| Monday, September 16, 2024 |
| MSU grant to help those disabled by long COVID-19 enter workforce | |
 | A multi-million dollar grant for Mississippi State University (MSU) seeks to help students with COVID-related disabilities gain education and employment. Long COVID-19 is a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms (such as fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache and brain fog) that persist for an extended period following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection. The U.S. Department of Education awarded MSU's College of Education with a $9.9 million grant to help individuals who acquired a disability due to long COVID gain and retain meaningful employment in the Magnolia State. "Career Horizons Project: A 21st Century Workforce Initiative for Mississippians with Disabilities Accompanied by or Resulting from Long COVID Syndrome" is expected to impact 700 Mississippians. It will target those from vulnerable populations, such as those living in poverty or rural areas. Zaccheus Ahonle, assistant professor and program coordinator of the rehabilitation counseling graduate program, is the grant's principal investigator. Other team members include Madeline Castle, assistant professor of rehabilitation counseling; Kasee Stratton-Gadke, associate professor and executive director of the Mississippi Institute on Disabilities; and Daniel Gadke, College of Education associate dean of research, professor and department head. According to Teresa Jayroe, dean of MSU’s College of Education, the award is one of the largest in the program’s history. |
| New Gluckstadt learning center provides free resources | |
| Children, parents and child care providers in the Gluckstadt area now have a new learning center with free resources. The Mississippi LIFT Resource and Referral Network at the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service provides mini-learning stations throughout the center with themed hands-on, play-based educational activities each month. The center is operated through the MSU Extension Service and is open to anyone who has children or provides care for children. The network was formerly known as the MSU Extension Service Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Various free services are available through the center, including a lending library full of educational games, books, puzzles, toys and other materials that can be checked out for a two-week period. The center also provides referrals for teacher training and connects families with child care options and other resource referrals and family support services training. Each month, the center offers at least one community event that is free and open to the public. |
| Upgrades on horizon for Highway 182 corridor in Starkville | |
 | The largest project in Starkville's history will give the town a new look and the potential for more growth. Local, state, and federal leaders broke ground on the Highway 182 revitalization project on Friday. "This project is going to be transformative for Starkville. It is going to be bringing a corridor that's been neglected back to life. It's going to create economic opportunities. It's going to make people feel proud of an area that we've sort of neglected, so, I think it's a transformative project all the way around," said Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill. "It's going to be impactful to MSU. It's going to be impactful to the city as a whole. It'll be impactful to the county," said Spruill. The project is expected to take about 2 years. "It's going to be a lot of construction, but there's a lot of other small towns and bigger towns that would love to have that problem to see the economic progress that's being made here," said U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. |
| Oktibbeha plans to spend 82% of cash reserves in FY 25 | |
 | Despite an additional $2.66 million in the county's general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2025, supervisors will not increase taxes in Oktibbeha County. Instead the county plans to spend roughly 82% of its general fund cash reserves to help cover the gap. The board approved a FY 2025 budget Thursday, which will maintain the same tax rate as the previous fiscal year at 124.61 mills. Of that, 58.62 will fund the county's request, which includes both the general fund and special revenue funds specific to East Mississippi Community College, OCH Regional Medical Center and others. The remaining 65.99 levy will cover Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's funding request. The general fund, which makes up $20.16 million of the total budget, will see an increase of $2.66 million from the current fiscal year. Growth in the mill value will cover a little more than $300,000 of that increase. Instead of raising taxes, the board intends to cover the rest by pulling about $2.3 million from the county's cash reserves. District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver asked Golden Triangle Planning and Development District Government Specialist Tony Green if he sees any concerns with dipping into cash reserves to cover the difference. GTPDD has assisted the county with its budget after County Administrator Delois Farmer was terminated in August. Green said it shouldn't be an issue with the $2.8 million the county currently has in its general fund cash reserves. Board Attorney Rob Roberson, who is also the state representative for District 43, will help look for grants and other state funds to help cover additional costs, he said. |
| Mississippi Book Festival celebrates 10 years with Writers Trail marker | |
 | The 2024 Mississippi Book Festival kicked off festivities with an unveiling on the Mississippi State Capitol Building steps Saturday morning. A new marker dedicated to the beloved Jackson festival will be added to the Mississippi Writers Trail. At 9 a.m. Saturday, dozens of festival attendees were already strolling in front of the capitol building perusing the tents lining Mississippi Street. Behind them, a group of guests watched as Holly Lange and Jere Nash unveiled the new marker. Lange and Nash founded the Mississippi Book Festival in 2014 as a way to bring book lovers and authors together to celebrate literature in the heart of Jackson. The festival, referred to as "the South's literary lawn party," celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The plaque is the newest marker on the Mississippi Writers Trail, a path designed to turn Mississippi's literary history into visible markers throughout the state. First opened in 2018, the trail features markers placed in several Mississippi cities from the bottom of the state to the top. Existing markers honor past and present writers, including William Faulkner, Ida B. Wells, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Willie Morris and Richard Wright among others. |
| For this fast-food chain, rural Southern towns are the special | |
 | Americans love to eat out. In the first half of this year, we spent $570.1 billion on eating and drinking away from home. That's according to the National Restaurant Association. And in small towns, the local fast-food joint can be one of the main gathering places. Take Eupora, Mississippi; Citronelle, Alabama; and Adamsville, Tennessee. These towns have fewer than 4,000 residents and they're all home to one particular fast-food chain: Jack's Family Restaurants. For this rapidly expanding, quick-service restaurant, rural towns are the secret sauce. Jack's started in 1960 in Homewood, Alabama, near Birmingham. Today there are 261 restaurants, owned by a big private equity firm. Today, Jack's does open up locations in big cities like Memphis, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama. But about 45% of its outlets are in small towns with populations of 7,000 or less. That kind of rural footprint is unusual for quick-service restaurants. "Typically, you want to be in fairly highly populated areas, right? Because that's where saturation is. It's where growth potential is," said Scott Taylor, a food and beverage researcher at the University of South Carolina. Jack's has a smart strategy, he added. "There's lack of competition. There's really no saturation." And small towns with limited dining options are eager to have a restaurant that opens early and closes late seven days a week. |
| Favre, current and former Coast officials owe millions, state says | |
 | Mississippi Coast native and former Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Brett Favre is among those who still owe money to the state for alleged misspent public funds, according to State Auditor Shad White's 2024 audit exceptions report. The report covers the fiscal year that ended in July, and includes a list of current and former Coast officials who owe over $2 million in fines , restitution, or both, for embezzling or misspending public money. The state auditor's office recovered $6,290,619.64 for the fiscal year. Of that, the state's Investigations Law Enforcement Division issued 37 demands for the recovery of $1. 35 million in misspent or embezzled money. Not all audit "exceptions" listed in the report are criminal violations. In Favre's case, White is pursuing civil action to recover $729,790 in interest on $1.1 million in public welfare dollars that Favre and his business partner at Favre Enterprises received. In the civil filing, White argues the money was misspent on projects backed by Favre. Favre received the welfare dollars in 2017 from the Temporary Assistance for the Needy Families program, or TANF, to do promotional work for a volleyball arena at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre, who has not been charged with a crime, is among 14 other people or organizations that were issued demand letters for repayment to the state for misspent or embezzled funds as part of the state's largest welfare investigation. |
| Fed Enters Tricky Terrain: Rate Cuts in a Decent Economy | |
 | The Federal Reserve is poised to start cutting rates on Wednesday, and over time those cuts will ripple their way through the economy. The mechanics are, in some ways, clear. Borrowers pay less on their debt. Savers get less for their cash. But that is just the broad brush, and the details of how it will all work out is an open question. Every rate-cutting cycle is different, and the economy's response is both long and variable. Milton Friedman, speaking before Congress in 1959, likened changes in Fed policy to "a water tap that you turn on now and that then only starts to run six, nine, 12, 16 months from now." What's more, there isn't a clear historical template for the current situation. Usually, by the time the Fed starts cutting rates, the economy is already in pretty big trouble. That isn't the case now. The labor market has cooled but still looks decent, and the economy has been posting solid growth. In fact, it is a better economy than it was even in 1995 -- arguably the one time the Fed convincingly achieved a so-called soft landing, where inflation comes down but unemployment doesn't spike. "We don't have a lot of examples of cutting in a healthy economy, in one that's not showing serious signs of distress," said Jon Faust, who until early this year was senior special adviser to Fed Chair Jerome Powell. That could make for atypical economic responses to the Fed's expected cut Wednesday. |
| Political polarization makes farm bill extension more likely, says analyst | |
| The traditional urban and rural coalition that carried the farm bill to passage in the past is losing its appeal, said farm policy expert Jonathan Coppess on the farmdoc daily blog, pointing to partisan polarization and "negative-sum factional polarization." Coppess, an associate professor at the University of Illinois, said with agreement on a new farm bill difficult to achieve, "extension [of the current law] becomes increasingly convenient, more politically palatable, it will become the default." Leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture committees said last week that they hoped to break an months-long impasse over the new farm bill. "I believe we have a small window of opportunity to broker a deal," said Georgia Rep. David Scott, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, in a letter to committee Democrats. If the committee leaders make progress this month, "the hope would then be for the package to be included in must-pass legislation" after the Nov. 5 election. Some farmers say a new farm bill running two years with an updated safety net would be preferable to a second extension of the 2018 farm law that expired last Sept. 30, said Scott. "If further proof is needed that farm bill reauthorization is not going to happen in the 118th Congress, the impasse over funding the government proves it," wrote Coppess. |
| Secretary Vilsack, Senator Boozman Discuss Farm Bill Prospects, Prop 12 Impacts | |
| Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) met with 120 pork producers at the National Pork Producers Council's (NPPC) Fall Legislative Action Conference, discussing prospects for a 2024 Farm Bill and a federal solution to California's Proposition 12. The Prop. 12 ballot initiative, which went into effect earlier this year, imposes serious financial burdens on pork producers, raises food prices on consumers, and sets a dangerous precedent enabling each state to develop differing regulations on out-of-state producers. Due to Prop. 12, Californians are experiencing less pork and higher costs. Vilsack also acknowledged that pork producers don't have the luxury of deciding which state(s) to market their products. Prop. 12 inflicts construction costs for producers up to $4,000 per sow and has already caused a 20 percent surge in California's pork prices. USDA economists also found that the volume of pork sales in California has declined significantly since the new law was implemented, with California now accounting for two percent less of total U.S. fresh pork sales. Boozman, the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told NPPC members that he remains optimistic about a Farm Bill passing this year. "We are working hard to get a Farm Bill done. I'm very concerned about Prop 12. Chair Stabenow and I have both shared frameworks, and importantly, G.T. Thompson got a bipartisan Farm Bill out of his committee," he said. "Agriculture needs to stick together... to get this done," he said. |
| All eyes on Speaker Johnson for next move on government funding | |
 | All eyes are on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this week as lawmakers await his next move in the fight over government funding, after Republican resistance foiled his initial strategy for avoiding an end-of-the-month shutdown. Johnson -- amid opposition from multiple corners of the GOP conference -- scrapped plans last week to vote on a partisan funding plan, which paired a six-month continuing resolution with a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote. Congress adjourned for the week without voting on legislation to avert a shutdown. Members in both parties and chambers are now waiting for Johnson to announce his next play in the funding process as the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline inches closer. The Speaker has suggested he may make another attempt at passing his partisan stopgap bill this week, which would face heavy headwinds in the House as critics -- particularly Democrats and fiscal hawks -- dig in on their opposition. Both chambers, meanwhile, will be focused on the fallout from Sunday's apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump -- the second in recent weeks -- which took place at his golf course in Florida. |
| Trump was on the links taking a breather from the campaign. Then the Secret Service saw a rifle | |
 | Sunday was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidential campaign. Aside from sounding off on social media, golf was on the agenda. Then the Secret Service spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club, and everything changed. For the second time in just over two months, someone apparently tried to shoot Trump and came dangerously close to the former president in that effort -- within 500 yards Sunday, law enforcement officials said. This time, the gunfire came from the Secret Service, before the suspect could get any shots off at his target. The episode raised sharp questions about how to keep the former president safe -- not only while he is campaigning across the country, but while he spends time at his own clubs and properties. Trump has had stepped-up security since the assassination attempt on him in July, when he was wounded in the ear during an attack that laid bare a series of Secret Service failures. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind bulletproof glass. But unlike typical VIPs, who live in private residences with tall fences, Trump, while in Florida, resides at a club open to dues-paying members, and often spends his down time at his golf courses. And this a toxic era in the nation's politics. "The threat level is high," Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Miami field office, told reporters Sunday. "We live in danger times." |
| Biden calls on Congress to give Secret Service 'more help' after second Trump assassination attempt | |
 | President Joe Biden called on Congress to provide the Secret Service with more resources after the law enforcement agency thwarted an assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump over the weekend. "Thank God the president is OK," Biden told reporters as he left the White House Monday. "One thing I want to make clear: the Service needs more help. I think Congress should respond to their needs." Pressed to say what type of assistance he was referring to, Biden suggested Secret Service needs more personnel. "I think they may need -- they're deciding -- whether they need more personnel or not," he said. Trump was not harmed in the apparent attempt on his life at his Florida golf course in West Palm Beach. Secret Service agents who were on the course with him spotted the suspect, who authorities said was holding an AK-47-style assault rifle. The suspect dropped the weapon and fled the scene, they said. In a statement on Sunday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, said she was "deeply disturbed" by what appeared to be another assassination attempt against Trump and condemned political violence. "As President Biden said, our Administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission," Harris said in the statement. |
| The White House launched a politically potent high-tech program this year. There's a reason you haven't heard of it. | |
 | A Biden administration program aimed to pour billions of dollars into technologies of the future in the U.S. heartland. Instead, it's been starved by Congress and potentially destined to stay that way. When Congress created the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program two years ago -- part of a massive plan signed by President Joe Biden to bring tech manufacturing dominance back to American shores -- the idea had support from both parties, and came with potential political payoff in both red states and blue. The idea was to seed new innovation centers in at least 20 regions across the nation. Part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the program called for spending $10 billion over half a decade to turn those regions into globally recognized centers for technologies like quantum, biotech and lithium batteries. Since then, Congress' spending chiefs have provided less than a fifth of the planned funding for Tech Hubs, and the Commerce Department has given major grants to only 12 locations. At times, the future of the program has seemed so unclear that some regional winners found themselves checking with Washington to be sure the money would actually come through before a new administration is sworn in. "People are committed," Beth Conerty, who leads Illinois' iFAB Tech Hub, told POLITICO. "Everybody's just kind of holding their breath to see what the outcome of November is." |
| Lutherans in Walz's Minnesota put potlucks before politics during divisive election season | |
| Serving coffee after Sunday worship outside Holden Lutheran Church, Jeff Davidson said he remains anchored in the congregation his Norwegian ancestors helped found in 1857 among cornfields because it's "very full of very supportive people." An hour's drive north in a tough Minneapolis neighborhood, Lizete Vega shared the same sentiment as she helped her husband prepare a post-service taco lunch at Iglesia Luterana San Pablo -- "a place where I feel that I belong." A welcoming, open-minded community is how the sixth-generation farmer, the Mexican immigrant, and many other Minnesotans describe, with characteristic understatement, the foundation of their faith. It's been in the national political limelight since Gov. Tim Walz, a Lutheran who was raised Catholic, brought his progressive legislative record onto the Democratic ticket as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. But the ways Midwest Lutherans live that faith in the public sphere -- on social and political hot-button issues from immigrant integration to LGBTQ+ rights -- can be as different as a marshmallow-topped hotdish from a prickly pear cactus salad. And that's true even within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the more liberal and by far largest Lutheran denomination in the United States with about 3.3 million members. Walz has made occasional references to attending an ELCA church in St. Paul, Minnesota, though his spokesperson declined to discuss details of his faith. In congregations, on the contrary, the faithful far prefer talking faith and outreach than politics. |
| Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff appears in Oxford for fundraising event | |
 | Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff joined former Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley at The Jefferson Oxford on Friday, Sept. 13 in an effort to raise money for the Harris Victory Fund. This appearance is among one of Emhoff's stops on the Harris-Walz campaign's New Way Forward Tour. "We're moving forward," Emhoff said. "They want to keep us in the past, and you know our slogan: 'We're not going back.'" Emhoff, speaking to a group of approximately 40 guests, highlighted Harris' stance on the economy -- an issue that polls show is a top concern for voters. "She's pro-capitalist, pro-growth, pro-innovation, pro-business and also pro-worker because you need to be all of those things to have a strong economy," Emhoff said. Emhoff also discussed specific policies such as infrastructure investments, housing initiatives and small business support. Presley echoed this sentiment and thanked the campaign for its stop in Oxford. "It's a campaign that encompasses everybody in all 50 states across this country -- those who care about the issues that are on the ballot," Presley said. "I know us as Mississippians are so thankful that the Harris-Walz campaign took time to step into Mississippi." |
| U. of Alabama enrollment tops 40,000 for first time, record number of in-state students | |
 | The University of Alabama's enrollment has surpassed 40,000 for the first time, with a record-high number of first-year students from within the state, school officials announced. Fall 2024 total enrollment is 40,846, including 3,434 freshmen from Alabama, making the largest number of in-state freshmen ever. The in-state student figure represents a 7.9% increase and is the sixth consecutive year with growth in the number of in-state students enrolled at the university. "Students continue to be drawn to The University of Alabama and the world-class opportunities and support afforded here," Dr. Stuart R. Bell, UA president, said in a statement. "In the end, it's the Alabama experience, the strength of our faculty, expanding research, and incredible resources and facilities that make students want to enroll at UA to pursue a meaningful degree." Overall all student growth increased by 4.7%. Second-year student retention also reached an all-time high at nearly 90%. Graduate school enrollment jumped 5.4% with 6,001 students, including an 8.3% increase in the number of in-state graduate students. UA has record enrollment of 10,111 minority students, an 8.3% increase from 2023. |
| Alabama higher education enrollment up, despite financial aid form woes | |
| Enrollment at Alabama's public institutions of higher education is up, despite issues with a federal financial aid form last year, according to preliminary data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). According to ACHE, 225,981 undergraduate students are enrolled at the state's public two-year colleges in Fall 2024, up from 216,499 (7.3%) last year. At public four-year colleges, undergraduate enrollment is 137,482, up from 133,933 (2.6.%). Many students across the country had trouble with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form last year, which saw a series of delays and problems in the rollout for a new form, intended to simplify the process. There were concerns about the rollout impacting college enrollment. A May 2024 report from the Brookings Institution said that the FAFSA issues would lead to fewer students enrolling in college. Jim Purcell, ACHE's executive director, said after the Friday meeting that FAFSA completion was down from around 59% or 60% in 2023 to about 57% this year. He said it took a lot of effort, and the assistance of Alabama Possible, a Birmingham-based nonprofit that addresses economic prosperity and educational attainment. Purcell said they are going to expand that program to not just the summer but earlier in the year. |
| Auburn University Libraries to highlight banned books in yearly observation of 'Banned Books Week' | |
| During the week of Sept. 22, Auburn University Libraries will put a spotlight on books that have been banned or challenged by public schools and libraries throughout United States history. This event, called "Banned Books Week," is coordinated by the American Library Association every year. To kick off this celebration, library officials will show a movie adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in room 2031 of Ralph Brown Draughon Library. This 1962 movie has won three Oscars and features Atticus Finch's famous single-take courtroom monologue. Criticism of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel often focuses on how the text "makes people uncomfortable" or how its themes and plot points are "immoral" and "trashy." Something it has in common with many other banned books is the use of racial slurs. Part of censorship is getting rid of inappropriate, inflammatory or offensive content. However, 47% of books people try to ban represent BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ voices and characters. A large portion of censorship silences minorities and robs the public of a well-rounded perspective. The ALA's theme for Banned Book Week this year is finding freedom in reading banned or challenged content. |
| An animal shelter needed emergency fosters during Francine. LSU students were ready to help | |
 | As Louisiana residents were preparing for Hurricane Francine last week, LSU student Joey Gardner came across a post from Companion Animal Alliance requesting emergency animal fosters. The sports administration senior had never fostered an animal before, but on Tuesday afternoon he went to the shelter with a friend and picked out Anchovie, a lab mix. "It was hard on the heart, it kind of tugged at me a little, just seeing all the dogs in the little concrete kennels was pretty sad," Gardner said. "That was definitely a hard part, trying to figure out which one to take home." CAA put out a request on social media for short-term fosters on Monday, two days before Francine made landfall. Gardner, who works for LSU Athletics, said having remote classes and an away football that weekend gave him the time he needed to devote to a dog. Gardner wasn't the only LSU student to come home with a furry friend; Anna Cain, a senior studying biochemistry, went to CAA on Wednesday morning with her fiancé and fostered Love, a coonhound. Love was found as a stray, and was one of the last dogs left at CAA when Cain went to pick her up. "It just made me really sad to think about all those animals being, like, stuck in the shelter, especially if it floods or something," Cain said. |
| Enrollment on the rise: U. of Tennessee sets institutional record for student population | |
| The 14-day enrollment period has come to a close, and the final enrollment numbers for the fall 2024 academic semester are in. This year, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville set a new institutional record with a student population of 38,728 -- a 6.7% increase from last year. Despite the acceptance rate dropping below 35% in March, retention rates have set a new record for the second consecutive year, capturing a 91.9% retention rate across the university. Returning students have seen university growth over the past several years from campus expansion to academic successes. Initiatives including the guaranteed admissions program -- a program that grants first-year admission to the top 10% of Tennessee high school students -- led to increasing in-state enrollment. UT received 59,764 applications -- an 18.4% increase from last year. Of those applications, 13,515 were in-state students. This led to an 11.1% increase under the addition of guaranteed admissions. The class of 2028 has a population of 6,804 -- 4,348 being in-state residents and first-generation students making up 16.7%. Student success efforts have had a major impact on retention rates and campus growth. Under Chancellor Donde Plowman's tenure, UT's retention rates have grown more than 5 percentage points since she joined UT in 2019. |
| University System of Georgia sets record for degrees awarded at more than 76,000 | |
 | The University System of Georgia awarded a record 76,571 degrees during the last fiscal year, up 1.8% over fiscal year 2023. The number of degrees the system's 26 institutions have awarded has risen by 39.6% since 2011, when the USG joined Complete College America, a program that prioritizes degree completion. During that same period, enrollment increased by 8.3%, meaning the rate of awarding degrees has far surpassed enrollment growth. "USG and our 26 public colleges and universities take pride in making sure students complete their degrees, and today you're seeing the impact of that work in communities across Georgia," system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said Thursday. "We're building momentum toward being the best public university system in the nation and continuing to help increase the state's economic development and families' long-term prosperity." The university system awarded 51,543 undergraduate degrees in fiscal 2024, a 1.6% increase over the previous fiscal year. Another 25,028 graduate and professional degrees awarded in the last fiscal year was up 2.1% over fiscal 2023. According to a recent study, USG graduates with at least a bachelor's degree will earn over $1.4 million more during their lifetimes than they would have without their college degree. Graduate and professional degrees add to those average career earnings. |
| U. of Missouri researchers create first effective vaccine for deadly cattle disease | |
 | A group of University of Missouri researchers has created a groundbreaking vaccine for a tick-borne cattle disease, bovine anaplasmosis. Lead researcher and MU professor Roman Ganta has been studying the disease for more than four years. Ganta said bovine anaplasmosis affects almost half of the nationwide cattle population, and a 2021 MU study found recent increases in the spread and severity of tick-borne diseases in the Midwest. The reason the disease is so widespread is because the pathogen adapts to avoid identification by the host's immune system, and it can go directly from animal to animal. Bovine anaplasmosis has been harming the health of both Missouri's cattle and its agricultural economy. The disease, which infects red blood cells, causes blood volume loss and results in weakness, breathing troubles, loss of milk and meat, weight loss and death. This ultimately translates into millions of dollars of annual financial losses for farmers. Current methods of prevention and treatment, such as antibiotics and an existing experimental vaccine, are not effective in eliminating the infection. Ganta has been researching vector-borne diseases and molecular genetics for more than three decades. He joined MU through MizzouForward in 2023. The prevalence of tick-borne diseases in Missouri provides an opportunity for disease research, he said. |
| Why Notre Dame's New President Thinks Going Need-Blind Will Expand Its Global Reach | |
 | As a young seminarian, Robert A. Dowd sat on the rooftop of a house in Nairobi, Kenya, watching planes taking off nearby and wondering why he wasn't on one, headed back to his home in the Midwest. But, by the end of more than a year there, he was already thinking about how he'd get back to a place he called "transformative." Decades later, Dowd is poised to push the University of Notre Dame, where he just took over as president, to expand its global reach, including by drawing more students from places like Kenya to study in South Bend, Ind. At his presidential-inauguration ceremony Friday, Dowd announced Notre Dame will become the first faith-based, highly selective American college to be need-blind in admissions for both domestic and international students. Notre Dame says it is now one of only nine highly selective colleges and universities to have a need-blind admissions policy for all students. The change is part of what Dowd sees as one of his key initiatives as president -- a global expansion that will pay dividends back home. "It's not just Notre Dame going out into the world, it's making our campus more globally diverse," he told The Chronicle in an interview a few days before his inauguration. |
| Is 'Judge Judy' on the Supreme Court? Lack of civics knowledge leads to colleges filling the gap | |
| On the first day of his American National Government class, Prof. Kevin Dopf asks how many of his students are United States citizens. Every hand shoots up. "So, how did all you people become citizens?" he asks. "Did you pass a test?" "No," one young woman says tentatively. "We were born here." It's a good thing. Based on his years of making his students at the University of South Carolina Beaufort take the test given to immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship, most would be rejected. "Thirty, 35% of the students will pass it," says Dopf, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and former West Point instructor. "The rest of them are clueless. I mean, they're just clueless." Most states require some sort of high school civics instruction. But with surveys showing that a third of American adults can't name the three branches of the federal government, and one in which 10% of college graduates think Judith Sheindlin -- TV's "Judge Judy" -- serves on the U.S. Supreme Court, many think we should be aiming higher. Over the past few years, a small but growing number of states have begun requiring students at publicly funded colleges to complete a civics requirement. That comes as polling indicates civics education is wildly popular across the political spectrum. Civics -- the study of citizens' rights and responsibilities -- fosters a sense of unity, advocates say, and an ability to deal with disagreement. It empowers citizens, and many people believe it could help heal America's divides. Having it in higher education means they can look at issue in more sophisticated ways, perhaps weaving it into other classes. |
| Campus Engagement Tip: Creating Forums for Civil Dialogue | |
 | National surveys have highlighted a need for additional guidance and education for college students regarding constructive dialogue and sharing their perspectives on tough questions. In the most recent Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression free speech survey, 17 percent of students said that, at least a couple of times a week, they feel like they cannot express their opinion on a subject because of how other campus community members would respond. An August survey of American college students fielded by North Dakota State University found 30 percent of students are not comfortable talking about controversial topics in class, and a 2023 study from the Constructive Dialogue Institute found 45 percent of students are afraid to express their opinions out of fear of offending their peers. One of the challenges for higher education leaders is creating intentional spaces to teach and deliver information on civil discourse. Inside Higher Ed compiled four examples of how colleges and universities are engaging students in constructive dialogue and free speech education this fall. |
| Colleges Get More Leeway to Handle Research Misconduct | |
| Colleges will have more discretion in how they handle research-misconduct cases under a revised federal rule released Thursday. The final rule, from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity, marks the first change since 2005 to its policy, which covers research funded by the Public Health Service. The final version vastly differs from last year's proposal, which was criticized for giving the government too much oversight. "This final rule has really pared back," said Kate Heffernan, a lawyer who represents colleges and focuses on academic research. "They were very responsive to the feedback that the regulated community gave." Sheila Garrity, director of the Office of Research Integrity, said that as soon as the rule was released, she was flooded with emails and texts from people happy that it looked so different from the proposal. Garrity assumed her role last March after spending much of her career as a research-integrity officer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and George Washington University. "We balanced the needs of our position -- we are a regulatory-oversight agency -- with the needs of the institutions, giving them the discretion to handle certain things," Garrity said. The office received more than 200 comments last year on its proposed policy. Many comments described the proposed changes as being too "formalized" and "burdensome." |
| Education Department Delays Gainful Reporting Requirements Again | |
| Colleges will get more time to report data related to their programs and students' outcomes after the Education Department decided Friday to push back the deadline to submit that information from Oct. 1 to Jan. 15. This is the second time the deadline has moved as colleges have repeatedly sought extensions, saying that delays and issues with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid made it more difficult to comply with the requirements. Last week, a group of 20 senators sent a letter to the Education Department requesting that the agency push the deadline back to July 2025. (The data was initially due July 31 of this year.) Colleges have to report new program-level information about the total cost of attendance and the amount of private education loans disbursed to students, among other data points, under the department's new gainful-employment rule aimed at providing prospective students with more information about whether college programs pay off. The department wants to publish the first round of results next year, in time "to help inform students' college decisions next award year." That plan worries the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. "While NASFAA supports students making well-informed enrollment decisions, rushing the process will lead to inaccurate and incomplete information," NASFAA interim president and CEO Beth Maglione said in a statement. "ED's top priority should be helping students and institutions navigate the existing FAFSA crisis." |
| Will Trump or Harris match record-setting voter turnout of 2020? | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: One of Vice President Kamala Harris' most devastating zingers in last week's debate with former President Donald Trump was when she looked at him and said he "was fired by 81 million people ... Clearly he is having a difficult time processing that." Harris was correct about the 2020 election. That year more people voted against Trump than against any candidate in the history of the nation. On the other hand, Trump is correct when he says he received more votes in that election than any incumbent president in the nation's history. The only problem with that is that in that 2020 election, Joe Biden garnered more votes than any candidate had ever received. Biden defeated Trump by about 7 million votes. Turnout of the eligible voting-age population in 2020 was 66.7% -- the highest since 1900, according to Fair Vote, a national nonprofit promoting various voting reforms. ... The question this election cycle is will people turn out to vote at as high a rate as is in 2020? Will Trump garner as many votes as he did in 2020 -- more than 74 million – the second most in the nation's history? Can Harris in 2024 match what Biden did in 2020 -- more than 81 million votes? |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State vs. Florida tickets: Best prices for Week 4 game | |
| Mississippi State football is at home again this weekend looking to rebound from Saturday's embarrassment. The Bulldogs (1-2) were blown out 41-17 by Toledo (3-0) in Week 3 at Davis Wade Stadium. They now welcome Florida (1-2, 0-1 SEC) to Starkville for their first conference game of the season. Tickets remain on sale for this upcoming Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN). It's Mississippi State's last home game until Oct. 19 when it hosts Texas A&M. The Bulldogs haven't played the Gators since 2018 and are 19-34-2 all time. Coach Billy Napier is in his third season at Florida, though pressure is mounting after the poor start to 2024. Ticket prices for Mississippi State versus Florida begin at $13 in the upper deck on StubHub. Seats in the lower bowl are starting at $38. The Scoreboard Club has availability too. |
| Napier booed as Florida falls to Aggies: 'No excuse' | |
| Backup quarterback Marcel Reed accounted for three touchdowns in his first college start and Texas A&M dominated Florida 33-20 on Saturday in what might have been coach Billy Napier's final game with the Gators. Reed, filling in for injured starter Conner Weigman, threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score as the Aggies won a road game for the first time in nearly three years. Texas A&M (2-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) had dropped 10 straight on the road. This one will go down as a signature win for first-year coach Mike Elko and could end up being Napier's swan song with the Gators (1-2, 0-1). Florida looked inept on both sides of the ball and overmatched for the second time this season in the Swamp. The first one, against Miami, turned up the heat on Napier. The latest one could result in Napier getting the boot. Napier fell to 12-16 at Florida, including 12 losses in his past 15 games against power conference opponents. The low point for Napier might have come at halftime Saturday. As the teams were leaving the field, Napier was shown on big screens for a pre-taped, public service announcement to prevent drinking and driving. Napier was wildly booed during it. He was booed again as he ran into the locker room after a TV interview. |
| Florida football falters on defense vs Texas A&M in SEC opening loss | |
| This time a week ago, Florida's defense spoke with an upbeat tone. The Gators responded from their Miami debacle to smother Samford in a 45-7 win. Tyreak Sapp said the team wanted to show Gator fans that they could put words into action. Against the Bulldogs, that happened. Florida is not an FCS school that plays a schedule full of Samfords. The Gators play where it "just means more." For Florida's defense in its SEC debut Saturday vs Texas A&M, that expression meant more yards, more mistakes and more points. UF allowed 488 yards to the Aggies and 33 points. Since defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong was hired before last season, the Gators have allowed over 450 yards on defense in seven of 15 games. In SEC play, it's even worse. The only game the unit didn't allow more than 380 yards was Vanderbilt last season. Billy Napier said improvement is coming but didn't go into more detail. "I think we struggled getting lined up and executing basic calls, just to be quite honest," Napier said. "I'm trying to solve those problems. It's my responsibility to do that. We're in the process of trying to figure those things out." Saturday proved that until Florida's defense improves, it won't matter who is under center next week at Mississippi State and beyond. |
| No. 20 Bulldogs riding high into SEC schedule | |
| Mississippi State soccer wrapped up it's nonconference schedule on Thursday with a big win at home against Abilene Christian. The Bulldogs shook the rust off early after 11 days off and surpassed their best goal tally this season with a 5-0 thumping of the visiting Wildcats. "I am happy that we had multiple goal scorers today off the bench," Ally Perry said. "We are finally getting the chances and making them count. I am just so proud of everyone." Perry scored two goals herself, joining Rylie Combs, Aitana Martinez-Montoya and McKinnan Braswell on the scoresheet. The Bulldogs scored five in their final exhibition game, a 5-0 win over UL Monroe, and won 4-0 against Northwestern State in the second game of the regular season. The goals were hard to come by in games against Wake Forest, Tennessee Tech and South Alabama despite creating several chances, so seeing the goals go in will be a confidence boost before starting Southeastern Conference play next week. The Bulldogs face a tough road trip to start conference play, traveling to face newcomers Oklahoma next Thursday before a home match against 14th ranked Texas the following Sunday. It's back to business as usual after the game, and back to the training ground to continue preparations for the next challenge. |
| Volleyball: State Wins Green Wave Classic after Sweeping Grambling State | |
| The Mississippi State Bulldogs picked up their third victory in as many days, as they took down the Grambling State Tigers 3-0. A season-high 16 Bulldogs saw action in Sunday's contest, with nine Dawgs picking up kills. Kailin Newsome tallied her sixth game this season with double-digit kills, leading the team with 11. Arissa Smith attacked efficiently, as she picked up seven kills on 11 swings. From the service line, State picked up a season-best seven aces in the three-set contest. Newsome led the way with a season-high four aces, all of which she picked up within the opening set. Other statistical leaders were Erin Kline, who picked up 20 assists, and Mary Neal, who grabbed 11 digs. Amina Shackelford and Sanaa Williams led the team with three total blocks a piece. Shackelford picked up two solos, while Williams picked up two assisted blocks. The Bulldogs will return to the Newell-Grissom Building this week when they take on Southern Miss. The Dawgs and the Golden Eagles will face off on Thursday and Friday. Both matches will be streamed on SECN+. |
| The Hottest New Recruit in College Football Sits Behind a Desk | |
| The most significant move of the college football offseason wasn't a big-name coaching hire or a star quarterback transferring to another school. It was a contract given to a largely unknown member of Alabama's support staff who doesn't devise any schemes, doesn't call any plays and has no direct role in what actually happens during games. Courtney Morgan, the Crimson Tide's general manager, signed a three-year extension in August that will pay him an average annual salary of $825,000, more than some of the program's on-field assistants. The deal is unprecedented for somebody in Morgan's position -- mainly because, until recently, Morgan's position barely even existed. Alabama's investment in Morgan sent a shock wave across the sport and raised eyebrows among many fans who had no idea who Morgan was, why he was so valuable and what a general manager even does. It is also the clearest sign yet of where college football is headed -- and it's somewhere that looks suspiciously like pro football. In the past couple of years, dozens of programs have hired a GM to oversee the construction of their rosters, a task that once belonged primarily to the head coach. In most cases, it was the first time the school had ever used that title. "The administrators in the room don't want to hear it," Ohio State GM Mark Pantoni said, "but the professionalization of the sport is pretty much here." |
| College leaders, attorneys gearing up to 'clarify' but not amend booster language in House-NCAA settlement | |
| Attorneys remain confident that the NCAA's settlement in the House antitrust case will be approved by a California judge after they provide her clarity on key items. Plaintiff attorneys, as well as lawyers for the defendants in the case from the NCAA and power conferences, are gearing up to each file briefs with the court as soon as this week, they told Yahoo Sports. The briefs are expected to address a range of issues that District Judge Claudia Wilken, of the Northern District of California, raised during a preliminary approval hearing in the case on Sept. 5. Though she openly expressed support for the settlement, Wilken ordered the parties to re-examine portions of the case before she would approve the deal. She most notably found "problems" with language in the document that limits third-party compensation to athletes, especially from boosters or booster-led collectives. "The judge had some questions. I think it was actually more of a lack of clarity," said Jeffrey Kessler, one of the lead plaintiff attorneys in the case. "We expect to address those questions and we don't expect it to be a problem for the judge to approve [the settlement] the next time we go back." Language relating to third-party endorsement (NIL) deals is expected to only be "clarified" and not amended or changed in a significant way, several college administrators told Yahoo Sports. Any significant change to language regulating third-party pay is described as a "non-starter" and would likely lead many within the industry to choose trial as an alternative. |
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