| Friday, October 31, 2025 |
| MSU hosts national CAST conference, CEO 'impressed' with university's ag programs | |
 | Mississippi State University opened its labs, fields and research facilities to leaders across the nation in agricultural science and technology this week for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, or CAST, annual conference. Attendees got a firsthand look at autonomous tractors, Unmanned Aircraft Systems in action and advanced manufacturing systems at MSU's Agricultural Autonomy Institute, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center. "What impresses me most about Mississippi State University and the agricultural programs here is that they seem to be a central piece of this campus and a core piece of the academic curriculum," said Chris Boomsma, CEO of CAST. "When I come here to Mississippi State, I see that agriculture and technology are front and center, heavily invested in, and consequently, I think MSU is having a massive influence on the future of ag science and technology." The three-day event highlighted MSU's strength in agricultural engineering and autonomous systems and brought together leaders from nonprofits, academia and private industry. |
| Meridian native takes children on journey to MSU in new book 'Mississippi State From A to Z' | |
 | Mississippi children can learn about Mississippi State University through the alphabet and rhyme though Meridian native Ginny Walker Shurlds' new book "Mississippi State From A to Z." Written and illustrate by Shurlds, the book is written in a sestain rhyme scheme and features colorful pen and ink/watercolor illustrations. Although written with children in mind, alumni and fans will also enjoy reminiscing about familiar and beloved campus sites and traditions. It is available at select local stores throughout Mississippi including The Bulldog Shop in Meridian, and online at msuabcbook.com. A former elementary, gifted, and visual art educator, Shurlds wrote and illustrated the book after her young grandson inspired in her the desire for the next generation to know all about her alma mater. Drawing from her experiences from first visiting the campus as a child and later as a student at Mississippi State, Shurlds has utilized her educational and artistic background to create a memorable book for young Bulldog fans and their families. A book signing with Shurlds is scheduled for noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at Harry Mayer Clothiers on Highway 39. The public is invited to come meet the author and learn about MSU for themselves. |
| MSU alumna serves fresh flavors in new Starkville bakery | |
| With the holidays around the corner, many people are looking for sweets, goodies and more. The Frosted Fork, a bakery recently opened on Aug. 1 in Starkville, covers those desires for a sweet treat or snack with a plethora of options for everyone. When customers first step in the door at The Frosted Fork, they are greeted by sweet, wonderful employees and the usual customers, and they can ponder which of the shop's variety of options to try. Taylor Massey, owner of The Frosted Fork, listed off the many sugary options available, including cupcakes, brownies, Rice Krispies treats, cinnamon rolls, chess squares, lemon squares, cookies, doozies and Oreo balls. Some of Massey's favorite treats are the Rice Krispies treat and the chocolate chip doozy. The doozy features two salted chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese icing in the middle. For those who want something more savory, The Frosted Fork also sells casseroles, garlic biscuits, chicken salad and pasta salad. Massey is not new to the bakery scene or the Starkville area. She is a graduate of both Starkville High School and Mississippi State University. |
| Starkville Fire Department EMT training cuts costs, boosts readiness | |
 | A classroom full of firefighters sat with notebooks, textbooks and coffees in hand Thursday morning inside Fire Station 1 as Sgt. Jeremy Weaver led a lesson on vehicular extrication, the process of safely removing someone trapped inside a vehicle after a crash. The lesson was part of the department's new in-house Emergency Medical Technician training program, which allows firefighters to earn their EMT certification while on shift. By studying at the station, Fire Chief Dewayne Davis said firefighters can pause training to respond to emergency calls. Starkville firefighters are required to earn EMT certification and remain on probationary status until they do, Davis said. They must renew that certification every two years. "We want them to be EMT-certified because most of our calls are medical in nature," Davis said. "... The benefit of them doing it here is that of course they're right here with us, so if an emergency arises and we need them, they can come out of class, help and make that time up." |
| 18,000 in the Golden Triangle set to lose food funds if SNAP goes undisbursed next month | |
| Unless the federal government intervenes, more than 15,000 people in the Golden Triangle are set to lose access Saturday to funds they rely on to buy food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Oct. 24 that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds will not be disbursed in November due to the ongoing government shutdown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent data, about 9,680 residents in Lowndes County were participating in SNAP in 2022. In Oktibbeha County, about 5,104 people were participating, and in Clay County, 3,458 were enrolled in the program. Starkville Strong Executive Director Brandi Herrington said "panic has set in" for families and individuals relying on SNAP, as well as residents who haven't previously been enrolled in the program. "This week, we got our first federal workers that all they needed was food," she said. "Nurses, teachers, everybody is really getting nervous. A couple of people are just reaching out to ask, 'If we need food, which we've never had to before, what's the process like?'" Herrington said Starkville Strong is currently in stockpiling mode, looking for more partners and individuals to donate food for the Second Servings program, which collects surplus food from local restaurants and community events to repurpose for meals. |
| Mississippi senators hear concerns from farmers as state's agriculture industry struggles | |
| Members of the state Senate Agriculture Committee were informed Wednesday that the struggles faced by Mississippi farmers are worsening, affecting not only vegetables but also beef. Agriculture, the state's largest industry that directly or indirectly employs over 11 percent of the state workforce, has been gut-punched by high inflation, falling prices, drought, and declining exports. Now, many farmers are watching what Washington D.C., especially the White House, will do next concerning tariffs as well as President Donald Trump's recent plan to import more beef from Argentina. "Agriculture faces extreme, extreme risk every day," said State Senator Neil Whaley (R), committee chairman. "When you look at the market volatility and the prices that are returned, the cost of reduction is through the roof. If we do not find ways and avenues to utilize our crops locally and domestically, we are going to lose these family farms, therefore losing independent food. And that is a big problem for us." Mississippi farmers are not looking for another round of subsidies. Instead, they would like a fair opportunity to compete on the open market, farming advocates told the committee. After the hearing, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) said, "Some of the things you're hearing talked about, like the utilization of soybean oil and asphalt, the research and some of the developments -- some of which I think are going on by Mississippi State University -- a lot of those will proceed to where we can actually construct a product down here, a factory down here to produce that oil." |
| Mississippi Marketplace: Could feeding soybeans to livestock make up for tariff trade losses? | |
| With tariffs, trade wars and high production costs, Mississippi's farmers have had a volatile year. Wednesday's state Senate Agriculture Committee hearing focused almost exclusively on soybeans and cattle, two of the state's top agricultural products. Soybeans are the state's No. 1 crop, benefitting from easy access to the Mississippi River and New Orleans port. China is the world's largest soybean importer and historically buys about half of all U.S. soybeans. However, since 2016 and the Trump administration's first trade war, China has strategically shifted to buying more Brazilian soybeans. "It's a real dilemma for us in Mississippi and the Delta trying to decide where we go from here with our soybean crop," Duane Dunlap, president of DNS Commodities, told the committee. China did not buy any soybeans from the U.S. this year until Wednesday. On Thursday, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump posted on social media that China would begin buying "massive amounts" of U.S. soybeans. But Dunlap thinks there's also a market opportunity within Mississippi for soybeans. Mississippi's chickens, hogs and catfish all eat soybean meal, but there are no soybean processing facilities in the state. So soybean meal is imported from other states. Dunlap pointed out that Mississippi is the largest soybean-producing state without a processor. He suggested there's an opportunity here to build a plant that could supply Mississippi farmers. |
| American farmers welcome China's promise to buy soybeans, but the deal doesn't solve everything | |
 | American farmers welcomed China's promise to buy some of their soybeans, but they cautioned this won't solve all their problems as they continue to deal with soaring prices for fertilizer, tractors, repair parts and seeds. The Chinese promise to buy at least 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually for next three years will bring their purchases back in line with where they were before President Donald Trump launched his trade war with China in the spring. But the 12 million metric tons that China plans to buy between now and January is only about half the typical annual volume. "This is a very good thing. I'm very grateful," said Iowa farmer Robb Ewoldt, who is a director with the United Soybean Board. "I don't want to sound like a ungrateful farmer, but it doesn't cure everything in the short term." Missouri farmer Bryant Kagay said it's somewhat "crazy" that everyone is getting so excited about this deal when all it does is get farmers back to where they were before this trade war began. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said China also agreed to remove all its retaliatory tariffs on American ag products, which should open the door for sales of other crops and beef. Plus, China promised to resume buying U.S. sorghum, which is another crop largely used for animal feed that depends on that market. More than half the sorghum and soybean crops are exported every year with much of that going to China. |
| Trump administration readies up to $12 billion for initial farm aid payment | |
 | The Trump administration plans to roll out an initial payment of up to $12 billion for farmers hurt by the president's tariff policies once the government shutdown ends, according to three people familiar with the matter. The finalized amount will come on top of President Donald Trump's recently announced truce with China, which could also give some relief to U.S. producers of soybeans, sorghum and meat. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters Thursday that a Market Facilitation Program -- similar to the $28 billion farmer bailout Trump issued during his first-term trade wars -- is "all teed up and good to go." "That's being held up by the shutdown," Hoeven added. Farmers have been grappling with tariff uncertainty, high costs for things like fertilizer and machinery, rising inflation and other economic headwinds as they start to make decisions for next year's planting season. That's added pressure on lawmakers and administration officials who've been working for months to ready some sort of bailout and open new trade markets. USDA and the Office of Management and Budget had previously readied between $12 billion and $13 billion for aid, but officials until recently were still working to finalize how much of that money would be allocated to farmers. The funds are all taxpayer dollars from an internal USDA account. |
| State leaders lay out legislative agendas ahead of 2026 session | |
| State leaders gathered in Jackson Thursday to map out their legislative agenda for the next session, with education reform being at the forefront of their legislative wish list. During the Mississippi Economic Council's Hobnob Mississippi event, elected officials and business leaders told the approximately 300 attendees the Magnolia State is making strides in key areas and should continue in that direction, especially in education. "Our kids are learning more than ever before, and our educational achievement is the talk of America," said Governor Tate Reeves (R), noting Mississippi leads the nation in fourth grade reading and math gains. House Speaker Jason White (R) explained that education freedom will be the House's No. 1 priority during the 2026 session. He said giving students and parents the right to make decisions about education is a "pillar" of the Republican agenda. Surrounding states have school choice; it's time for Mississippi to join them, he said. Businesses will also benefit from education freedom, White told the crowd, adding that the community has a stake in a better-educated Mississippi workforce. Community stakeholders want Mississippi to focus on workforce development, talent retention, and attracting economic development. |
| Mississippi business leaders are briefed on 'hot' economy and looming problems | |
| Mississippi's top politicians told hundreds of business leaders Thursday that economic development and the state's economy are booming, but some also warned about looming meltdowns for agriculture and the state's insurance market. The business leaders mingled and heard politicians speak at the Mississippi Economic Council's annual Hobnob event. MEC is preparing to merge with two other organizations in 2026 to form the Mississippi Business Alliance. Scott Waller, president and CEO of the Economic Council, called the merger "an unprecedented step forward" that will propel the state's business community and economy. "Business drives the future for our state," said John McKay, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association. He will lead the new organization. The state's top politicians, all Republicans, on Thursday spoke about wide range of topics during the casual gathering at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. "No state, and I mean no state, is hotter than Mississippi," Gov. Tate Reeves said. But others leaders offered warnings of major challenges or problems. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson said Mississippi is in the midst of an "agriculture crisis," from high input costs for farmers and global trade wars that have sapped overseas sales of commodities. |
| Rising costs, inflation negatively affecting Mississippians' health, Senate committee told | |
| Various speakers at Wednesday's state Senate Insurance Study Committee told members that negative health outcomes of Mississippians are largely a result of rising insurance costs. State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney gave an overview of Mississippians' health, which he said is resulting in a decline in population due to several factors. Each year since 1950 the state has seen an increase in the number of deaths to the point that Mississippi has a higher mortality rate than the U.S. average. Had the state ranked average in health outcomes over that period, about 280,000 more people could be alive today, Edney said. "And that didn't factor in the fact of babies dying unnecessarily, who did not have a chance to reproduce, not factoring in children dying, young people dying of accidents," Edney added. Taking those factors into account, it would bring the total to more than 300,000 people, basically equating to another congressional district for the state. "The state of the population of Mississippi is artificially low, because our health outcomes are so poor," Edney said. In addition to the mortality rate, Mississippi's birth rate is declining to the point that in 2023 the number of deaths exceeded live births. Edney called on the Legislature to put the same level of focus on health as has been put on education in recent years. |
| Reeves signs order to reestablish Presidential Fitness Test in Mississippi schools | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves has signed an executive order to reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools across Mississippi. The move by the state's top elected official follows a July order issued by President Donald Trump to bring back the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and push for establishing a nationwide set of physical exercises to boost the health of young people. The Presidential Fitness Test began in 1966 but was discontinued by President Barack Obama in 2012. As part of the current administration's "Make America Healthy Again" initiative, officials are pushing the test's return to help combat what they believe to be an obesity epidemic, which has led to a spike in chronic diseases in the U.S. Reeves, parroting the White House's sentiments, contended that Mississippi's youth indulge in unhealthy habits -- spending hours sitting and scrolling on electronic devices and eating junk food -- while neglecting ample physical exercise. As part of the governor's executive order, State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney is tasked with compiling a report that proposes evidence-based strategies and campaigns to address alleged deficiencies in nutrition, diet, and exercise across the state. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans is directed to work with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon on a plan to reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test. |
| Gov. Reeves requests waivers to ban the purchase of unhealthy food using SNAP benefits | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves says he has requested a waiver from the USDA to ban the purchase of "unhealthy processed food and beverages" using SNAP benefits. Reeves is also requesting a waiver "allowing the purchase of hot prepared chicken using SNAP benefits." In a statement on Friday, Reeves says that once the request is approved by the USDA, processed foods that list sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients will be prohibited for purchase using SNAP benefits. This excludes granulated sugar, raw sugar, and other single-ingredient sugars used for cooking and baking. Beverages that list carbonated water and sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients will also be prohibited for purchase using SNAP benefits. Hot prepared chicken will now also be eligible for purchase using SNAP benefits, the statement says. This includes items like rotisserie and non-fried, non-breaded chicken. Due to the government shutdown, SNAP benefits will not be issued on November 1. |
| 2 Mississippi sheriffs and 12 officers charged in drug trafficking bribery scheme | |
| Federal authorities on Thursday announced indictments against 20 people, including 14 current or former Mississippi Delta law enforcement officers, that allege the officers took bribes to provide safe passage to people they believed were drug traffickers. The yearslong investigation swept across multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi and Tennessee. Two Mississippi sheriffs, Washington County Sheriff Milton Gaston and Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams, were among those arrested. Some bribes were as large as $20,000 and $37,000, authorities said at a news conference. "It's just a monumental betrayal of public trust," U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said. The indictments say law enforcement officers provided armed escort services on multiple occasions to an FBI agent posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel. Some of the officers also provided escort services to protect the transportation of drug proceeds. Federal officials said the investigation began when people who had been arrested complained about having to pay bribes to various individuals. Nineteen of the 20 people indicted are also charged with violating federal gun laws. |
| One force is propping up the economy. Now it's getting stronger. | |
 | Despite doubts about a bubble, tech companies are doubling down on artificial intelligence spending, expanding a boom that is powering the stock market at a time of uncertainty. Tech giants including Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft are ramping up their spending, investing billions on infrastructure, including data centers, that will expand their capacity to power AI software. The U.S. stock market rose on Friday following strong results from Apple and Amazon. Amazon shares soared 12 percent after the company reported strong quarterly earnings, including that cloud sales had grown 20 percent to $33.0 billion. The S&P 500 rose nearly 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index advanced nearly 1 percent. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Thursday the company would accelerate its capacity to offer AI services. "AWS is growing at a pace we haven't seen since 2022," Jassy said. "We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure." The revised spending plans mean that Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are set to spend nearly $370 billion this year on construction of data centers, electricity-guzzling facilities packed with powerful computer chips used to create and run AI software such as ChatGPT. The spending spree has fueled concerns among economists and tech leaders that the hopes for huge profits from AI products have created a massive financial bubble. |
| Senate Judiciary Committee has not taken up Mississippi nominees | |
 | A senate committee has cancelled its regular meeting instead of voting on four federal nominations from Mississippi for the second consecutive week. The full U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary has yet to vote on Robert P. Chamberlin and James D. Maxwell, both nominated by President Donald Trump to fill open positions as United States district judges for Mississippi's northern district. The committee has also refused to take up the nominations of Scott Leary and James Kruger, who are Trump's choices for U.S. attorney for the northern and southern districts of Mississippi; respectively. The committee cancelled its Oct. 23 executive business meeting. The four men were the only nominees the committee was to consider that day. The four Mississippians, along with a nominee for U.S. attorney in North Carolina, were the only items on the committee's Oct. 30 executive business meeting, which was also cancelled the day of the meeting. That same five nominations are now on the agenda for the Nov. 6 executive business meeting. The committee gave no explanation why either of the meetings was cancelled. It is not known if it is related to the government shutdown. There are rumors that the delays are political and aimed specifically at Mississippi. |
| House Republicans grow anxious about Speaker Johnson's extended shutdown recess | |
 | House Republicans are growing anxious about how they will make up for lost time after Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) move to keep the House out of session for more than a month during the government shutdown, with leaders starting to brace members for long days when the funding impasse eventually ends. Frustrations with the lack of action in the House spilled out into the open on a House GOP conference call Tuesday, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has previously publicly criticized the recess strategy, again confronted Johnson on how he was handling the shutdown. But the concerns were also raised by members such as Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a source confirmed and Axios previously reported, who questioned how lawmakers will make up for lost time. One House Republican familiar with leadership conversations said members should brace for a jam-packed schedule when the chamber returns -- likening it to "two-a-day" football practices. While the Speaker insists that keeping the House out is not a "strategy" and argues there is nothing else for the House to be working on while the government is shut down, members and staff privately say there is plenty of work that could be done inside the building. |
| Lots of talk but no deal as shutdown heads for the record books | |
 | The partial government shutdown is on track to become the longest in history as the Senate headed home for the weekend Thursday with no funding deal in sight. The lack of action on a stopgap spending measure means the 30-day-old shutdown will continue at least into next week. The record was set in President Donald Trump's first term, when a partial shutdown lasted 35 days, from December 2018 to January 2019, in a fight over funding for a southern border wall. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Thursday that he expects bipartisan talks focused on breaking the logjam to continue into the weekend. But there was still much uncertainty in the Senate as to what kind of off-ramp could earn sufficient support, despite members of both parties reporting an uptick in talks this week. Rank-and-file members have largely reported progress in talks aimed at moving appropriations bills for fiscal 2026 once the government reopens. The pain inflicted by the shutdown will become sharply more acute over the weekend, when funding for food stamps is set to run dry and open enrollment begins for health insurance plans sold on the exchanges created under the Obama administration's health care law. |
| Trump urges Senate Republicans to scrap filibuster rule to end government shutdown | |
 | Following a week of overseas diplomacy, President Donald Trump is reengaging with shutdown discussions by calling for Republicans to dispense with any diplomatic overtures to Democrats and deploy the "nuclear option" of ending the Senate filibuster. The filibuster is the Senate rule that requires 60 votes of its 100 members to pass most legislation. Ditching the filibuster to reopen the government would be a big step for the Senate, one that Senate Majority Leader John Thune previously ruled out, saying the rule is "something that's been a bulwark against a lot of really bad things happening with the country." Trump said in a long social media post on Oct. 30 that he "thought a great deal" about the shutdown on his trip back from Asia and seems keen to break an impasse that has now extended for 31 days, the second longest government closure in history. While he is eager to end the shutdown, the president's call to end the filibuster indicates a reluctance to negotiate with Democrats, who are demanding an extension of health care subsidies be included in any legislation to reopen the government. |
| Trump hosts White House Halloween bash with superheroes and presidential lookalikes amid shutdown | |
| President Donald Trump hosted hundreds of costumed guests -- from superheroes to dinosaurs and even a few children dressed as the first couple -- as part of Thursday night's Halloween celebration at the White House. He and first lady Melania Trump emerged on the South Lawn as evening was starting to fall to an orchestral version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Neither was in costume. Trump wore a blue suit and red tie with a red "USA" cap; his wife was in a brown coat over an orange dress. The couple handed out full-sized Hershey bars and Twizzlers in boxes with the presidential seal to a line of children and their parents that stretched down the driveway. Temporary walls obscured the view of the construction of Trump's new White House ballroom -- which has led to the demolition of the East Wing -- though a parked bulldozer could still be seen hulking on the other side. "It's a long line," Trump said. "It's almost as big as the ballroom." The White House tradition went ahead despite Trump returning mere hours earlier from a six-day Asia trip that took him to Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and amid a government shutdown in its 30th day. |
| Trump Pivots Second Term Toward Foreign Policy | |
 | President Trump wrapped up his six-day swing through Asia by touting trade deals and new investments in the U.S. But as he arrives back in Washington, the gold-plated receptions abroad are giving way to a shuttered government and deepening voter anxiety about the economy. The split screen sheds light on why Trump has turned much of his second-term attention to foreign policy. On the world stage, meetings shift from dreary Washington offices to opulent palaces, deals get announced on a near-daily basis, and Trump engages with smiling foreign ministers, not scowling lawmakers. At home, Trump is grappling with slipping poll numbers, as well as a fight with Democrats that has kept the government closed for a month over surging health-insurance costs for millions of Americans. "Worked really hard, 24/7, took in Trillions of Dollars, and Chuck Schumer said trip was 'a total dud,' even though he knows it was a spectacular success," Trump wrote on social media while traveling back to the White House on Air Force One. "Words like that are almost treasonous!!!" Foreign capitals are also where Trump can fashion himself as a dealmaker and peacemaker -- monikers that he and his advisers hope will define his legacy for decades to come. |
| The American dream feels impossible for many young voters, who see no political fix | |
 | For many young voters, the future doesn't feel quite so bright. Gen Z and millennial Americans are feeling increasingly demoralized about their economic prospects, and some say their concerns have gone unaddressed by elected officials. In communities of all kinds, voters in their 20s and 30s are confronting a financial reality of rising costs, mounting debt and minimal wage growth. But how is this changing their political views? It's a question that NPR put to readers. We received more than 1,100 submissions from across the political spectrum from almost every state in the U.S. Many described a similar reality -- one where economic worries loom large over their everyday lives and erode their faith in the ability of those in power. Taken together, their responses paint a portrait of a generation of voters discouraged by what they see in Washington and who increasingly feel as if they have no political home. t is important to note that the responses are not from a representative sample of all young voters. But what readers shared helps highlight a steep challenge facing Democrats and Republicans alike as they work to win over these voters, who are collectively expected to make up more than half the electorate in 2028. |
| Young adults turn to Quakers' silent worship to offset -- and cope with -- a noisy world | |
| At the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia's Old City, more and more young people are seeking respite from a clamorous technological age in the silent worship of a centuries-old faith. Like other Quaker houses of worship, it follows values of simplicity and equality. There's no clergy, pulpit or altar. No statues of saints, no stained-glass windows. No one sings or chants, burns incense or lights candles. They simply sit in silence in 200-year-old wooden pews -- and wait for a message from God to move through them until they speak. "This feels different in that it's so simple. It's set up in a way that makes you feel like your internal world ... is equally as important as the space that you're in," says Valerie Goodman, a pink-haired artist reading her Bible outside the meeting house on a recent Sunday before going inside. Goodman, 27, grew up Southern Baptist but left the evangelical church in college. "It feels like I can have a minute to breathe. It's different than having a moment of meditation in my apartment because there's still all of the distractions around. ... And it's crazy being in a room full of other people that are all there to experience that themselves." |
| At Ole Miss, J.D. Vance and Erika Kirk draw crowd of 10,000 for Turning Point USA rally | |
 | Nearly 10,000 people packed the Sandy & John Black Pavilion at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday for a rally hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. Vice President J.D. Vance headlined the event, stepping in as the main speaker following the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk last month. Students were prioritized, leaving adults in the general admission line unsure if they'd even make it inside. The event also attracted many of Mississippi's Republican statewide officials, including Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith flew with Vice President Vance to attend. The Ole Miss event is the only stop on TPUSA's "This Is the Turning Point Tour" where Vance is scheduled to appear, and U.S. Rep. Michael Guest said that distinction shows "how important Mississippi is to the conservative movement." Charlie Kirk's widow and Turning Point USA's new CEO, Erika Kirk, called on students to carry Turning Point's campus organizing work forward. "Being on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory," Kirk said. |
| Broadway conductor returns to his roots for concert, Master Class | |
| University of Mississippi alumnus and Broadway musical director William Waldrop joins the UM Opera Theatre and the Lafayette-Oxford-University Symphony Orchestra for a joint concert Monday in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The LOU Side-by-Side Concert is a celebration of music, mentorship and collaboration featuring Waldrop and Tim Oliver, Ole Miss director of bands, as guest conductors. The 7:30 p.m. event is free and open to the public. Leading up to the concert, Waldrop will lead weekend auditions, rehearsals and workshops on campus as an artist-in-residence. Waldrop is a perfect choice to mentor students and help them gain professional skills, said Bradley Robinson, UM professor of music. "During his time here, I watched this fine young man excel as a student, solo pianist, accompanist -- as I engaged him for my church choir – and, of course, as a singing actor on stage as we performed together in opera -- a joy," Robinson said. "His spectacular career comes as no surprise considering the remarkable creativity he showed at a young age. I can think of no better mentor (and role model) for our students than the talented and caring man that is William Waldrop." |
| Southern Miss School of Humanities Offering New Degree in Philosophy, Religion and Law | |
| A new undergraduate degree program at The University of Southern Mississippi offers students critical thinking, writing, and reading comprehension skills while examining contemporary topics related to the human condition. The Philosophy, Religion and Law (PRL) interdisciplinary degree, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences' School of Humanities, provides advanced study in philosophy, world religions and law. Guided degree pathways prepare students for diverse careers, advanced degrees, and the skills and self-awareness needed to lead flourishing lives. These skills include critical thinking, reading comprehension and argumentative writing. PRL majors also examine some of life's most challenging questions about value, society, culture and human history. "The PRL major equips students to pursue a variety of careers and advanced degrees in any field that places a premium on critical thinking, clear writing, judicious deliberation and ethical analysis," said Dr. Paula Smithka, program coordinator. "Such skills are of particular importance in law, management, public relations and communication, policymaking and analysis, education, healthcare-related fields, and civic and religious leadership." |
| Executive search panel gathers campus input on the selection of JSU's next president | |
| Empathy. Of the people. Leadership skills. Career readiness. Growth. Integrity. Enrollment standards. An understanding of a historically black university's culture, students and needs. These were a fraction of the attributes Jackson State University faculty, students, staff and alumni are hoping to see in the next leader of Mississippi's largest HBCU. Kim Bobby is a principal at the executive firm, AGB Search, charged with leading the selection of the university's next leader. She says while there is no "unicorn" candidate, the selection committee is taking all suggestions for the nationwide search into consideration. "We're going to get input from all the stakeholders," she told the attendees at one of the dozen plus listening sessions. "We're going to congeal that into a profile for the search. The profile is the North Star for the Search. It governs everything. It determines what kinds of advertisers we make. Determines all of our recruitment patterns, who we go after, how we vet those candidates." Some JSU community members speaking at the sessions pointed to challenges that a potential leader may face. Several spoke on sinking morale on campus, a need for transparency, and generally, mounting fatigue about the school's frequent presidential changes while hundreds tuned in via a livestream. |
| Jackson State community opens up about what they want to see in their next leader | |
| Akenya Woods, a freshman from Chicago studying sports journalism, doesn't want to transfer from Jackson State University. But, unhealthy living conditions there have left her wondering if she may have to. Woods became sick after mold was discovered in her Alexander Hall dorm room earlier this semester, she said. She took multiple allergy medications for treatment. She filed multiple complaints with administration often getting "the run-around" from university housing officials and staff. But nothing changed, she said. Her parents are worried. "It hurts when I talk about it," Woods said Monday, her voice trembling in the microphone in front of her peers. "I came to college for my career, my education ... not just to complain about things I have to deal with as a student." Woods was among dozens of students, faculty, staff and alumni who packed the seats of a small auditorium at the historically Black university's student center this week to participate in two community listening sessions. The sessions were to gather feedback on the qualifications they hope to see for the university's next president. Many took the opportunity to express grievances to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees and consultants of executive headhunting firm, AGB Search. |
| 15-Year dream comes true: Tombras School of Advertising and PR announce launch of student-run agency | |
| After 15 years of debate, the University of Tennessee's Tombras School has finally announced the launch of a student-run agency. The agency prepares students for careers after graduation by providing them with hands-on experience working with clients and designing strategic communication campaigns. "We could teach you various concepts and theories and all that stuff, but the only way you get to be a good advertising or PR person is by going out there and doing it," Public Relations Professor David Norman, the agency's co-advisor and a nationally recognized crisis communications expert with extensive professional experience, said. The agency will be run and structured exactly like a professional agency. Students will contribute the entire process of client work, including strategy and creative development, implementation and evaluation. Students will gain experience in a diverse range of fields, including public relations, advertising, public affairs, digital marketing, graphic design and professional writing. Students will serve as a managing director, an agency director and a creative director to lead the agency. The student supporting team includes a social media manager, writer, account executive, designer and research and analytics manager. |
| New Mizzou program aims to build a workforce of early education professionals | |
 | To address childcare shortages, Mizzou's Childhood Development Lab launched a new program alongside its reopening Thursday after expansive renovations. The Recruit, Inspire, Support the Early Childhood Profession in Missouri program, or RISE-MO, aims to build a workforce of early education professionals, said Brenda Lohman, the chair of the University of Missouri Department of Human Development and Family Science. RISE-MO intends to improve communities across the state by strengthening the child education field. According to the RISE-MO website, when childcare falls short, parents struggle, businesses lose workers and communities as a whole suffer, which the program aims to prevent by training more childcare and education professionals. Early childhood education programs through RISE-MO can be completed entirely online, and students learn best practices through the Child Development Lab. The lab was recently renovated to add another classroom, enhance observation booths and research rooms, build a new greenhouse and open the Mizzou children's garden, which grows fresh produce. The lab also received new specialty spaces, like a library and sensory zones. |
| Higher Ed Tech Leaders Pursue Consolidation and Savings | |
 | Talk of what's possible with AI permeated conversations this week among the 7,000 attendees at Educause, the sector's leading education-technology conference. But amid the product demos, corporate swag and new feature launches, higher ed's technology and data leaders expressed caution about investing in new tech. They said that budget constraints, economic uncertainty and understaffed technology teams were forcing them to seek a clear return on investment in new tools rather than quick-fix purchases. And as tech leaders look to the coming year, they say the human side of data, cybersecurity and AI will be the focus of their work. Educause researchers at the event announced the 2026 Educause Top 10, a list of key focus areas they compiled based on interviews with leaders, expert panel recommendations and a survey of technology leaders at 450 institutions. The results underline how uncertainty around federal funding, economic instability and political upheaval is making it hard for leaders to plan. Presenting the top 10 in a cavernous ballroom in the Music City conference center, Mark McCormack, senior director of research and insights at Educause, said leaders feel pressure to make smart investments and stay on top of rapid advancements in technology. |
| Colleges Face a Financial Reckoning. The University of Chicago Is Exhibit A. | |
| The school that produced Milton Friedman and 34 other Nobel Prize-winning economists is struggling to manage its pocketbook. The University of Chicago ran budget deficits for 14 years straight, spending big on new labs, dorms and technology to raise its profile and enrollment. Now it's facing a financial reckoning. Over the summer, university leaders said they needed to cut $100 million in expenses. They decided to slow tenure-track hiring, scale back new construction and pause admissions to nearly 20 Ph.D. programs for a year. They've been aggressively fundraising and soft launched a new capital campaign. By the time freshmen arrived in September with their minifridges and extra-long sheets, disgruntled faculty and graduate students had printed up flyers. Families -- many paying $71,000 a year -- were handed a paper that read "UChicago: Spending Your Tuition On Its Mistakes." The university is an acute example of the financial woes plaguing higher education. Even before President Trump's federal funding cuts, many schools were already stretched by years of competitive spending. Their budget struggles are in many cases more than a decade in the making, and it's not just far-flung state universities or D-list private colleges suffering. |
| Higher Ed May Be in Trouble if the Government Is Shut Down for Much Longer | |
 | The higher-education sector has gotten accustomed to preparing for government shutdowns in the past dozen years, even prolonged ones. The immediate impacts are well known: A large number of Education Department employees are furloughed, resulting in limited support and technical assistance. The awarding of new research grants is stalled. While student-aid disbursements and loan-forgiveness plans continue, no one is on hand to process new applications. Temporary funding lapses typically have limited effects on colleges. But what happens if a shutdown persists beyond a few weeks? The result could be lost access to grants and support programs, serious disruptions to research, and potentially problems with financial aid, higher-ed advocates told The Chronicle. As Republicans and Democrats in Congress continue to spar over federal-spending limits and health-insurance subsidies, the gridlock continues. Without a resolution by the end of Tuesday, the shutdown will become the longest ever. "The longer these shutdowns go on, the more acute the problems it causes," said Matt Owens, president of the Council on Governmental Relations. "More institutions are likely to experience lapses in funding as awards and funding increments end with no new awards or funding coming in." |
| Trump's College Czar Has a 'Secret Weapon' to Transform Campuses | |
| Nicholas Kent, the Education Department official who oversees US universities, is largely staying out of the Trump administration's showdown with Harvard and other elite schools. His approach to remaking higher education is less splashy but potentially more sweeping: Overhauling the accreditation system. Colleges count on accreditors, the independent agencies that oversee their financial and academic standards, to approve their eligibility for federal funding. The Education Department has the power to rescind those agencies' government recognition, a move that would effectively put them out of business. President Donald Trump has called the accreditation system a "secret weapon" for forcing changes in academia. And Kent, having spent much of his career focused on this critical piece of higher ed infrastructure, is uniquely well-positioned to wield it. The under secretary of education wants accreditors to enforce standards similar to commitments the White House has sought from elite schools, and pressure them to police campuses on issues like student protest crackdowns and DEI programs. "We can no longer nibble around the edges. We need a reset of the whole system," Kent said in an interview. "You could call it a revolution." By going after accreditation, the vein that connects all universities to their federal funding, Kent can make Trump's policies course through the bloodstream of higher education. |
| Couple of big issues headed our way | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: I attended the dinner banquet at the Country Club of Jackson for the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. It was well attended and well organized. Governor Tate Reeves and House Speaker Jason White were there. The big issue of the night was school choice. Noticeably absent was Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann, who is not a big fan of expanding school choice to private schools. Get ready for school choice to be a big and divisive issue in Mississippi for the upcoming year. It's a big deal and brings to the fore significant competing political ideologies of Mississippi voters. To some extent, school choice supporters are idealistic compared to the pragmatism of those who oppose. The devil's in the details and there's no doubt dozens of problematic pitfalls involved with the implementation of maximum school choice. Count me as one of the conservative ideologues. I'm for school choice because I believe in competition. I am profoundly anti-monopoly. But I will readily confess implementation will be a bear. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Taking Its Campus Live Music Scene To The Next Level Through Peachtree Entertainment Partnership | |
| Mississippi State Athletics and Peachtree Entertainment have announced a multi-year partnership to program live music experiences at Humphrey Coliseum and Davis Wade Stadium. Humphrey Coliseum has a robust history spanning all types of musical genres including Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Huey Lewis and the News, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Chicago, Garth Brooks, The Allman Brothers Band, Tim McGraw, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, The Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, O.A.R., and Jack White among many other performers. "Humphrey Coliseum was synonymous with live music until roughly ten years ago," MSU Director of Athletics Zac Selmon said. "This is something we've been working on for a while, and we identified Nathan and his team at Peachtree as the right partners to bring concerts back to Mississippi State University. It's important that we do our part in bringing economic impact to the city of Starkville while also providing memorable experiences for our student body. For this to line up with the 50th anniversary of Humphrey Coliseum's opening is even more special." |
| Concerts return to Mississippi State with multi-year deal | |
 | Mississippi State Athletics announced a multi-year partnership with Peachtree Entertainment to program live music experiences at Humphrey Coliseum and Davis Wade Stadium. "Humphrey Coliseum was synonymous with live music until roughly 10 years ago," MSU Director of Athletics Zac Selmon said. "This is something we've been working on for a while, and we identified Nathan and his team at Peachtree as the right partners to bring concerts back to Mississippi State University (MSU). It's important that we do our part in bringing economic impact to the city of Starkville while also providing memorable experiences for our student body. For this to line up with the 50TH anniversary of Humphrey Coliseum's opening is even more special." Live entertainment at Humphrey Coliseum is expected to start in spring 2026 with a projected five to six shows annually including national recording artists, comedy acts, and family entertainment. |
| What to watch for: Mississippi State at Arkansas | |
| There won't be any mirrors at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium on Saturday, but both Mississippi State and Arkansas will look across the field and see a team that has experienced the same misery and mayhem to match their own respective SEC journeys thus far. The Bulldogs (4-4, 0-4 SEC) lost heartbreakingly yet again last week, seeing a 17-point lead dissolve in roughly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter against Texas. Head coach Jeff Lebby, still looking for his first SEC win and the program's first SEC win since 2023, leads his team into hostile territory again this week, facing a team that knows all too well what the Bulldogs have experienced this season. Arkansas (2-6, 0-4 SEC) has struggled despite its high-scoring offense, which is loaded with playmakers. The start to the season was so poor that head coach Sam Pittman was dismissed midseason, and the keys to the motorcycle were handed to former head coach Bobby Petrino. The Razorbacks are led by one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football, Taylen Green, and average 490.9 yards of offense per game. They also have one of the best rushing attacks in FBS this season, averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground, but have been plagued by turnovers in key moments. Eight interceptions and nine fumbles, with seven lost, have made for some heartbreaking losses, akin to what MSU is experiencing this season. |
| Arkansas, Mississippi State coaches have yet to meet | |
| University of Arkansas interim Coach Bobby Petrino and second-year Mississippi State Coach Jeff Lebby don't know each other personally, but their reputations precede both of them. "I don't know him at all," Petrino said Monday. "I don't think I've ever met him." Added Lebby when asked about interactions with Petrino, "No, I do not have a relationship with him personally." But Petrino, 64, said he knows about Lebby's lineage as an offensive lineman at Oklahoma who learned under Art Briles at Baylor, Josh Heupel at Central Florida and Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss before going back to Oklahoma in 2022. "I obviously know of him and know where he's been and where he's coached and the schemes that he grew up in," Petrino said. "So a lot of times you feel like you know guys because you know who they are and know what they do. I'm not sure if I've ever shook his hand and said hello to him." Lebby, 41, got his first offensive coordinator's job at Central Florida in 2019, then moved on to have two seasons with Kiffin at Ole Miss (2020-21) and two at Oklahoma with Brent Venables (2022-23) before landing his first heading coaching job. Lebby said he is also aware of Petrino's long-standing history of tutoring productive offenses. |
| Men's Basketball: Hubbard Captures Consensus Preseason All-SEC First-Team Honors | |
| Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard added Preseason All-SEC First-Team honors by the league's coaches announced Thursday. The Bulldogs have had a consensus All-SEC First-Team selection by the coaches and media in two of the last three seasons under Chris Jans. Tolu Smith III, now playing for the NBA's Detroit Pistons, earned the distinction in 2023-24. As a program, State has had at least one player garner All-SEC Preseason First-Team honors from the coaches in eight of the last 10 seasons since 2016-17. In six days, State takes on North Alabama (Nov. 5 – 8 p.m. CT – SEC Network) for its 2025-26 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum and officially embark on the program's fourth season under Jans, who has guided State to three consecutive NCAA Tournament trips. Hubbard and Erick Dampier are the only State players to earn All-SEC honors during their freshmen and sophomore seasons. |
| Josh Hubbard, Make-A-Wish announce 'Buckets for Wishes' partnership | |
| Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard is used to being the center of attention on the floor of Humphrey Coliseum, but on Wednesday, he sat and listened. Hubbard listened to heartfelt stories from mothers Chelsie Davis and Lacey Rice about the experience of parenting their children through life-threatening illness. "Our motto through this whole thing is we take it day by day," Chelsie said. Chelsie and her husband, Hayden Davis, were there with their daughters, Delta and Dani. Delta, who recently celebrated her fifth birthday, has battled Leukemia since she was three years old. She is one of many area kids hoping to have a wish fulfilled by the organization to take a trip to Disney World, and someone Hubbard hopes to help with his initiative this season. Hubbard joins a new tradition of MSU athletes, following in the footsteps of former quarterback Will Rogers and former slugger Hunter Hines, who made similar pledges to help raise donations through touchdowns and home runs, respectively. Every three-pointer Hubbard hits during the 2025-26 season will lead to donations pledged to Make-A-Wish that will help fund trips for Mississippi children battling diseases. |
| Soccer: Midfielder Of The Year Perry Headlines Four All-SEC Selections | |
| For the second year in a row, the SEC Midfielder of the Year resides in Starkville. Mississippi State's Ally Perry brought home the award along with First Team All-SEC recognition as one of four Bulldogs to earn all-conference honors. Along with Perry, Zoe Main and Hannah Jibril earned Third Team honors, and Adia Symmonds was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Mississippi State is just the second team to win back-to-back Midfielder of the Year awards, joining Texas A&M in 2019-20. Macey Hodge claimed the title last season. State's four selections are second only to last year's nine for the most in program history. Prior to 2024, the school record was three selections in 2021 and 2017. Mississippi State will open the SEC Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m. CT against Oklahoma. The match will air live on the SEC Network. |
| With a push from his wife, Winfield leading Bulldog Initiative | |
| It was a soul-jarring wakeup call that led directly to Charlie Winfield making a bold move. Just moments after a Mississippi State basketball loss in 2023, Winfield, a passionate Bulldog since birth, hurled his cell phone across the room at the fireplace in his den. Then it was the words from his wife Jennifer that made Winfield decide to quit talking and start doing. "We had lost by like 10 points on the road in basketball," Winfield recalls, "and I said, 'we're never going to win unless somebody does something.' And my wife looked at me and says, 'well, what have you done.'" It was the wakeup call he needed. So the next morning, Winfield began the process of putting together and running the Bulldog Initiative, LLC -- which supports Mississippi State athletes by assisting them in monetizing their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights. "A lot of people thought that NIL was just going to mean that we were helping with endorsement deals. They thought it was gonna be somebody doing a deal with a local business or somebody doing a deal with maybe even a national business," said the Starkville attorney. "But it pretty quickly changed and became a thing all around the country." |
| Women's ultimate frisbee tournament set for Columbus weekend debut | |
| Dawson Archer is all about growing the sport of ultimate frisbee in Mississippi, and this weekend he's hosting an event he hopes will be the start of something special in a state he calls a "frisbee desert." It's why this year he turned Golden Triangle Ultimate from a frisbee club into an organization that seeks to grow the sport in the Magnolia State through tournaments and partnerships with other clubs. Golden Triangle Ultimate and Archer, its founder and president of its board of directors, are set to debut the Magnolia Classic, a women's-only ultimate frisbee tournament, on Saturday and Sunday at the Roger Short Soccer Complex. The tournament will feature all women's teams from five different colleges in the Southeast region. Action on Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and finishes up on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendance is free for spectators. To Archer, it's all about opportunity. In a state where ultimate frisbee doesn't get a lot of attention, women in the sport have even less chances to play, he said. Berry College of Georgia, Jacksonville State University and UAB of Alabama, Union University of Tennessee and Mississippi State University are all competing in the event. Teams are playing for "bragging rights" but will also all be sent home with some gear and treats from event sponsors. |
| LSU and AD Scott Woodward part ways following Gov. Jeff Landry's critical comments | |
 | LSU and athletic director Scott Woodward finalized his separation from the school Thursday night, one day after Gov. Jeff Landry said Woodward would not be the one to hire the replacement for coach Brian Kelly. LSU confirmed that Woodward and the school agreed to part ways effective immediately. Longtime LSU athletic official Verge Ausberry will serve as the interim athletic director as the school nears the end of its search for a new president and looks for a new head football coach. With four years left on his contract, Woodward is owed a buyout of roughly $6.7 million. LSU is expected to comply with the terms of his deal, according to Yahoo Sports. Woodward's buyout would be paid out into 2029 and could be offset by the salary at his next job. According to the contract, Woodward has a duty to find another athletic director job or a similar position. The decision had been expected, especially after Landry criticized Woodward for what he described as a "pattern" of bad coaching contracts. Woodward, a Baton Rouge native, had been the athletic director at his alma mater since 2019 after stints at Texas A&M and Washington. |
| The sordid tale of LSU football, the Louisiana governor and a yearslong feud | |
| They say history has a way of repeating itself. Shrug all you want at this overused phrase. But there's plenty of documented evidence to prove this life of ours is nothing but a circle. Round and round we go. This week, in south Louisiana, where the state's key political figures have been for decades uncomfortably intertwined with the state's flagship football program, history is on replay. By now, you've either heard about or seen the news conference of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry publicly eviscerating, at the time, the sitting athletic director of Louisiana State University. The entire scene seemed carved from a skit, ripped from the pages of some sort of Louisiana comic book: the guvnah, flanked by his lieutenants in the hall of Louisiana's capitol building, his words coated in a fiery Cajun twang, berating one of the state's most prominent public employees who, as of that point, remained employed. If you wish to know how the college sports world received this public verbal flogging, look no further than the text messages and phone calls that flooded to this writer from noteworthy folks within the industry. They were left amazed, shell-shocked and in real, honest-to-God disbelief. Is this fake? It's all too real. |
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