| Wednesday, July 31, 2024 |
| Buys named MSU-Meridian interim head of campus | |
 | Mississippi State University-Meridian is pleased to announce that Associate Provost for Health Sciences David Buys has been named interim administrative head of campus for MSU-Meridian, including the College Park and Riley campuses. Buys is a seasoned administrator with a vision for program-building and experience in modern health sciences and outreach. "MSU-Meridian continues to grow and evolve in our health sciences and nursing missions," said MSU Provost David R. Shaw. "We're grateful to our MSU staff and community partners for creating an environment that fosters a rise to the next level. We have confidence that David can bring focus and cooperation to the important task of growing MSU-Meridian to that elite level." A Mississippi native, Buys is the state health specialist for MSU Extension and an associate professor in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion at MSU. Buys leads research-based public health education in Mississippi's 82 counties with more than $16 million in federal agency funding. He has authored 57 peer-reviewed articles. Buys completed formal training in medical sociology, health services research and epidemiology at Mississippi College, Auburn University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is certified in public health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Royal Society of Public Health. |
| David Buys named Interim Head of Campus for MSU Meridian | |
 | MSU Meridian announced Tuesday that Dr. David Buys is the Interim Administrative Head of Campus, which includes the College Park and downtown Riley Center campuses. According to a news release from Mississippi State University, Dr. Buys is a seasoned administrator with a vision for program-building and experience in modern health sciences and outreach. A Mississippi native, Buys is the state health specialist for MSU Extension and leads research-based public health education in Mississippi's 82 counties, with over $16 million in federal agency funding. |
| Several new businesses opening in Starkville in August | |
 | Several new businesses are setting up in Starkville. Those businesses include: The Olive Tree -- ribbon cutting set for August 1. at 517 University Drive, Suite 1. Monarch Counseling and Wellness -- ribbon cutting set for August 13 at 12183 MS Hwy 182, Suite 106. Merle Norman & Luna Bella -- grand opening set for August 16 at 119 East Main Street. The Collective Company -- ribbon cutting set for August 29. Along Highway 12, Miskelly Furniture is opening soon. A ribbon cutting has been set for August 1. Walmart -- which is undergoing a refresh and overhaul -- will also be having a grand reopening on August 16. |
| Ordinance could legalize beer, wines sales in Maben | |
 | Aldermen hope to legalize beer and light wine sales next week after the state legislature granted the town qualified resort status during the previous legislative session. On Monday, the board of aldermen held a public hearing to review an ordinance that would set regulations for selling beer and light wine in town. Mayor Larry Pruitt told The Dispatch the goal in passing the ordinance is to generate some much-needed sales tax for the town and open the possibility for future developments, like restaurants and a hotel. "There needs to be some things where we can draw people out to get their money. We're losing money to Eupora, Webster County and Clay County," Pruitt said during the meeting, garnering an "amen" from the audience. "We're losing our tax dollars to those communities, so that's the incentive -- to bring more sales tax dollars to Maben." A qualified resort area is a region that local governments designate, with state approval, where local authorities can regulate alcohol sales. Typically, an election is required for a dry county to become a wet county, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue. But under qualified resort area status, municipalities can pass local ordinances to allow and regulate the sale of alcohol, even in a dry county like Oktibbeha. A Senate bill passed during the previous session grants Maben the qualified resort area designation. Had it not received the designation, the city would be required to hold an election to sell beer and light wine. That would have been tricky, Board Attorney Walter Zinn said, given the town is located in both Oktibbeha and Webster counties. |
| National politics expected to control talk at this year's Neshoba County Fair | |
 | Many in Mississippi are quick to remember that Ronald Reagan stumped at the Neshoba County Fair on his way to becoming the nation's 40th president in 1980. While no presidential candidates ahead of November's election will be present at the annual event this week, national politics are nonetheless expected to overshadow the usual state political talk. State Rep. Scott Bounds, who in his off time serves as president of the Neshoba County Fair, will be the first to remind you of the "unprecedented times" American politics currently live in. That's why he believes the presidential election will overtake much of this week's talk around Founder's Square, the area of the fair designated for stump speeches. "I feel like, personally, a lot of statewide officials will focus their speeches on what's going on nationally right now," Bounds said. "It's unprecedented times. To me, it appears in my lifetime, we've never had so much happening in a period of 10 or so days that just captures the interest of the voters and citizens." Elected officials speaking at this year's Neshoba County Fair include State Auditor Shad White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on Wednesday, along with State Treasurer David McRae, Secretary of State Michael Watson, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, House Speaker Jason White, and Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday. |
| What do state legislators due after the session is done? Curious Mississippi answers | |
 | With just three months having passed since the 2024 Legislative Session, state lawmakers and legislative leaders haven't sat on the victories or defeats. As for how state lawmakers engage with state government in the off season, House and Senate leadership have established several task force committees to study topics for consideration in the 2025 Session. Some of those studies and recommendations produced by these committees could very well become bills filed in either chamber or serious initiatives put forth and sponsored by Senate leader Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, R-West. Curious Mississippi takes a look at what off-season committees have been formed this year, what purpose they serve and what they hope to accomplish. Early into the off season, White announced taskforce committee appointments to study tax reform, health policy, prescription drugs and a committee to study the Legislature's performance. On July 1, White also announced a committee to study ways to improve the Jackson Metro Area, though White did not specify exactly what those lawmakers would be studying. The chairs for the committee, Democrat Shanda Yates and Republican Clay Mansell, both serve in the Jackson area. Hosemann has created several groups since the end of the session as well. Most notably, he established a taskforce to study ways to improve the state's dismal labor force participation rate, which he touted as a priority throughout the 2024 Session. |
| RNC appealing federal judge's order upholding Mississippi's absentee ballot counting law | |
| The Republican National Committee will appeal a recent ruling from U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. determining that Mississippi's practice of counting mail-in absentee ballots received up to five days after Election Day is legal. The appeal, which has not yet been filed, will go to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative appellate courts in the nation. Gineen Bresso, the election integrity director for the RNC and President Donald Trump's campaign, told Mississippi Today in a statement that the organization is "confident the 5th Circuit will properly apply federal law." "The election should end on Election Day -- that's the law, and voters deserve fair and accurate results on November 5th," Bresso said. "Counting ballots that come in after Election Day in Mississippi and other states threatens election security and undermines transparency for voters." The Mississippi statute in question is a 2020 state law passed by the Legislature amid the COVID-19 pandemic that allows local election workers to process mail-in absentee ballots for up to five days after an election. The law permits workers to count only the mail-in votes if the ballots were postmarked by the election date. One of the main points of disagreement between the parties is what is the legal definition of Election Day, which will likely be the central question for the Fifth Circuit to answer. Guirola ruled that no "final selection," or voting occurs under Mississippi's five-day window for processing absentee ballots -- only election officials counting the votes. |
| Biden's SCOTUS 'reforms' not well received by Mississippi GOP congressional delegation | |
| On Monday, President Joe Biden (D) called for term limits on U.S. Supreme Court Justices while also pushing for Congress to pass ethics rules for the Court and move forward a proposed constitutional amendment to restrict presidential immunity. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the "dangerous gambit" from the Biden-Harris Administration is "dead on arrival" in the Republican majority House. Critics view the "reforms" as an attempt to weaken the Court. Mississippi's 3rd District Congressman Michael Guest (R), a former prosecutor, is among them. He told Magnolia Tribune on Tuesday that the Republicans in Congress will oppose Biden's proposals. "My fellow conservatives and I will fight against any efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration that undermine the independence and sovereignty of the Supreme Court of the United States," Guest said. "Our founding fathers created the Supreme Court as a check on the executive and legislative branches of government, and these so-called 'reforms' are only an attempt to weaken the Court's effectiveness and ability to operate in a Constitutional manner." Mississippi's two Republican Senators -- Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker -- both strongly opposed the President's Court proposals in their comments to Magnolia Tribune. |
| Farm Bureau analysis: Farm bill delay would damage farmers | |
| With the farm bill expiring on Sept. 30, time is running out for Congress to pass its replacement, and a new analysis shows the delay would damage farmers. The House Agriculture Committee passed its version of a new farm bill on May 23, but legislation has been languishing in the Senate Agriculture Committee. Delaying the new farm bill beyond this year would hurt farmers, according to an analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation. Six years of tumult -- from the highest inflation in 40 years to geopolitical disruptions to volatile markets -- have left key parts of the 2018 Farm Bill outdated, according to the analysts. Failure to pass a new farm bill will result in a weakened farmer safety net, a gap in margin insurance coverage for dairy producers, less funding for sustainability efforts, further erosion of U.S. leadership in agricultural research and reduced economic and national security, according to the analysis. On the agricultural research front, the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world's major agricultural countries in public investment. Commitment to agricultural research in the new farm bill is critical to U.S. competitiveness, building capacity to contribute to environmental sustainability and necessary to meet the needs of a growing world population. "A second one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill would leave us working under a seven-year-old plan in the much-changed world of 2025," the analysts said. |
| Fed poised to cut rates, ignoring Trump and GOP lawmakers | |
 | Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell looks ready to start easing off on the economy before the election, after a year of holding interest rates at punishing levels. But it's the optics -- not the Fed's take on inflation or the job market -- that could draw the most backlash if he does. Former President Donald Trump recently told Bloomberg News that cutting rates just weeks ahead of the November vote is "something that [central bank officials] know they shouldn't be doing," while multiple Republican lawmakers have also suggested that such a move could raise questions of political bias. At the same time, standing pat -- when markets overwhelmingly expect Fed policymakers to act in September -- would also open them up to criticism. There's been pressure on the other side of the aisle as well. Some Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have been demanding rate cuts for months, saying they're concerned about a weakening labor market. Against that precarious backdrop, Powell will reinforce the message at his press conference after Fed officials meet on Wednesday that the central bank is being guided solely by economic considerations in its decision. "If the Fed wanted to goose the economy and help [President Joe] Biden, they'd have been cutting rates a lot earlier," said Steve Pavlick, who worked at the Treasury Department under Trump. "I don't see a lot of economic benefit between now and Election Day." |
| Senate passes kids online safety package | |
 | The Senate on Tuesday voted 91-3 to pass a package consisting of two kids online safety bills over the objections of the tech industry, privacy advocates and digital rights groups, who are hoping to block the measure when the House returns in September. The bills, meant to mitigate social media practices aimed at keeping children online and promoting addictive behavior, are the first seeking to curb social media platforms to pass in either chamber in more than two decades. Congress last enacted major legislation to address the collection of personal information on children by online platforms in 1998. Efforts to enact a federal data privacy law have stalled in Congress. The kids' online safety bills gained momentum after whistleblowers from Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., testified before Congress that the company had ignored internal warnings about the dangers children face online. Parents whose kids were harmed by online content pushed lawmakers to enact legislation drawing boundaries on tech platforms. One measure, sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and co-sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., would require tech companies to design online platforms in such a way as to prevent or mitigate harms to users, including sexual exploitation and online bullying. The other bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and co-sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., would prohibit online platforms from disseminating children's personal information without obtaining a verifiable parental consent, effectively ending ads targeted at kids and teens. |
| Meta Has Run Hundreds of Ads for Cocaine, Opioids and Other Drugs | |
 | Meta Platforms is running ads on Facebook and Instagram that steer users to online marketplaces for illegal drugs, months after The Wall Street Journal first reported that the social-media giant was facing a federal investigation over the practice. The company has continued to collect revenue from ads that violate its policies, which ban promoting the sale of illicit or recreational drugs. A review by the Journal in July found dozens of ads marketing illegal substances such as cocaine and prescription opioids, including as recently as Friday. A separate analysis over recent months by an industry watchdog group found hundreds of such ads. The ads show photos of prescription-drug bottles, piles of pills or bricks of cocaine. "Place your orders," said one of the ads the Journal found in July. It also included a photo of a razorblade and a yellow powder arranged to spell out "DMT," a psychedelic drug. The Journal reported in March that federal authorities were investigating Meta for its role in the illicit sale of drugs. The nonprofit Tech Transparency Project, which investigates online platforms, reviewed Meta's ad library from March to June and found more than 450 illicit drug ads on Facebook and Instagram. "You don't need the dark web anymore when you can just buy a Facebook ad to sell dangerous drugs or even scam people at a scale that wouldn't have been possible through the dark web," said Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project. |
| Biden prods Congress to act to curb fentanyl from Mexico as Trump paints Harris as weak on border | |
 | President Joe Biden is prodding Congress to help him do more to combat the scourge of fentanyl before he leaves office. The Democratic administration is making the new policy push as Republican former President Donald Trump steps up attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, painting her as Biden's feckless lieutenant in the battle to slow the illegal drugs and immigrants without authorization coming into the United States from Mexico. The White House on Wednesday announced a series of proposals from Biden aimed at curbing the ongoing drug epidemic. These include a push on Congress to pass legislation to establish a pill press and tableting machine registry and enhance penalties against convicted drug smugglers and traffickers of fentanyl. Biden also wants to tighten rules on importers shipping small packages into the United States, requiring shippers to provide additional information to Customs and Border Protection officials. The move is aimed at improving the detection of fentanyl precursor chemicals that frequently find their way into the United States in relatively low-value shipments that aren't subject to customs and trade barriers. The president's new efforts at combating fentanyl may also benefit Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, as Trump and his surrogates are trying to cast her as a central player in the Biden administration's struggles at the U.S.-Mexico border throughout his term. |
| Secret Service confirms internal email blasting leadership over Trump shooting | |
 | Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe on Tuesday confirmed an internal email reportedly sent from a counter sniper in the agency that blasted the organization's top officials for an "inability to protect our leaders," following former President Trump's assassination attempt. The email, first reported by RealClearPolitics, was sent Monday night to the Secret Service's entire Uniformed Division, with the unidentified writer threatening to not stop speaking out until "5 high-level supervisors (1 down) are either fired or removed from their current positions." The "1 down" appears to reference former Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned last week after a dismal appearance before a House committee probing the July 13 shooting at a rally in Butler, Pa. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) brought up the "very telling" email during a joint Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing. "This agency needs to change and if not now, when? The next assassination in 30 days?" Blackburn said Tuesday, reading from the email which she alleged has been deleted. The counter sniper, who said they have been with the Secret Service for more than 20 years, also said the agency "SHOULD expect another assassination attempt" before November as "we've exposed our inability to protect our leaders due to our leadership." |
| Why Harris and Democrats keep calling Trump and Vance 'weird' | |
| Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are emphasizing a new line of criticism against Republicans -- branding Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as "weird." Democrats are applying the label with gusto in interviews and online, notably to Vance's comments on abortion and his previous suggestion that political leaders who didn't have biological children "don't really have a direct stake" in the country. The "weird" message appears to have given Democrats a narrative advantage that they rarely had when President Joe Biden was still running for reelection. Trump's campaign, which so often shapes political discussions with the former president's pronouncements, has spent days trying to flip the script by highlighting things about Democrats it says are weird. "I don't know who came up with the message, but I salute them," said David Karpf, a strategic communication professor at George Washington University. Karpf said labeling Republican comments as "weird" is the sort of concise take that resonates quickly with Harris supporters. Plus, Karpf noted, "it frustrates opponents, leading them to further amplify it through off-balance responses." "So far, at least, Trump-Vance has been incapable of finding an effective response," Karpf said. |
| Project 2025's director steps down, but the think tank says work will go on | |
 | The Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday that the top official behind Project 2025, the conservative think tank's far-reaching plan to overhaul the U.S. government, is stepping down, but that the project's remaining work would be led by its president. Heritage said Paul Dans was stepping down and Project 2025's policy operations are concluding. Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a statement that the policy work was always set to conclude after party conventions, anyway, but that their personnel work would continue. "Our collective efforts to build a personnel apparatus for policymakers of all levels -- federal, state, and local -- will continue," he wrote. The campaign of Republican former President Donald Trump has tried to disavow the project. Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, who lead the campaign, said in a statement that "reports of Project 2025's demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign -- it will not end well for you." While Trump has sought to deny a connection, there is plenty of overlap between Project 2025 and his agenda: It proposes mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants. So does Trump. Trump has called for cuts to the federal agencies like the Department of Education. Project 2025 calls for its elimination. But there are also differences: On abortion, for example, Project 2025 goes further with restrictions than Trump has said he would go. |
| Donald Trump's Plan to Hoard Billions in Bitcoin Has Economists Stumped | |
 | When former US president Donald Trump announced a plan to establish a national "bitcoin stockpile" if he is reelected, the crowd at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, erupted into a fit of celebration. The frontrunner in the upcoming election was speaking their language. "For too long, the government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: never sell your bitcoin," said Trump during his speech on Saturday, pausing briefly to bathe in the applause. "It will be the policy of my administration to keep 100 percent of all bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future." The US government is reportedly sitting on upwards of 210,000 bitcoin -- worth around $14 billion -- seized from hackers and through various law enforcement activity. That stash, said Trump, would become "the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile." Republican senator Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming, later proposed legislation that would see the US government amass one million bitcoin under Trump. Any stockpiling plan would benefit bitcoin owners, if only because it would stop the US government depressing the price of the cryptocurrency by flooding the market with its coins in a sale. But stockpiling bitcoin has little merit, economists say. "I see no [economic benefit]," says James Angel, an economist at Georgetown University specializing in financial markets. "The tangible benefit is that it will get bitcoin maxis to vote for Trump. If you believe in Trumpism, that would be the benefit." The idea that an investment in bitcoin will offset losses in spending power to inflation is contingent, says Angel, on two shaky assumptions: that the price of bitcoin will rise and, second, that the government would be able to at some stage sell bitcoin back into US dollars without tipping the market into a nosedive. |
| When Biden stepped down, Kamala Harris called her pastor, a Mississippi native, for a prayer | |
| The day President Joe Biden announced he would step aside and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, one of the first calls Harris made was to her longtime pastor, a native Mississippian and storied civil rights leader. The Rev. Amos C. Brown, an 83-year-old Jackson native and pastor at San Francisco's Third Baptist Church, is no stranger to such high-profile contacts. He has often been turned to by U.S. presidents. He was a close mentee of Medgar Evers. Martin Luther King Jr. tutored Brown at Morehouse College and even wrote Brown a letter of recommendation for seminary. But Brown acknowledged in an interview with Mississippi Today that July 21 was extraordinarily memorable. He was just about to walk to the pulpit of the historic church to deliver his sermon when a deacon privately shared the news about Biden's just-announced decision to drop out of the race. "I paused to mention it to the congregation before I read the sermon text, which I selected well before I knew anything about what would happen that day," Brown said. "That text was from Hebrews 12: 'Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily beset us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.' The timing of that text struck me as providential and poetic." After the Sunday service, Brown and his wife visited with members, went home, and, as pastors so often do on Sunday afternoons, he laid down to rest. "I was actually about to go to sleep and my phone rang," Brown said. "When I answered, it was the vice president's voice. She said, 'Hello, my pastor. I call because I need for you to pray for me, for Doug (Emhoff, her husband), for this nation because I've decided to run for president.' I handed my phone to my wife, they talked for a minute, and then we had prayer together." |
| Killing of Two Israeli Enemies Puts Middle East on Brink of Wider War | |
| Iran had planned to use this week's inauguration of its new president to show off its powerful collection of militias. Representatives of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemen's Houthis and Lebanon's Hezbollah all gathered in Tehran, where Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh hugged new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian amid chants of "Death to Israel." But before the next day dawned, it was Haniyeh who was dead, in a mysterious strike in the Iranian capital that Hamas blamed on Israel. It came just hours after the Israeli military said it had killed a top Hezbollah official with an airstrike in Beirut. The pair of provocative killings dealt an embarrassing blow to Iran and its self-proclaimed Axis of Resistance. They also have pushed the Middle East to the brink of a wider war that the U.S. has worked tirelessly for months to head off. "We are on the verge of a large, large-scale escalation," said Danny Citrinowicz, who served as head of the Iran branch for Israeli military intelligence and is now a fellow with the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies. "Iran is leading the axis, and they cannot protect one of the leaders of the axis coming for Pezeshkian's inauguration." Speaking in Singapore, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. wasn't warned by Israel ahead of Haniyeh's killing. The U.S. was still focused on getting Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire in Gaza, Blinken said. The twin killings in less than 24 hours have demonstrated Israel's strong intelligence, showing it can breach both Iran and Hezbollah's security defenses, and could now scramble the decision-making of the Axis of Resistance. |
| Education: Plymouth Bluff to show off renovation at grand reopening | |
| Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center will welcome the community to its newly-renovated facilities during the grand reopening event hosted by the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce Aug. 8 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Located at 2200 Old West Point Road, the Bluff, which is owned and operated by Mississippi University for Women, is situated above the old Tombigbee River Channel. Some of the many offerings include nearly five miles of nature trails of differing terrain and difficulty, 23 cabins with the amenities of most hotel rooms, a tennis court and an 11,700-square-foot conference building with everything needed to host an event or retreat. The event will also feature activities such as Snowie Cool Treats, a STEM project set up by The W's science department, a water safety program hosted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a performance by the Columbus High School Indoor Percussion group, catering and a booth featuring the North Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society. The open house will showcase the renovations which have taken place over the last four years and include a new wrap-around back deck; new roofs, paint, flooring, toilets and Wi-Fi in all of the cabins; and many other cosmetic and structural improvements. "We would love for the public to come show their support and enjoy our reopening of Plymouth Bluff," said Chandler Lester, director of Plymouth Bluff. "The public can enjoy our activities set up and see the updates of the facility." |
| USM Physical Plant to host job fair for open positions Thursday | |
 | The Southern Miss Physical Plant department is set to host a job fair for open positions this Thursday. They have specific openings for custodians, carpenters, groundskeepers, concrete finishers, and trash collectors. The job fair will be held at USM's Henderson Physical Plant building at 3105 W Fourth St., on Thursday, Aug. 1 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. "We have great benefits, we have great time off," said Brian Hauff, from the USM Physical Plant. "It's really good for tuition. If you want to have a tuition reduction, this is a great place to be and children of university employees get a 50% discount on tuition. Just bring a resume and we have people that will be on site to help to sign up, or you can just bring your work history and we can help you fill out the application process, but we just want people who want to work here." Hauff says if you don't have a resume, you can just bring your work history and application assistance will be available at the fair. |
| Jackson State University Offers Loan-Repayment Program for Incoming Freshmen | |
| Kylon Alford-Windfield had been in the workforce for six years before he made $45,000. After graduating from Mississippi Valley State University with a degree in political science, he took a job as a recruiter at a university for a year before accepting the same job at another Mississippi university for another six years. It wasn't until he became the director of alumni affairs at his alma mater seven years later that his salary finally surpassed $45,000. "In the state of Mississippi, and even nationally, there are a lot of individuals that don't make $45,000," Alfrod-Windfield said. "We seem to think that's not normal, but there are a lot of people that have professional jobs. These are jobs that require a bachelor's degree, (but they) don't pay $45k." Now, as Jackson State University's vice president for enrollment management, Kylon Alford-Windfield is working to help early-career professionals. The university will begin offering a loan-repayment assistance program in the fall 2024 semester. The LRAP will provide students with a post-graduate income of less than $45,000 financial assistance with repaying student loans. "We believe that higher education is a way for social mobility so that an individual can live an enjoyable life financially and without struggling," Alford-Windfield said. "... The LRAP offers a level of insurance or peace of mind for individuals." |
| JSU using surrounding apartments to house students | |
 | Jackson State University (JSU) entered into an agreement with surrounding apartment complexes to help house students for the 2024-25 school year. The agreement was approved on Tuesday, July 30 during a special meeting for the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). JSU will lease rooms from Walthall Lofts and The Courthouse, which are both located on East Capitol Street. The agreement will cost $5.9 million and will be funded through residential facility charges to students. |
| Mississippi College, Clinton announce $200 million mixed-use development project | |
| A 54-acre, mixed-use development will transform the physical and economic landscape near Mississippi College in Clinton, school and local leaders announced on Tuesday. The $200 million development referred to as "Rising Spring" will be located along Interstate 20 and Highway 80 in Clinton. The City of Clinton, founded in 1823, is home to more than 28,000 residents and is roughly 14 miles from the capital city of Jackson. The metropolitan area consists of over 580,000 Mississippians with a median household income of $58,064. This new development will be constructed in two main phases, with a possibility of future phases to follow. Construction will begin in 2025 with anticipated completion of early-stage buildings in 2026. Phase One -- Rising Spring Village -- will feature a boutique hotel, numerous dining options from prominent Mississippi restaurateurs, mixed-use spaces, a primary care clinic, and a grassy amphitheater near a water feature. Phase Two -- Rising Spring Market -- will showcase Mississippi-made offerings, additional shopping and dining opportunities, and mixed-use construction. Dr. Blake Thompson, President of Mississippi College, said in a statement that the "historic project" aligns perfectly with the school's commitments to enhancing the student experience and strengthening ties with the local community. "Rising Spring will provide significant amenities and revenue for our campus, the city of Clinton, and the entire Jackson Metro, as well as valuable opportunities for our students and alumni," Dr. Thompson said. |
| Mississippi College announces $200M development that will include dining, amphitheater, and more | |
| Mississippi College has announced plans for a $200 million, mixed-use development set to bring restaurants, an amphitheater, and more to both students and Clinton residents. Dubbed "Rising Spring," the 54-acre location will be situated along Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway 80. It will be constructed in two phases with a possibility of future phases to follow. "This historic project aligns perfectly with our commitments to enhancing the student experience and strengthening ties with the local community," Mississippi College President Dr. Blake Thompson said. Rob Farr, the architect behind Rising Spring, noted that while Mississippi College will be well-represented when all is said and done, so will the city of Clinton. Like Thompson, Farr believes the economic impact of the project will be noteworthy. "We want this development to pay homage to Clinton's small-town charm while also serving as a commercial hub for our region," Farr said. "Once complete, this site will have something for everyone." As construction on Rising Spring is expected to begin in 2025 with anticipated completion of early-stage buildings planned for 2026, roadwork will need to be done to ensure visitors can get in and out of the property with ease. |
| East Central Community College at Neshoba County Fair | |
| Today was East Central Day at the Fair at the Neshoba County Fair. East Central Community College has been taking part in activities at the Fair since the 1980s. We caught up with members and faculty of ECCC to see why they devote their time to have their own day at the Neshoba County Fair. Brent Gregory, President of East Central Community College, said it's more than just recruiting, it's also about the alumni and the family surrounding the college. "The Neshoba County Fair has been an integral part of our college for many years. It's a chance for all of us to get back together and spend quality time with each other and reminisce about the things that make East Central special. This is an opportunity for our alumni, our current students, and our faculty and staff to all get together and spend quality time together. We all have a story when it comes to East Central Community College. Being able to talk about the things that happened, maybe they were in the 1960s, compared to things that are going on now, we all have our own story and we get to share that together," Gregory said. The Neshoba County Fair continues to run through Friday. |
| Itawamba Community College residence halls reopen after major renovations | |
 | Two residence halls were formally reopened on the Itawamba Community College campus after undergoing major renovations. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held at Monroe Hall. That dorm now features single occupancy rooms. Monroe Hall was first opened in 1968 and was updated to include modern amenities. The $2.2 million renovation was undertaken after getting feedback from students, who wanted single occupancy rooms and other upgraded facilities. ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said the renovations help enhance the entire college experience for the student. "We were able to gut this building and totally redo it. And now, we have updated settings, and furnishings. We learned from other residence halls so we mimicked some of those features in this hall but we created an environment I believe promotes student success and their desire to be here, stay here, play here, learn here, and build friendships that will last a lifetime," said Allen. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were also held for the renovated Sheffield Hall on the ICC Campus. |
| ICC reopens two residence halls following more than $3M in renovations | |
 | In a pair of ceremonies Tuesday morning, Itawamba Community College president Jay Allen cut the ribbon on two residence halls that have undergone millions of dollars in renovations. Monroe Hall, one of the Fulton campus' oldest residential buildings, was fully gutted and refurbished over the summer. For Sheffield Hall, ICC's biggest residential facility, Phase 1 of its two-part renovation plan, which includes renovations to the lobby and around half of the rooms, has been completed. The rest of the building will undergo renovations in the summer of 2025. "Both projects represent not only a physical transformation, but a renewal of Itawamba Community College's commitment to providing a vibrant and supportive living environment for our students," Allen said at the Monroe ribbon-cutting. The Monroe Hall project cost about $2.2 million, while both phases of the Sheffield Hall project will cost a little under $1.3 million collectively. The money was provided through ICC's local funds. "Here at ICC, we know our students' living spaces are critical to the overall college experience," Allen said. "This is a place that will form lasting friendships, engage in late-night study sessions, and create memories that will stay with them long after graduation." |
| William Carey University gives update on Institute of Primary Care | |
| When William Carey University medical students arrive on campus this week, they may notice some progress on the College of Osteopathic Medicine's (COM) Institute for Primary Care. WCU broke ground on this facility in December of 2023. Dr. Italo Subbarao, dean of WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine says this idea came after they noticed a need. "The need for more doctors in Mississippi, and particularly doctors that would go into the fields of primary care," said Subbarao. Placing doctors in rural areas is one of William Carey University's missions. "Our mission is to serve the underserved, and we feel like that we are hitting the areas that Mississippi needs the most," said WCU President, Dr. Ben Burnett. This 60,000-square-foot facility will be used primarily to train WCU medical students. "You're going to see the largest OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine) lab in the country here on William Carey's campus," said Subbarao. "We're going to have the latest in simulation, and clinical patient encounters. We're going to have very advanced lecture halls. We're also going to have a large state-of-the-art Conference Center." The facility is funded by a $20 million infrastructure grant through AccelerateMS. |
| Former U. of Alabama student charged with rape traveled to NYC and threatened victim, judge says | |
 | A former University of Alabama student charged with multiple sex crimes including rape of another student -- which was captured in photos and videos reportedly taken by the suspect -- will remain in jail without bond. Gambill Colvard Gentry, a 23 -year-old from Davidson, N.C., is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and four counts of first-degree voyeurism. Two of the charges are Class A felonies, and the other four are Class C felonies. Gentry has been banned from the campus, authorities said. The victim is an acquaintance of Gentry and a current UA student. Gentry, who surrendered when he learned there were warrants against him, made his first court appearance Tuesday. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing, so the charges will be forwarded to a grand jury for indictment consideration. Attorneys for Gentry -- Tommy Spina, Brett Bloomston and Ben Preston -- were seeking to have bond set for Gentry, saying he is not a flight risk and is willing to be electronically monitored. Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik, however, denied Gentry's bond request. Jannik, in her order issued later Tuesday, said that under the facts of this particular case, there is no way to "reasonably assure the victim in this case will be safe from the defendant." |
| DEI office to close by mid-August | |
| By Aug. 15, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity will officially be dissolved, following a university-wide email from several high-level administrators sent on July 29. The closure uproots numerous staff and faculty, with some filling existing vacancies and others taking on new roles in offices that work on student recruitment, admissions and success. In the email, Provost Vini Nathan, Vice President for Business and Administration Kelli Shomaker and Vice President for Student Affairs Bobby Woodard described the upcoming closure of the DEI office. The university's announcement comes almost a week after the University of Alabama system announced they would close the DEI offices at the University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville. Unlike the UA system, Auburn University has not announced plans to create programs with similar goals. The university created multiple groups of students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni to "ensure Auburn advances its mission while being consistent with applicable law," the email explained. During an April University Senate meeting, President Christopher B. Roberts and Nathan discussed how Auburn was working with others on how to comply with and navigate SB 129. The groups worked together to be aligned with the law's requirements and Auburn's internal vision for students and faculty. The update leaves little information for students on how professors and organizations will navigate the new requirements following Oct. 1. Fields of studies like sociology, anthropology, history and literature face uncertainty on how to teach certain subjects like race or gender relations and how U.S. history has affected it. |
| Auburn University to close its DEI office to comply with Alabama law | |
 | Auburn University announced on Monday that it has decided to close its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Aug. 15 to comply with Senate Bill 129. The university said staff members of the DEI office will be placed in new positions. Some will fill existing vacancies while others will hold new roles in existing offices. "We remain resolute in our commitment to deliver exceptional experiences and to support all students, with particular emphasis on providing access and opportunity," the university said in a release. "We are dedicated to ensuring the First Amendment is celebrated and that all students, faculty and staff are welcomed, valued, respected and engaged." The news comes less than a week after three University of Alabama System campuses on Tuesday shuttered diversity, equity and inclusion offices-- and opened new offices -- to comply with a new Republican-backed law attempting to ban the programs on public college campuses in the state, according to the Associated Press. The bill prohibits certain public entities from directing or compelling any students, employees or contractors "to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to a divisive concept." It also prohibits them from requiring "its students, employees, or contractors to attend or participate in any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or any training, orientation or course work that advocates for or requires assent to a divisive concept." |
| U. of Kentucky opens the first emergency psychiatric care unit in the state | |
 | Kentucky's first emergency psychiatric hospital opens today. UK HealthCare will start seeing patients at the Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing (EmPATH) unit at 7 p.m. July 30 on the Eastern State Hospital campus in Lexington. Officials cut the ribbon on the unit early Tuesday. "A mental health issue should be treated with the same sense of urgency and care and compassion as any physical problem. Mental health challenges can affect anyone, and no one should hesitate to seek help," said Gwen Moreland, UK HealthCare chief nurse executive. The new mental health crisis unit has the capacity to care for 12 patients at a time. People in crisis can bring themselves to the unit or be brought in by first responders. Anyone can take advantage of the new service, unless the patient is under 18 years old or medically unstable. This will be the first EmPATH unit to open in Kentucky, and one of about 30 nationally. This model has proven to reduce hospitalization by 60%, according to UK spokesperson Allison Perry. The dedicated emergency psychiatric unit will help lessen the strain on traditional emergency rooms. Dr. Scott Zeller, the doctor who developed the EmPATH model for care, estimated between 12-15% of all emergency room visits are related to mental health. |
| Pre-empting Conservative Lawmakers, Mizzou Disbands DEI Work | |
 | The University of Missouri at Columbia, which drew national attention in 2015 for racial-justice protests that hastened the resignation of its president and chancellor, will overhaul efforts to diversify its campus and improve the graduation rates of students of color, scattering responsibilities once centralized in the division of inclusion, diversity, and equity across several departments. The college will no longer employ a vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity, and equity (Maurice Gipson, who currently holds the role, will leave the university on August 15), and those who worked in that division will be reassigned to other departments. The college has also ended the use of diversity statements and ceased race-conscious admissions and scholarships. College leaders will no longer explicitly serve students based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation, administrators said. President Mun Y. Choi said on a press call late Friday afternoon that the university is moving toward a race-neutral approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and "not excluding any group in the name of inclusion." He acknowledged the move was a concession to the tremendous pressure colleges are under as state lawmakers have attempted to ban DEI efforts. Missouri lawmakers have introduced 13 anti-DEI bills, none of which have passed. "We don't believe [the bills introduced in Missouri] are threats, but we are seeing what is happening in other states," Choi said. |
| Choi eliminates Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Division but no cuts to programming or staff | |
 | On Tuesday, University of Missouri President Mun Choi announced that the university would dissolve the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity division. No staff will be laid off and all programming will remain, just housed under different departments. Choi said he's been following nationwide changes closely, as well as the attacks on DEI that have taken place on the state level. Thirteen bills to eliminate or reduce public DEI programs have been introduced in the Missouri legislature over the last two years. Choi cited several policy rollbacks, such as the removal of diversity hiring statements, ending of race-conscious scholarships and ensuring that inclusion means inclusion for all were essential to preventing those bills from passing. Choi sees these changes as a "sustainable path forward" as the work done by the IDE Division will no longer be separated from other areas of the university. With the reorganization, Choi says MU remains committed to inclusivity. The Legion of Black Collegians expressed appreciation that Choi included the organization in recent discussions on the IDE division but also shared concerns over the future of DEI. Charles Nilon, a Black professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources , said he thinks Choi is giving into the legislature and failing to stick up for the importance of DEI initiatives. |
| Mizzou Dissolves DEI Office | |
 | The University of Missouri at Columbia is dissolving its Division for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, leaders announced Tuesday morning, in an effort to pre-empt legislative action from conservative state lawmakers. The move will decentralize the office's resources, eliminate the IDE vice chancellor position and disperse existing staff members to other departments across the university -- primarily the office of student affairs, for student success roles, and the provost's office for faculty support roles. Missouri is the latest red-state public university to cave to political pressure on DEI. The University of Arkansas dispersed its DEI office last summer, and the University of North Carolina system Board of Governors ordered campus leaders to do the same last month. Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said the pattern is concerning. "I can't say I'm surprised that Missouri is doing this considering the number of bills introduced there," she said. "But it's disappointing that we have institutions who are choosing not to advocate for and stand by their articulated values and mission." Missouri established its IDE office eight years ago in response to the 2015 protests over racism on campus that rocked the flagship and the broader higher education landscape. Activists asked for targeted programs to increase Black student enrollment and faculty hiring and resources to support minority students on campus. |
| UC sets new record with largest, most diverse class of California students for fall 2024 | |
 | The University of California admitted the largest and most diverse class of undergraduates for fall 2024, opening the doors of the vaunted public research institution to more California low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students of color, according to preliminary data released Wednesday. In striking data, UC shared for the first time the gender identity of admitted students as part of its annual data release. Systemwide, women are the dominant gender among first-year students, reaching 55%. At six campuses -- Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, UCLA, San Diego and Santa Barbara -- the gender gap is greater, with men representing about 37% of students. UC Merced was the most evenly balanced, with 49% women and 46% men. The genders were at greater parity among transfer admits. About 5% of admitted students identified differently -- as nonbinary or transgender, for instance -- or did not disclose their gender identity. Overall, UC admitted 93,920 first-year California students, up 4.3% from last year, an all-time high amid widespread public demands to give more seats to state students after campuses began admitting a larger share of international and out-of-state applicants several years ago to raise revenue amid major state funding cuts. Latinos made up 39% of first-year Californians admitted, followed by Asian Americans at 33%, whites at 18%, Black students at 6%, American Indians at 1% and Pacific Islanders at less than 1%. |
| Most 'Good Jobs' Will Require a Bachelor's Degree by 2030s | |
| Advancements in technology and a contracting labor force are expected to spur the growth of more than 15 million decent-paying jobs by 2031. But the vast majority of new jobs will require some higher education credential, and 66 percent will require at least a bachelor's degree. While greater emphasis on workforce readiness and growing public skepticism about the value of a traditional college degree have led to a microcredential boom, these courses alone will be on par with a high school diploma's ability to help applicants land a good job, according to a new report from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce published Tuesday. "Our numbers are very clear: Bachelor's and graduate degrees are going to dominate," said Artem Gulish, senior federal policy adviser at CEW and co-author of the report. "They'll require much more of those quantitative and analytical skills. The organizational and business complexities are going to grow with greater technological capabilities." The report, "The Future of Good Jobs: Projections Through 2031," which was supported by JP MorganChase, defines a "good job" as one that pays a national minimum salary of $43,000 to workers aged 25 to 44 and $55,000 to workers aged 45 to 64. Though it will still be possible for workers without a bachelor's degree to get one of these jobs in the future, researchers found that it will only get harder. The resulting data outlined in Tuesday's report shows that as technology continues to become more complex, so will the training of the workers who need to interact with it on the job. |
| Postsecondary Education Critical for High-Earning Jobs of the Future | |
| The majority of future good jobs will be accessible through bachelor's degree pathways. That's according to a new report by the Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. "The Future of Good Jobs: Projections through 2031" reminds readers that higher education has a critical role to play in the future earnings of their students and the stability of the American economy. "It emphasizes that the four-year degree is very valuable to workers, despite skepticism about that that's current in some narratives," said Catherine Morris, senior editor and writer at CEW and an author of the report. "But, simply ensuring you get a degree isn't enough --- it needs to be in a specific area, aligned with labor markets." Morris, a former reporter for Diverse, said that postsecondary institutions should partner with local industry leaders to assess their needs and discover which jobs will be most plentiful in the future to better align programs and build pathways into good jobs. Matthew Muench, head of Jobs and Skills at JP Morgan Chase Global Philanthropy, who helped sponsor the report, wrote in his forward that institutions and their business partners owed it to low-income students to help more complete their bachelor's degrees and embark in middle skills journeys. |
| 'A Stunning Failure': Latest FAFSA Delay Will Hinder the Most Vulnerable Students | |
| The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that colleges will not be able to submit corrections to students' federal-aid records in bulk during the 2024-25 financial-aid cycle. In June, the department announced that institutions would be able to do so in the first half of August -- several months later than usual. The upshot: Some students might not get the money they need in time to pay bills and start classes. The catastrophic rollout of the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has been beset by numerous delays, errors, and glitches that have hindered students and colleges ever since the form became available late last December. The latest snag will further hamper the most vulnerable students, many of whom remain stuck in FAFSA limbo, still waiting for financial-aid offers on the cusp of the fall semester. Beth Maglione, interim president and chief executive of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), described the announcement as "a stunning failure" on Tuesday. "Once again, the Department of Education has failed to provide a key FAFSA deliverable when promised," she said in a written statement. "Some college students might not have financial-aid dollars in their hands in time to start classes in the next few weeks." Meanwhile, financial-aid officers worn thin by months of chaos in the federal-aid system will have to put in even more work to clean up the department's latest mess. "It's the difference between pushing a button" Maglione said, "versus making thousands of keystrokes." |
| Biden kicks sweeping student debt relief plan into gear | |
 | The Education Department on Wednesday will begin emailing millions of student loan borrowers to let them opt out of President Biden's new policy to reduce or eliminate their balances, advancing an alternative plan to the program struck down by the Supreme Court last year. Biden's debt relief policies are sure to take center stage as the election nears, despite the president's departure from the campaign. Vice President Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, has heralded the administration's efforts to clear the ledgers for millions of borrowers and said she would continue the policies if elected. While that position will curry favor with liberals who praise Biden for canceling more than $168 billion in student debt, it could further fuel political opposition from conservatives who consider the policies fiscally irresponsible. Although the newest loan forgiveness plan will be finalized in the fall, the Biden administration is getting a jump on the process by informing borrowers that they have until Aug. 30 to call their loan servicer to bow out. Those who are interested in receiving relief need not take any action. Those who opt-out will not be able to opt back in, according to the Education Department. Borrowers are only eligible for the proposed relief if they have entered repayment after the proposed rules are finalized. Since the Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans per borrower in 2023, the Education Department has worked through a negotiated rulemaking process to create a regulation that achieves large-scale debt cancellation, albeit with a much more targeted approach than the last plan. |
| Biden's efforts to assist transgender students are unraveling | |
| Schools are agonizing over how to implement one of President Joe Biden's top civil rights priorities after a tangle of court orders created a baffling patchwork just weeks before students return to campus. The regulation, which takes effect on Thursday, updates a federal anti-discrimination law to bolster protections for transgender and pregnant students. But nearly half of the states don't need to abide by the new rule due to legal holdups and many others aren't sure how to -- especially since the policy's fate is unclear. The Education Department has offered only broad guidance, leaving administrators worried about how to handle sexual misconduct claims and vulnerable students -- such as transgender teens -- wondering if schools can ensure their safety. "A lot of schools are feeling betrayed," said Brett Sokolow, chair of the Association of Title IX Administrators, which supports schools with the policy. "Here's the Department of Education saying you must use this rule, we've vetted it and it's perfectly legal. And then it turns out, a lot of judges don't think it is and the schools are like, 'We're caught in the middle.'" Biden's changes, which amend the federal law known as Title IX, overhaul former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' rule that mandates how schools respond to sexual misconduct. It could prove one of Biden's defining policies as he seeks to cement his legacy. |
| Alabama Judge Allows New Title IX Rule to Move Forward in 4 States | |
| A federal judge shot down an effort Tuesday from four Southern states to immediately block the Biden administration's new Title IX rule from taking effect, finding that Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina failed to show that they would be successful in their legal challenge. The ruling from Judge Annemarie Carney Axon, appointed by former president Trump, paves the way for the regulations to be enforced in those four states beginning Thursday, when the rule takes effect nationwide. The states have already appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. More than 70 colleges in the four states don't have to comply with the new regulations because of a court order in a separate case. Additionally, Florida governor Ron DeSantis told public colleges in his state earlier this year to not comply with the regulations. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general have sued the Biden administration across seven lawsuits. So far, judges have issued five temporary injunctions blocking the Education Department from enforcing the regulations in 21 states. Axon, from the Northern District of Alabama, is the first judge so far to rule in favor of the Biden administration. Throughout the 122-page opinion denying the motion for an injunction, Axon criticized the plaintiffs for failing to explain their arguments challenging the rule, not citing specific sections of the regulation and inaccurately characterizing other court opinions. |
| Other than state judicial races, it was a light political year under the old Neshoba oaks | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: The tin roof of the Founder's Square reverberated with a lot of political rhetoric this week – some of it serious and relevant and some of it, well, not so much. While 2024 is a presidential election year, the White House race between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris has not been forecast as particularly competitive either before or after Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden announced his decision not to seek reelection. In the 2016 presidential election, Trump took 57.86 % of Mississippi's votes against Democrat Hillary Clinton with 40.06 percent – a margin almost 12 % better than Trump got nationally. In 2020, Trump took a slightly lesser percentage of Mississippi's vote with 57.60 % of the voters but earned some 56,000 additional Magnolia State votes in that win. Mississippi hasn't voted Democratic in presidential politics since giving fellow southerner Jimmy Carter of Georgia the nod in 1976 48 years ago. Incumbent Mississippi Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker faces a general election challenge from Democrat Ty Pinkins, but Wicker is expected to win re-election handily. The state's four U.S. House of Representatives races carry little political intrigue with all four incumbents -- 1st District U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly (R), 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D), 3rd District GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Guest (R), and 4th District U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell (R) -- all expected to win re-election. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State football's top issues heading into coach Jeff Lebby's first fall practice | |
| First-year coach Jeff Lebby begins Mississippi State football practice Thursday with the season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31 quickly approaching. Not only does Mississippi State have an almost entirely new coaching staff, but it's also a new-look roster that lost a lot from last season's team. That includes Baylor's Blake Shapen arriving as the new starting quarterback replacing Will Rogers while holes at other positions such as running back are waiting to be filled. Mississippi State hasn't had a wide receiver drafted by the NFL since 1996. Wide receiver coach Chad Bumphis said he texted Lebby during the draft in April, telling him that the streak will be broken in 2025. The Bulldogs brought in three wide receiver transfers -- Kevin Coleman, Kelly Akharaiyi and Trent Hudson -- who should play right away. Creed Whittemore returns, and the Bulldogs also signed three four-star wide receivers. Shapen demonstrated an early level of success with some of those receivers when he completed 18 of his 22 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game. |
| Position Preview: Looking at Mississippi State's running backs room for the 2024 season | |
| The countdown to this year's college football season has begun in earnest with less than five weeks until Mississippi State opens the season on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, will open fall camp on Aug. 1. Until then, The Dispatch will be taking a look at each position group on MSU's roster, noting who could be the potential starters, backups and impact players to look out for on the gridiron. The Bulldogs' running backs room, like nearly every other position group, looks very different from last year with the addition of Utah State transfer Davon Booth and junior college product Johnnie Daniels. Keyvone Lee and Jeffery Pittman are back in the mix, and MSU is excited about freshman Xavier Gayten's potential. All of those backs will try to make up for the absence of Seth Davis, who will miss the entire season following an injury sustained in last year's Egg Bowl. |
| Hutzler's Goal: An Aggressive Dawg Defense | |
| As the defensive coordinator, Mississippi State's Coleman Hutzler hasn't been too surprised at the line of questioning he's faced since deciding to put on the Maroon and White earlier this year as reporters and others try to get to know him. What has been a bit unique though has been the qualifier to one of the most popular queries. "It's funny how many interviews I've had since getting here in January where I've had people tell me I can't use the word 'multiple' when describing our defense," Hutzler said on Tuesday, just a couple of days before the start of MSU's preseason camp. Soon enough, folks won't need any descriptors. They'll see Hutzler's group in action. And when Mississippi State kicks off the season on August 31 against Eastern Kentucky, here's what Hutzler says folks will observe -- without even using the word 'multiple.' "Aggressive," Hutzler said. "We want to be aggressive. We want to dictate things as much as we can. We want to be violent in how we play. We want to be opportunistic in creating turnovers and getting the ball back. If we can do that and get the ball back to [quarterback Blake Shapen] and the boys, we've got a great chance of scoring points." Hutzler knows exactly what he wants out of his unit. It shouldn't come as a surprise. How could he not? This is a man who's learned under the tutelage of some of the brightest defensive minds college football has ever seen. Most recently, coaching at Alabama under the legendary Nick Saban, Hutzler has picked up so much along the way that he brings with him into his first year in Starkville and wants to impart on his players. |
| Blake Shapen explains how Dillon Gabriel has helped him with transition into Jeff Lebby's offense | |
| As Blake Shapen prepares to quarterback Mississippi State in the Jeff Lebby offense, he's gotten advice from an expert: Dillon Gabriel. Now at Oregon, Gabriel spent four of his five college seasons thus far with Lebby as his offensive coordinator. With Lebby leaving Oklahoma this past season to take the first head coaching job of his career in Starkville, the two went their separate ways. Shapen transferred to Mississippi State this offseason after spending the past four seasons at Baylor. He spoke with On3's Andy Staples at SEC Media Days about how he came to get to know Gabriel this offseason, leading to Lebby's former QB to offer advice to his current one. "I actually got to spend some time with Dillon Gabriel at the Manning Passing Academy," Shapen said. "Great dude. I was able to talk about the offense. I texted him the other day like, 'what was the hardest thing for you in the offense?' So just being able to pick his mind and figure out what his answers will be has been big to me." The duo of Gabriel and Lebby helped UCF to have top 10 passing offenses in both 2019 and 2020. They later reunited in Oklahoma and again helped the Sooners finished No. 6 in passing yards per game this past season. Additionally, Ole Miss was No. 7 in passing offense during Lebby's only season as the Rebels offensive coordinator in 2021 under Lane Kiffin. All of that bodes well for Shapen to find plenty of success this season under Lebby. |
| Jerry Jones states Dak Prescott is 'very special to deal with' in negotiations | |
| The Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott remain engaged in negotiations on a contract extension with the 31-year-old entering the final year of his current deal. The two sides were previously at the negotiating table in 2020 and '21, eventually agreeing to a four-year, $160 million deal. Prescott's next contract is expected to be north of $50 million annually, but nothing has been agreed to. Team owner Jerry Jones, speaking with Nick Harris of Cowboys.com in a sit-down interview, described negotiating with Prescott. Jones used the term "pragmatic," and added that he's "very special to deal with." "Well, I think that Dak as you would expect is very pragmatic," Jones said. "He's thoughtful and does his business the same way with the same kind of intensity and professionalism as he does out on the football field. Now, as it turns out, they both are some of the same. It takes both to make it go. But Dak's in my mind very special to deal with. I've dealt over the last 35 years with a lot of agents, a lot of players and Dak's one of the best." Prescott is coming off a season in which he finished second in NFL MVP voting, tossing a league-leading 37 touchdowns and throwing for 4,516 yards. |
| How coaches, players adjust to the return of EA Sports College Football 25 | |
| Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham is the only FBS head coach born in the 1990s. Dillingham, who turned 34 on April 28, is a console-carrying member of the video game generation. Not Tecmo Bowl, where handing the ball to Bo Jackson was the biggest cheat code, but the more sophisticated games that surfaced during his childhood. One of those was EA Sports' NCAA Football, which captivated gamers of all ages until being discontinued after the 2014 version. The game is back, making the biggest of summer splashes. Distributed during the heart of preseason media days earlier this month, EA Sports College Football 25 immediately became the biggest talking point of the season. Perhaps no cohort of gamers was more excited for the game than the players, whose names and likenesses would, for the first time, be fully represented. EA Sports had more than 11,000 players opt in to be included in the game, awarding each about $600 and a copy of the game. When it did return, they dove in with both thumbs. "That's really all we do now in our free time, we play the game," Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, the highest-rated player in College Football 25, told ESPN. "When I leave here today, that's my only goal: To get back home and play," LSU star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. added at SEC media days. |
| EA Sports College Football 25 passes $500 million in sales | |
| EA Sports College Football 25 has been out for less than two weeks and is already racking up jaw-dropping numbers. The video game company shared Monday that College Football 25 has welcomed five million unique players to the game through its first week. More than 500,000 played the EA Play trial, too. According to Insider Gaming, the game has already generated $500 million in sales for EA Sports. "EA delivered a strong start to FY25, beating net bookings guidance as we continue to execute across our business," EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson said in an earnings report. "Our focus on delivering bigger, bolder, and more connected experiences for our players has never been sharper and is illustrated by the record-breaking launch of EA SPORTS College Football 25 as we head into another historic Q2 sports season at EA." For the first time in the game's history, athletes are being compensated for having their name, image and likeness included in the game. More than 14,000 college football players have opted in, pushing EA past its goal of 85 players per roster. EA informed athletes last month if they would be in or out of the first edition of the game. Developers created the game to allow for updates to rosters throughout the season. As previously reported, all athletes who are in the game will receive $600 plus a copy of the game, typically valued at $70. |
| 105 is college football's new key number. What will it and other NCAA roster caps change? | |
 | For decades, it was the accepted reality: College football teams could only give out 85 scholarships. Beyond that, they had a certain number of walk-ons. And for decades other college teams also knew they had a scholarship limit, plus walk-ons. Baseball teams, which could roster around 40 players, had a scholarship limit of 11.7. How exactly did that work? Well, you don't need to know anymore. The historic House v. NCAA case settlement agreement institutes new roster limits for each sport in place of longtime scholarship caps as of the 2025-26 school year, which will give each team one tidy number to remember but still leaves the potential for confusion and hard decisions for athletic departments. Football's new roster cap will be 105. Baseball's will triple to 34. Other sports are also seeing big changes. The new system allows schools flexibility to decide how many scholarships within the roster limit they want to give out. That was a key part of the settlement for the NCAA. How does it all work? Here's a glimpse into the agreement. The 105 cap will impact programs differently across competitive tiers. A few schools may recruit both transfer and high school prospects with the intent of offering all 105 scholarships to the most talented players. But several developmental programs harbor rich walk-on traditions, in which a few lightly recruited players each year earn scholarships for their contributions. In baseball, former Georgia and Kent State baseball coach Scott Stricklin thinks 34 is a "workable number." "Forty just allowed you to have some extra guys, some extra arms, a fourth or fifth catcher," Stricklin said. "It just gave you a little more wiggle room, more margin for error." But upping the scholarship limit could create a huge divide in college baseball, Stricklin thinks. |
| House v. NCAA Settlement Draws State AGs' Scrutiny | |
| The attorneys general of Montana and South Dakota are contemplating taking legal action to challenge aspects of the House v. NCAA settlement deal. "The settlement is unfair to Montana universities," a spokesperson for Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen said. "We are looking into what legal actions we can take." The state's two Division I universities, Montana and Montana State, compete in the FCS-level Big Sky Conference, while South Dakota has two D-I FCS schools that compete in the Summit Conference. A spokesperson for South Dakota attorney general Marty Jackley said his office is also "looking at available options regarding the NCCA lawsuit and settlement." As drafted, the settlement would require the non-power conference schools -- such as those in Montana and South Dakota -- to give up $990 million in NCAA distributions, over the next decade, in order to pay NIL "back damages" that would primarily go to former power-conference football and basketball players. Since May, when the top-line details of the House settlement were publicly reported, a number of the non-Power Five schools and conferences have raised concerns that they are shouldering an unfair burden of a situation that was not of their making and to resolve antitrust lawsuits in which they were not named defendants. Earlier this month, Houston Christian University raised this concern while attempting to intervene as a party in the lawsuit. That effort was denied with a stinging rebuke by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken. It remains to be seen whether any other party -- including an attorney general acting on behalf of a state's universities -- makes a similar attempt to intervene, given Wilken's sweeping order. |
| Big win for the Big East? House settlement unknowns have college basketball coaches worried | |
| Yes, Nate Oats is worried. No, Alabama's basketball coach is not alone. Arguably the hottest topic at conference meetings and inside college athletic departments this month is how schools will handle the most groundbreaking element of a settlement in the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit: a revenue-sharing agreement that will allow schools to distribute roughly $20-23 million annually to their athletes beginning in 2025. The assumption is that football players will get the biggest piece of the pie within almost every athletic department, but men's basketball is expected to be second in line, and its coaches are already wondering what their allotment looks like. Since seemingly every school will decide for itself, one league at the high-major level could have a distinct advantage: the Big East, a conference that does not sponsor football. "I don't think any of us have the answer to it yet, but I think we do feel good about our position," Xavier coach Sean Miller told The Athletic last week at Nike's Peach Jam, the biggest basketball recruiting event of the year. What if, while the SEC and Big Ten continue their football-first arms race, those basketball-centric Big East schools decided to give the bulk of the allowed revenue share to their primary sport? "That's a problem," Oats said, his eyes widening at the thought. "As long as it's equitable across all the high-major schools, you're fine. But if one's got $22 million and one's got $5 million, that's a problem. We're not going to be able to compete. They haven't thought everything through." Florida coach Todd Golden said SEC basketball coaches have been buzzing about this nightmare scenario since last year. |
| Which Colleges Have Produced the Most Individual Olympic Medals in Paris? | |
| American colleges are a major training ground for Olympic talent. This year, about three out of every four athletes on the 592-member U.S. Olympic team played for an American college. Those athletes -- and many more from other countries -- enroll not just for the education but because American universities have built some of the best sports facilities in the world. They have hired the top coaches, trainers, and medical professionals. And they've cemented themselves as the places to go if you want to compete against the very best. That's been made possible by the immense profitability of college football. Billions of dollars in TV revenue have enabled the wealthiest conferences to build huge stadiums, pay eye-popping coaching salaries, and sponsor Olympic sports. Women's sports have benefited in particular because of Title IX, the law that spurred colleges to build out robust women's teams to balance football rosters that can exceed 100 players. But that's all about to change. Colleges in the most lucrative conferences will soon be sharing revenue directly with players, and all Division I institutions will have to contribute to a $2.75-billion settlement, if a judge approves its terms. That means there may be less money for Olympic sports, which do not typically generate revenue. And pending legal cases may further squeeze athletics departments. But for now, colleges remain a key factor in Olympic success. |
| NiJaree Canady's transfer is a sign Stanford athletics could be in trouble | |
| The NiJaree Canady era at Stanford is officially over, but her transfer could be a sign of problems for the athletic department that won't soon go away. The right-handed pitcher officially committed to Texas Tech out of the transfer portal on Wednesday, ending a period of uncertainty for the 2024 USA Softball Player of the Year. Reportedly, she will receive an NIL deal worth more than $1 million from Texas Tech's collective, the Matador Club -- by far the largest deal in the history of college softball. Stanford's collective, Lifetime Cardinal, tried to retain Canady but came up considerably short at $350,000, according to reports. Though the athletic department more recently has embraced the new NIL landscape and endorsed Lifetime Cardinal, the school has lost several key players in the portal across multiple sports. "Especially at a school like Stanford, where you don't see a lot of transfers in and out, (losing Canady) is huge," Jessica Mendoza, an ESPN analyst and Stanford softball alum, told the Chronicle this month. "It just shows the impact money and NIL can have in any sport." In revenue sports, some of that could have been unavoidable, but Stanford typically has thrived in Olympic and women's sports. That a softball player could command a seven-figure deal leads to this question: Can Stanford keep pace in any sport if the market keeps being reset? |
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