |
| Starkville eyes millage increase for new budget | |
| The city of Starkville is looking at an "operational" millage increase to keep pace with rising costs as discussions begin for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget. Aldermen met for a budget work session Tuesday, before the regularly-scheduled board meeting. During the work session, Ward 2 Alderman and Budget Committee Chair Sandra Sistrunk outlined the proposed budget for the next fiscal year that calls for about $21.77 million in expenditures -- a nearly $800,000 increase from last year's expenses. To generate the new revenue, Sistrunk proposed a 1.05 mill increase in city taxes, from the current 25.58 mills to 26.63 mills. The largest change, accounting for about half of the increase, is for the city's parks system. |
| SOCSD to absorb higher costs without tax increase | |
| A property value boom in Oktibbeha County will help Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District absorb an increase in projected expenditures this year without having to raise the property tax millage. At a glance, the district's budget depicts more than $81.3 million in expected expenditures, which exceeds the $56.4 million expected revenue from local, state and federal funds. District Chief Financial Officer Tammie McGarr said the expenditures include the current construction of the upcoming SOCSD and Mississippi State University Partnership School. The $23.1 million amount allotted to facilities and construction within the budget would be funded by the construction funds SOCSD budgeted previously. The district anticipates an approximate $300,000 financial cut this year from state funding by the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which funds approximately 43.08 percent of the SOCSD budget. |
| SHS student, teacher attend Oak Ridge National Lab summer program | |
| A Starkville High School student and former teacher have returned from the science adventure of a lifetime. Senior A'Shauna Howell and former SHS biology teacher Michael Adam were among a group selected by the Appalachian Regional Commission to attend a two-week summer program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The opportunity came to Howell through the Jobs for Mississippi Graduates program at SHS. Howell then selected Adam to accompany her. Both Howell and Adam were given the opportunity to learn and be involved in scientific research at Oak Ridge. Attendees came from parts of Mississippi and a dozen other Appalachian states. "It was honestly the most fun experience that I've had as far as being able to work with the laboratory and as far as being there and learning, getting to work with the laboratory, it gives you a totally different look of life," Howell said. Howell, who hopes to someday become a doctor, said she thought the program was a good primer for college life. |
| Mississippi Book Festival: 'Mississippi treats writers like Alabama treats football players' | |
 | The celebration of two of Mississippi's most important and influential writers will kick off the 2018 Mississippi Book Festival on Aug 18. Festival officials will unveil the first two markers of the state's new Mississippi Writers Trail with nods to the past, present and future of the state's literary legacy. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty and two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward will be recognized for their literary contributions to the world of letters with members of Welty's family gathering at the event as well as opening remarks from Ward. Although the festival is filled with book-related activities for every age -- including a children's tent, writing workshops, more than 40 panels and discussions -- one of the biggest draws is authors and books signings. The event will feature more than 150 writers. |
| State tax collections solid to begin new fiscal year | |
 | Revenue collections, which fund most of the basics of operating state government, such as public education, health care and law enforcement, got off to a solid start in July -- the first month of the 2019 fiscal year. Collections were $9.7 million or 2.5 percent over the amount collected during July 2017. Or, the collections for July were $9.75 million or 3.2 percent above the official estimate. The official estimate represents the amount of money that was used during the 2018 legislative session to construct a budget for the current fiscal year. If the revenue does not meet the official estimate over a period of time, the governor is forced to make budget cuts or call the Legislature into special session to make the cuts. Multiple budget cuts, more than 10 percent for some agencies, were required during the 2016-17 fiscal years because of sluggish collections. Revenue collections began to rebound and grew some during the past fiscal year. Collections are continuing to grow -- albeit slowly -- during the new fiscal year. |
| Senator Cindy Hyde Smith lauds President Trump's efforts at Columbus stop | |
| Since Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith took office four months ago, she said she has witnessed an "amazing time in our country." The former Mississippi agriculture and commerce commissioner was appointed to the Senate by Governor Phil Bryant when former Sen. Thad Cochran stepped down in April for health reasons. Hyde-Smith stopped in Columbus Tuesday for a combined meeting of the Columbus Rotary and the Lowndes County Republican Women at Lion Hills, where she assured her audience good things are happening in Washington, D.C. The four-month senator has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and spent about 30 minutes Tuesday telling her audience how pleased she is with the direction the president is taking the country. |
| Landlocked and frustrated, farmer offers to pay $40K for bridge repair | |
| This fall's harvest will be the first for Jeff Talley since federal bridge inspectors made the county close the Hushpuckena River bridge along the only road in and out of his farm. The road, located between Shelby and Parchman in the heart of the Delta, is vital for the planting and harvest of the farm's 1,900 acres of cotton and soybeans. After the feds ordered the bridge closed in January, Talley and the farm's workers have just a single way to access the fields: A turnrow owned by another farmer. As long as it's dry, the turnrow is acceptable. But if it rains, there is no consistent accessibility to the farm. With the farm being effectively landlocked, Talley and representatives of the company who owns the land approached the Bolivar County board of supervisors on Monday with a unique proposal: "We'll reimburse the county to repair the bridge." |
| State Auditor Shad White focusing on four key items on agenda | |
 | Mississippi's State Auditor Shad White has literally hit the ground running since he was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant about a month ago. "My default speed is sprint," he said. "And I expect everybody else (in the auditor's office) to keep up with me." White, 32, was named to the office after former auditor Stacey Pickering resigned to become director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board. Since taking office, White has plunged right into the day-to-day duties of the office as well as taking a look at how the department is run and how it can run more efficiently. "We need to take this as an opportunity to completely re-evaluate just everything that we do," White said during a Rotary Club of Hattiesburg luncheon Tuesday at Southern Oaks House and Gardens. "That's the good thing about having fresh blood come into this office every so often. You can look at your budget, your personnel and your operations -- everything and just figure out if we are doing things in an optimal way." |
| Secretary of State candidate Michael Watson speaks to Jones County GOP Women | |
 | A Republican State Senator from Pascagoula is running for Secretary of State next year. Michael Watson announced just last Friday he will seek that office. He spoke to a meeting of Jones County Republican Women in Laurel Wednesday. Current Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said he won't run for re-election, but hinted recently he might seek another statewide office. "Secretary Hosemann has really been a hands-on Secretary of State, he's got that office spinning like a top, which is incredibly important to me because you can get right to the policy issues," said Watson. "And I've learned in my last few years in the State Legislature, I like policy a lot more than I like politics." |
| Mississippi quietly amends its Medicaid work requirement waiver | |
 | Last month, there was a flurry of headlines when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reopened Kentucky's Medicaid work requirements waiver for public comment after a federal judge sent the state's proposal back to the agency for further review. What didn't get any attention is that on the same day it also quietly reopened comments on Mississippi's waiver. Joan Alker, a Georgetown University public-policy professor who follows these waivers very closely, believes the changes are an attempt to make the plan more palatable, so the federal government can reasonably approve it. "To me," she said, "the Trump administration is looking for way to get to yes on these proposals." |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker lead opponents in latest poll | |
 | US Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker lead their respective opponents in the latest Y'all Politics poll conducted by Triumph Campaigns on July 30 and 31 with 2,100 Mississippians polled across each of the four congressional districts. The poll also surveyed respondents on favorability/unfavorability of US Senate candidates and looked at the job approval ratings of President Trump. This poll was conducted using similar methodology to a widely cited poll conducted by Y'all Politics/Triumph Campaigns in April. The most-watched election race in Mississippi this cycle is the special election to fill the seat of former Senator Thad Cochran, who resigned in 2018 due to health concerns. In the four way ballot test, Cindy Hyde-Smith polled at 41% over her primary rival Mike Espy, who polled at 27%. State senator Chris McDaniel is polling a distant third at 15%. There are still a fair number of voters undecided as we head into the home stretch of the campaign cycle (16%). |
| Trump's Newsprint Tariffs Hasten Local Newspapers' Demise | |
 | The Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on Canadian newsprint is hastening the demise of local newspapers across the country, forcing already-struggling publications to cut staff, reduce the number of days they print and, in at least one case, shutter entirely. Surging newsprint costs are beginning to hurt publications like The Gazette in Janesville, Wis., the hometown paper of the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, which has long felt a mandate to punch above its weight. The paper, with a newsroom staff of 22, was the first to publish the news in 2016 that Mr. Ryan would support the presidential candidacy of Donald J. Trump. And while its editorial board has endorsed Mr. Ryan countless times, the paper made national news when it chided him for refusing to hold town halls with his constituents. |
| Media boost security as Trump ramps up 'enemy' rhetoric | |
 | Notebooks, mics, cameras, hairspray -- those are all things TV reporters are used to having with them at political rallies. Now, in the age of President Donald Trump, they've added another: security guards. The networks are employing them, according to reporters, at Trump's high-octane political rallies, where the media often serves as the No. 1 rhetorical punching bag. Networks deployed security at Trump events as far back as the 2016 campaign. But in the wake of the shooting in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, and with the president ramping up both his rally schedule and his rhetoric against the media -- he has tweeted that reporters are the "enemy of the people" five times in the past month, while he'd used the line just twice on Twitter before that -- news outlets now find themselves increasingly facing the question of whether they're doing enough to keep journalists safe. |
| East Mississippi Community College to offer entrepreneurship course in Starkville | |
| East Mississippi Community College will offer a class in Starkville for the coming semester. Starting Aug. 14, a principles of entrepreneurship course will be presented at the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District at 106 Miley Drive. The course will cover the basics of entrepreneurship and will dovetail into the associate's degree in entrepreneurship the college will offer starting in spring 2019. The class will be taught by EMCC instructor Bruce Hanson. "We're trying to help students in our footprint serve the community better," said EMCC business and marketing technology instructor Joshua Carroll. "We're offering courses at off-site locations, so that we can help afford the cost of transportation for certain students. Starkville's one of those places." |
| Experts: College students a factor in Tuscaloosa's future | |
 | It's been said that Tuscaloosa is a drinking town with a football problem. Turns out, it's a college town with a growth problem. Figuring out an updated comprehensive plan to manage that growth -- all while determining the look and direction of Tuscaloosa's future -- is the task of Columbus, Ohio-based consultants "planning NEXT," which the City Council hired for $731,000 in April to guide the process of updating Tuscaloosa's comprehensive plan. The consultants have formed a steering committee of 30 local volunteers, made up of residents and business owners along with University of Alabama and Stillman College representatives, among others. While Tuscaloosa's population estimate of 96,352 put it first of Alabama's top five cities in growth margin, at 24 percent, the bulk of this increase was likely due to growth at the University of Alabama. |
| Tennessee's vice chancellor for research leaves after only months on the job | |
 | Another top leadership position at the University of Tennessee has changed hands, rather quickly. Newly appointed Vice Chancellor for Research Victor R. McCrary stepped down July 31, according to a statement from UT Knoxville Interim Chancellor Wayne Davis. McRary was hired by former Chancellor Beverly Davenport in December and began his role March 1. McCrary "has informed his team that he has made the difficult decision to return to the Maryland/DC area for family and other personal obligations," according to Davis, who, in his statement, thanked McCrary for his help moving research efforts forward. McCrary was hired at an annual salary of $360,000, according to his personnel file, with a non-accountable expense allowance of $416 per month, temporary on-campus housing for up to six months or a housing allowance of $1,500 per month for three months, a mobile phone allowance of $125 per month and a $15,000 moving allowance from Baltimore, Maryland. |
| U. of Arkansas Alumni Donate $500K For New Health Innovation Fund | |
 | University of Arkansas alumni Kelly and Steve Barnes of Dallas have made a $500,000 commitment to the university's Sam M. Walton College of Business to create the Kelly & Steve Barnes Health & Wellbeing Innovation Fund. The fund will promote collaborations between the health care and business disciplines. The Barnes' gift will also support Campaign Arkansas, the university's $1.25 billion capital campaign focused on advancing academic opportunity. The new fund will be used to activate multidisciplinary design teams that will focus on developing new models of delivery, services, products and policies in the health and wellness industry, with key priorities guided by an advisory council of experts, startups and industry. |
| Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course draws thousands | |
 | More than 2,000 ranchers and agriculture professionals from across the United States and at least six other countries gathered in College Station this week for the annual Texas A&M BeefMore than 2,000 ranchers and agriculture professionals from across the United States and at least six other countries gathered in College Station this week for the annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course. The four-day event featured large group general session lectures and conversations, breakout seminars and live demonstrations of a variety of skills and trades, including cattle handling and beef carcass value determinations. The short course at A&M dates back to the early 1940s and is today the largest gathering of its kind in the country. The event also included a trade show, a reflection on Hurricane Harvey's impact on the industry and a two-part introduction to producing cattle. The short course is hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the department of animal science. |
| Museum opens fake news exhibit | |
 | A Twitter message on Nov. 9, 2015, retweeted by robot accounts, the president of the Missouri Students Association and other real Twitter users, caused fear and worry on the University of Missouri campus. The situation is part of a new exhibit at the Boone County History & Culture Center "The History of Fake News (and the Importance of the World's Oldest School of Journalism)." It will be in place at least through the beginning of January. The Columbia Daily Tribune is a sponsor. Clyde Bentley, associate professor emeritus in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, curated the exhibit with center director Chris Campbell. Bentley said fake news has been around in one form or another for thousands of years. The exhibit starts in ancient Greece. Bentley said fake news has ramped up with social media. |
| 'Politico' reports that Trump called most Chinese students in the U.S. spies | |
 | President Trump characterized the vast majority of Chinese students in the U.S. as spies during a dinner Tuesday night with CEOs at his private golf club in New Jersey, according to a report in Politico. According to the report, which quoted an unnamed attendee: At one point during the dinner, Trump noted of an unnamed country that the attendee said was clearly China, "almost every student that comes over to this country is a spy." The White House declined Politico's request for comment. An account of the dinner from CNN is much more mild, noting that during the dinner "Trump expressed concern that some foreign students were acting as foreign agents, particularly from China, according to one of the attendees." There are more than 350,000 Chinese students studying at U.S. universities -- the largest group of international students by far -- and Chinese students earned about 10 percent of all doctorates awarded by American universities in 2016. |
| Here's How Colleges Can Get More Involved in Elections -- and Not Just in the Midterms | |
 | College-age voter turnout is low. Political discord is high. What role can colleges play in the discussion around elections, and how can they stay active in the issues those discussions represent? A new report released on Thursday from the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, tries to answer that question. The report draws on years of research, including IDHE's data on college voter registration and turnout, said Nancy Thomas, director of the institute. The report, titled "Election Imperatives," describes 10 things college leaders can do not only to improve civic engagement on campus, but to use elections to further educational goals -- things like increasing classroom discussions and empowering student activism. |
| How Colleges Are Sparing Birds' Lives and Conserving Energy | |
| Aaron Williams was never a bird expert or even a bird enthusiast. But somehow, he's found himself coordinating a flock of volunteers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison as part of a large-scale effort to protect local and migrating birds. "I purely stumbled into it," Williams said, as the university's assistant campus planner and zoning coordinator. Williams knew of some research that had been done in the 1980s, and he knew that bird-strike was a growing concern in the architecture field. Then he heard more about the issue from nearby neighborhood associations like the Madison Audubon Society. "How can we continue to have these inanimate objects that we construct, and knowingly do this to something that's living?" he said. "It just seems kind of wrong." Colleges and universities have long been leaders in sustainability and environmentally conscious habits. As early as 2015, several institutions announced that they would make their glass buildings more bird-friendly. |
SPORTS
| MSU Notebook: Weather sends Bulldogs indoors | |
| Mississippi State's first day in full pads was also its first day indoors. Early in the MSU football team's practice Wednesday, it was forced to move from the Leo W. Seal Football Building's fields to the turf inside the Palmeiro Center. MSU's fifth practice of the preseason carried on without a hitch. "We didn't change anything from our practice," coach Joe Moorhead said. "There's some spacial constraints in the indoor that prevent us from doing some things -- lines on the other side of the field would help -- but it certainly didn't keep us from doing anything we wanted to do." |
| Here's why Brett Favre stopped by Clemson's football practice | |
 | Clemson coach Dabo Swinney warms up for every practice by tossing the football around with a manager. He traded out playing catch with a member of Clemson's staff for an NFL Hall of Famer on Wednesday. NFL legend Brett Favre spent the day with Clemson Wednesday, meeting with the team in the morning and attending practice later in the afternoon. Favre, whose Southern Miss team beat Swinney's Alabama team in 1990, showed off impressive arm strength for a 48-year-old. Swinney met Favre for the first time this spring during an event in Hattiesburg, Miss. The two spent an hour together chatting before the event started and have stayed in touch since. Swinney recently reached out to Favre and asked if he would be interested in coming and speaking with the team and Favre agreed to do so. "We always bring indifferent people from time to time in the monotony of camp just to kind of give a different voice and another perspective," Swinney said. |
| Alabama quietly extended Nike deal that missed gold rush | |
 | The headlines dropped two years ago with a dollar figure that made news even in this cash-flush era of college sports. UCLA and Under Armour signed the richest contract in college apparel sponsorship history with a $280 million deal that covered 15 years. That topped Ohio State's 2016 contract with Nike worth $252 million that trumped Texas' $250 million agreement a year earlier with the swoosh. The arms race was on and Alabama appeared to be on deck since a widely reported extension signed in 2010 had a June 30, 2018 expiration date. Given the nine-figure paydays for fellow heavyweights, sports business experts predicted Alabama would secure a similar windfall. June became July without Alabama-Nike news for an easily explained, yet unreported reason. Quietly in 2013, Alabama inked an extension with the Beaverton, Oregon-based corporation that runs through 2025. |
| UT Lady Vols: Holly Warlick signs contract extension through 2021-22 | |
| Holly Warlick said Wednesday she has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2021-22 season to continue as Tennessee's women's basketball coach. Warlick, a former Lady Vols All-American guard, just finished her sixth season as head coach and was entering the final year of her deal. The contract was last extended by former athletic director Dave Hart in the fall of 2015 and her compensation package was increased to $665,000. Warlick did not offer any details to USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee. UT has not made any announcement. Warlick was an assistant on former head coach Pat Summitt's staff for 27 years, including seven as associate head coach. While the Lady Vols have reached the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament three times during Warlick's tenure, they haven't gone past the second round the past two seasons. |
| NCAA approves basketball reforms | |
 | The NCAA is carving out a limited role for agents to work with college basketball players and is changing key parts of its rules-enforcement system as part of numerous reforms in the wake of a corruption scandal. The Indianapolis-based governing body for college sports announced Wednesday that its Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors had adopted a "series of significant policy and legislative changes" as part of an effort to "fundamentally" change the NCAA's structure. Some are immediate, while others first require action from other agencies -- such as the NBA changing the age limit for draft-eligible players that has fueled the wave of "one and done" at the college level. |
| New NCAA rules allow men's basketball players to have agents, return to college if undrafted | |
| The National Collegiate Athletic Association approved new rules for men's basketball Wednesday, aimed at eliminating corruption in the sport plagued most recently by an alleged kickback scheme. While the NCAA presented the reforms as sweeping and substantive, some athletics experts said they feel the changes, despite being positive, are relatively minimal. Among the most significant changes are allowing college players to be represented by agents that the NCAA deems legitimate, and permitting athletes to remain eligible for college play if they enter the professional draft but decide to return to college. The NCAA is also beefing up enforcement. The most complex cases, which could involve academic fraud or other major NCAA violations, will now be turned over to two investigative bodies separate from the association, which officials estimate will handle about three to five cases a year. |
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