| Friday, September 4, 2026 |
| A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: MSU, Habitat partner for 18th Maroon Edition house | |
 | Starkville native Tyerria Bryant will unlock the door to her new home this spring as the recipient of Mississippi State's 18th Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity home. Bryant, a mental health therapist at an elementary school in Macon, said when she found out she would be the Habitat recipient, she simply couldn't stop crying. Now overwhelmed with gratitude, she is ready to put in the sweat equity to build her future. "I cannot wait to create new memories and spend time in a new environment with the people that matter most," said Bryant, a 2020 Mississippi State graduate. "I am grateful for this opportunity to be in my forever home. Thank you God, and thank you Habitat for Humanity for this precious moment." Once complete, Bryant's home will mark the sixth Habitat build in Kelly Estates, an 11-acre former dairy farm located on 16th Section Road. Volunteers, including MSU staff and students, will continue to transform the property into a 30-home Habitat community. Alongside the Maroon Edition residence, Habitat celebrated the groundbreaking for Starkville Police Officer Kenya Bibbs' future home as part of the 2026 Collegiate Challenge House. |
| Economist says Brazil could play key role in expanded U.S. beef imports | |
| There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the Trump administration's plan to import up to 300,000 metric tons of beef. Josh Maples, an ag economist with Mississippi State University Extension says, "How much of this is actually new beef versus beef that was coming anyway, and we just don't know." He says details remain limited. "The fact sheet says that the proclamation does not apply to countries that have country-specific beef quotas." Maples says that excludes countries with zero or low tariffs, like Canada, Mexico, or Australia. He tells Brownfield the announcement appears to be geared toward the "other countries" category. "Countries that don't have a particular quota or tariff rate quota with the US, that group's dominated by Brazil in particular," he says. "Brazil usually builds up supplies to be able to fill that other country's category within the first few days of January each year, and they did that this year." But Maples says, "We would have brought in beef from Brazil anyway, because we have been and we would have brought in beef from some other countries anyway, because we have been, even at the higher tariff." |
| US Forest Service closing 23 research stations as part of reorganization | |
 | The U.S. Forest Service is closing 23 research and development stations in more than a dozen states as part of an organizational overhaul under President Donald Trump that is intended to trim costs and concentrate the agency's resources in Western states, officials said Thursday. The work being done at the research stations will continue at other sites, Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French said in an interview. An additional 41 research facilities that faced possible closure will remain open after local officials and members of Congress raised concerns about the reorganization, which was announced in March. "Our primary goal was to get our facilities costs under control," French told The Associated Press. "We're not closing any ongoing science activities. We're not closing any of the experimental forests that are important to our researchers." The reorganization also includes moving the agency's headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the move, expected to be completed by next summer, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them. Conservation groups have criticized the changes, warning that they could reduce access to forests and threaten wildlife habitat and clean air and water. |
| UMMC graduates forge careers in military medicine | |
| Each year, students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine take the next step in their journey from classroom learning to clinical practice through the National Resident Matching Program and specialized military match opportunities. For two UMMC graduates and one current fourth-year medical student, the military match represents a new chapter -- one that combines a commitment to medicine with a commitment to serve. Dr. Nick Gaouette, a 2024 graduate, and Dr. Joseph "JoJo" Dodd, a 2022 graduate, are now building careers in military medicine while caring for patients, developing their skills and preparing for roles that extend beyond the traditional practice of medicine. Fourth-year medical student Michael Whelan hopes to soon follow a similar path. Together, their journeys offer a closer look at what happens before and after the military match and how UMMC students and graduates are preparing to serve both their patients and their country. |
SPORTS
| AG Fitch backs Ole Miss, Mississippi State amid LSU push to play professional athletes | |
| Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is weighing in on a multi-state dispute over the prospect of LSU and Lane Kiffin fielding professional football players this season. Fitch on Thursday said she, in her capacity as the state's chief legal officer, will back policies that are in the best interest of Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It's worth noting that the Rebels are scheduled to host LSU on Sept. 19 and the Bulldogs will play the Tigers on Oct. 17. "College athletics is for college players. Period. The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University run two of the very best football programs in the country. I support their right to do what is necessary to protect the integrity of their programs and the integrity of the sport," Fitch stated. "I support their right to promote the best interests of their student-athletes. As Mississippi's Chief Legal Officer, I stand with Ole Miss and Mississippi State." |
| Be boring? Lane Kiffin is anything but as he enters a new era at LSU | |
| Making the rounds at SEC media days in July, Lane Kiffin patted his jacket pocket and joked that, inside, there was a card on which he had written a reminder to himself: "Be boring." Or, maybe it wasn't a joke. With Kiffin, it's hard to tell. Everything he says or posts online tends to come with a wink, a smirk and the historical context that implies he might be full of it. Regardless, being boring was an impossible goal for a coach whose career in the public eye suggests he's incapable of keeping his hand out of the cookie jar. His willingness to say whatever is on his mind and do whatever it takes to get ahead has made him, at varying times, the sport's most renowned social media troll, most necessary truth-teller and most reviled villain. |
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