| Monday, February 2, 2026 |
| MSU's College of Education receives Mississippi Science of Reading designation | |
 | Mississippi State University's College of Education is celebrating its designation as a Mississippi Emerging Science of Reading Educator Preparation Program by the Mississippi Department of Education. The recognition is for colleges and universities that have trained professors and teacher candidates in the science of reading, exemplified a change of instructional practices, and are ensuring graduates enter a classroom ready to instruct students in structured literacy practices. MSU is among four Institutions of Higher Learning to receive science of reading designations for the 2025-26 academic year. To be considered for the prestigious designation, university faculty must demonstrate their science of reading expertise and engagement, including research, presentations, professional development, preservice teacher professional development and community partnerships. "All students in Mississippi deserve strong reading instruction, and that starts with a well-prepared teacher workforce," said Kristin Javorsky, MSU endowed professor of elementary education. "We are honored to receive this award recognizing our faculty's commitment to emphasizing reading research and current best practices in our undergraduate and graduate programs of study." |
| Wicker Applauds Passage of Appropriations Bills | |
| U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., highlighted the Mississippi wins in the appropriations package, that includes appropriation bills for Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Financial Services. "This is how Congress should operate, passing federal spending bills through the appropriations process. I am pleased that the Senate has embraced regular order. I look forward to the ways this legislation will help Mississippi's needs and will support job creators and local governments," said Senator Wicker. Mississippi initiatives funded in this appropriations package include: $3 million for the Security Work Readiness Duty (SWoRD) Program: This funding will support work at future facilities near Keesler Air Force Base and Columbus Air Force Base. These centers would serve as practical training environments for military cyber personnel and Mississippi State University students while simultaneously supporting small businesses and local governments with cybersecurity monitoring. |
| Hyde-Smith Says Senate-Passed Bill Includes Boost for Mississippi Health, Education and Job Training Projects | |
| U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) on Friday outlined resources in the FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Bill that will promote maternal health, education, and job training in Mississippi. Significantly, the bill includes language requested by Hyde-Smith, U.S. Representative Michael Guest (R-Miss.), and others that is vital to the future of the Franklin County Hospital. The following are additional examples of projects Hyde-Smith worked on for Mississippi in the FY2026 Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill: $5.3 million for Advancements in Manufacturing Upskilling Program, Mississippi State University and $500,000 for Workforce Training Field School, Mississippi Department of Archives and History. |
| Hyde-Smith Welcomes Senate Passage of 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill with Funding for Mississippi | |
| U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) welcomed Senate passage of the FY2026 Defense Appropriations Bill, which includes funding she worked to secure to support national security activities conducted in Mississippi. For Mississippi, the following are among the highlights in the Senate FY2026 Defense Appropriations Bill: Research, Development, and Innovation: Mississippi is at the forefront of innovation and national security, with its universities and companies playing a pivotal role in research and development for the Department of Defense. From the shipyards of the Gulf Coast to advanced research facilities in North Mississippi, the Magnolia State is at the forefront of cutting-edge defense innovation. The bill includes funding to support research and development activities conducted at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Jackson State University. |
| Contraction continues in the cattle industry | |
| An ag economist says there's still no signs of expansion in the cattle herd. Josh Maples with Mississippi State University Extension says 2025 was another year of contraction. "This is the seventh consecutive year of declines," he says. "This is our smallest total since 1951. We said that last year because that was true of last year's report and now this number is lower than last year's." The estimated number of beef cows on January 1 was a percent below 2025. He tells Brownfield that was one of the few surprises in the report. "Beef cow slaughter totals were down pretty sharply in 2025," he says. "That stat alone kind of led us to think that the total beef cow number as we came into 2026 would either be pretty much unchanged from a year ago or maybe even slightly higher than a year ago." Heifers held back for beef cow replacements did increase almost a percent from the previous year. But, Maples says this is not a sign of expansion. "The number is still too low of a actual number of heifers to be a clear signal of expansion," he says. "Even though it's higher than a year ago." |
| 3 things to know about Kevin Warsh, Trump's nod for Fed chair | |
| Mississippi State University's Brian Blank and a colleague write for The Conversation: After months of speculation, President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh on Jan. 30, 2026, to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve. If confirmed by Congress, Warsh will inherit leadership of the U.S. central bank at a delicate time. For months, current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has come under attack from the Trump administration for failing to heed the president's call for lower interest rates. The fight has put into question the central bank's independence and its role in stewarding the economy. Powell's term as chair will end in mid-May, leaving his successor to navigate an economy that has improved on some fronts but remains uneven and uncertain. But what should America expect from the next Fed chair? Here are three things to note about Trump's nominee. |
| Black History Month events planned across Golden Triangle | |
 | Black History Month is observed each February to recognize and celebrate the achievements, contributions and history of Black Americans. The observance grew out of Negro History Week, established in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson, and was expanded to a monthlong national commemoration in 1976. Communities across the country mark the month with educational programs, exhibits, performances and community gatherings focused on culture, history and civic impact. Cities across the Golden Triangle will host a wide range of Black History Month events this year, including art exhibits, concerts, lectures, book talks and student programs. Starkville will host educational exhibits and live cultural programming throughout the month. The Starkville Public Library, 326 University Drive, will present "Roots, Resilience & Legacy: An America 250 Education Tour" at 4 p.m. Feb. 12. Cultural educator and artist Kayla Marie Gilmore will offer a moving tribute through dance, spoken word and story, highlighting African American contributions to the nation as it approaches its 250th anniversary. The event is free, though seating is limited. For more information, contact the library at starkvillelibrary@gmail.com. Mississippi State University's Colvard Student Union Art Gallery will host the traveling exhibit "A More Perfect Union: Mississippi Founders" through Feb. 20. The Mississippi Humanities Council exhibit highlights 12 Mississippians who fought to extend full citizenship rights to all people. Admission is free. |
| What the law requires as Oktibbeha weighs millions in OCH funds | |
| Millions from the sale of OCH Regional Medical Center could shape Oktibbeha County's future, but a set of legal and ethical guidelines will determine how supervisors manage the funds. While the board remains divided over whether to place the estimated $55 million to $58 million into a long‑term trust or spend some of the money on immediate needs, officials have already begun drafting legislation that would allow the county to invest beyond the strict limits imposed by state law and establish a structure for long‑term growth. Lowndes County took a similar path after its hospital sale, establishing a reserve and trust fund in 2013. The initial $30 million investment there has grown to about $40 million with nearly $10 million having been withdrawn for capital improvements. If Oktibbeha County follows suit, supervisors and trustees would be bound by a set of legal and ethical obligations designed to protect public funds, the first of which is the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, said Don Fruge Jr., who serves as legal counsel for the Oxford and Lafayette County reserve and trust funds. "It establishes that basically the default rule is being a prudent investor," Fruge told The Dispatch on Wednesday. "That's kind of where you start off, and then there's standards of care as an investment steward or committee." Under the act, trustees are expected to look at the fund as a whole, balancing risks and returns to meet long‑term objectives rather than chasing individual gains. |
| John Grisham Details the Routine That Has Churned Out Bestsellers for 40 Years | |
 | There are people with habits, and then there is John Grisham. He goes to his office on his central Virginia farm at 7 a.m., fueled by the same brand of coffee, and writes until 11 a.m., five days a week. It's a routine he started four decades ago as a young lawyer, writing before his actual workday began. Grisham, now 70 years old, still finds the morning hours his most productive. That steadfast routine has yielded a literary empire. Grisham's books have sold nearly 500 million copies globally, his agent says. All 52 titles -- including his 1991 breakout hit "The Firm," "The Pelican Brief" and "The Rainmaker," as well as a children's series -- have been No. 1 bestsellers. His latest is "The Widow," a mystery featuring Simon Latch, a small-town lawyer with questionable morals and a gambling habit who is accused of murdering a wealthy woman. The book business is vastly different from when Grisham's debut novel "A Time to Kill" published in 1989, five years before the founding of Amazon. Grisham elevated the legal thriller genre and the idea that good writers could put out new titles every year. Book stores counted on his consistent releases for a predictable revenue boost. "Every mall had a Waldenbooks at one end and a B. Dalton at the other," said Grisham. "When a new book from Robert Ludlum or Michael Crichton came out there would be a pallet of books in the front that sold like candy. Now people are reading less as a culture. It's disturbing." Forty years ago, Grisham was a lawyer and state legislator in Mississippi with an idea for a story about a racially charged murder trial, seen through the eyes of a young, idealistic attorney like himself. |
| Fear and Anger Grow as Thousands Remain Without Power in the South | |
 | The flurries, for a brief time, fell again on Sunday. The snow landed on piles of jagged branches and sawed stumps, tangled power lines and the tens of thousands of people who have now gone a week without power or heat after a widespread ice storm knocked out power lines across the region. By Sunday, the weeklong paralysis from the storm across Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana had given way to weariness, anger and fear about how much longer thousands would be struggling to stay warm and fed without power. At least three dozen people have died across the three states in connection with the storm, officials have said. Hurricanes and tornadoes, particularly in the South, often cause prolonged power outages, and residents are accustomed to going days without electricity. But it is rare to experience a loss of power during a sustained stretch of ice and freezing temperatures, with cold so fierce that it has left hundreds of workers struggling to navigate icy roads as they try to fix the electrical system. Gov. Tate Reeves, Republican of Mississippi, said that he had extended the deployment of nearly 700 National Guard troops for another week, and that 1,200 residents were in nearly 90 warming shelters and centers across the state. |
| Mississippi Forestry Commission supports winter storm recovery, begins damage assessments | |
| The Mississippi Forestry Commission is assisting counties affected by the recent winter storm and will begin evaluating tree damage across the Magnolia State. According to officials, MFC has deployed dozers and saw crews, totaling 37 personnel, as part of its response efforts supporting the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. These crews are providing road-clearing assistance in Tippah County, Holmes County, and Carroll County, officials added. "The Mississippi Forestry Commission stands ready to assist our local partners during significant weather events," Randy Giachelli, MFC's Fire Chief, said in a statement. "Our crews are doing our best to help communities recover safely." MFC officials said the agency plans to conduct both aerial surveys and on-the-ground evaluations in order to determine the extent of the damage caused by the winter storm on Mississippi's forests. Not only does ice accumulation on trees -- causing limbs or entire trees to break and fall -- pose a serious threat to public safety, but it also increases the amount of debris and can even elevate wildfire risks when the weather conditions dry out. "Studying the impact of this ice storm is critical to understanding both the immediate damage and the long-term effects on Mississippi's forests," stated Garron Hicks, MFC Assistant Forest Management Chief. |
| Property tax deadline extended for Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay residents | |
| With parts of the state still recovering from Winter Storm Fern, Mississippi is extending the deadline to pay ad valorem taxes on real and personal property for some residents, including those in Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. Gov. Tate Reeves signed a proclamation Thursday extending the deadline from Sunday to March 3 for 49 counties impacted by the storm. Though the Golden Triangle saw little impact from the storm compared to other counties, Lowndes County Tax Assessor Greg Andrews said it will be a benefit for residents, especially those in northern counties. "People have got to have food and water," he said. "They're not worried about taxes right now, and you can see that in some counties." Andrews said he doesn't expect many Lowndes County taxpayers to take advantage of it. Oktibbeha County Tax Assessor JoHelen Walker echoed the same sentiment, telling The Dispatch residents have lined up over the past week to get their payment out of the way. That being said, she hopes residents who need it take advantage of the extension. Both Walker and Andrews said they were working Friday on getting the word out to residents. |
| Elon Musk sending more than 500 generators to Tippah County amid continued outages | |
| Elon Musk is sending more than 500 generators to Tippah County as the northeastern Mississippi county continues to suffer from widespread power outages stemming from last weekend's winter storm, Mississippi Development Authority executive director Bill Cork confirmed Monday morning. Cork, who recently helped broker a $20 billion-plus deal with Musk's xAI in Southaven, said Musk's team has been working with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to ensure the generators are delivered. "They have a tremendous heart, really. In fact, I was on the phone yesterday with the company representatives in Southaven, [and] Elon Musk is donating over 500 generators to support the recovery effort," Cork said on Mornings with Richard Cross. Residents of Tippah County, where over 8,300 outages remained as of Monday morning, were warned on Jan. 25 -- hours after the storm moved out -- that restoring electricity would be a lengthy process. Tippah Electric Power Association, an electric cooperative that partners with the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide power to most of the county's homes and businesses, said the local electric system sustained "catastrophic damage" from the icy precipitation. |
| Public Safety Commissioner details response to winter storm that paralyzed North Mississippi | |
| Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said Mississippi Highway Patrol officers rescued stranded motorists and cleared roadways after a massive winter storm brought ice and freezing temperatures to the northern part of the state this past week. The storm created widespread traffic jams on Interstate 55 and Interstate 22 as trucks jackknifed and cars crashed on icy roads. Highway Patrol prioritized removing personal vehicles from interstates because occupants faced hypothermia risks in temperatures in the low 20s and teens. "Our primary focus at night became making sure that we got personal vehicles off of the interstate because most of the commercial trucks have the ability to stay overnight a little bit longer," Tindell said. "But the personal vehicles when they ran out of gas and it's in the low 20s, maybe teens, those people are very much subject to being at risk of hypothermia and even death if they stay out there." The storm brought repeated freeze-thaw cycles that caused trees to fall and block roadways. "You had trees in the roadways because there was so much condensation. Then you had the freezing weather. Then it would melt, and then it would freeze again," Tindell said. "And so trees were falling, conditions got worse, power went out." Power outages also affected thousands across northern Mississippi. |
| COVER STORY: Data Center Boom Comes to Mississippi | |
| Mississippi rewrote the rulebook for large-scale data center site selection. Gone are the days when these big-budget computational giants clustered only in established hubs in large metro areas. Today, the largest data centers in the world scour the planet for these primary assets: access to massive amounts of power; ready-to-develop sites that are fully assembled and entitled; access to fiber optic trunk lines that have redundant capacity and state-of-the-art functionality; willing and supportive partners at every level of government and public utility infrastructure; and a favorable business climate that treats private investment capital well and rewards patience. Mississippi provides all of this and more. Two gargantuan data center projects prove it. In the span of just 12 months, the Magnolia State landed its two largest capital investment projects in history: a $10 billion data center investment by Amazon Web Services in Madison County in January 2024; and a $10 billion data center commitment by Compass Datacenters in Lauderdale County in January 2025. “The Meridian Community College Workforce Development Center has the ability to customize worker training for individual companies,” Craig Hitt, community development director for the City of Meridian, says. “With a great school system, a branch campus for Mississippi State University and Meridian Community College, we are a great place for businesses to locate and to bring their employees to live, work and grow. We see our region as a quiet gold mine.” |
| Mississippi lawmakers push nuclear power expansion legislation | |
| Mississippi lawmakers are pushing for the state to incentivize nuclear energy production, as increasing such production becomes a surprisingly bipartisan issue nationwide. Over the past fifteen years, Democratic and Republican presidents have pushed to increase the U.S.'s nuclear capacity by keeping existing plants operating and investing in new ones. Mississippi legislators have proposed two bills that would incentivize nuclear development and growth through the Mississippi Development Authority. Senate Bill 2185 authored by Sen. Joel Carter, a Republican from Gulfport, would provide up to $10 million to defray nuclear development costs in the coming fiscal year. House bill 697 by Rep. Jody Steverson, a Republican from Ripley, would create a special fund for nuclear site development grants. "We need to provide multiple areas to increase the capacity of the grid," said Carter. There is a growing demand for power across Mississippi and the country. McKinsey and Company consulting firm expects U.S. power demand to grow up to 3.5% a year over the next 40 years. The need for power is especially pressing with multiple energy intensive artificial intelligence data centers coming on line soon in Mississippi and across the South, and potentially more coming. And nuclear plants generate massive amounts of power. |
| These Rural Americans Are Trying to Hold Back the Tide of AI | |
| Howell Township, a conservative farming area in Michigan, is known for being friendly to businesses. But when a developer proposed converting 1,000 acres of farmland into a massive data center for training artificial-intelligence models last year, the community fought back. The planning commission and county planning commission eventually voted not to advance the project, a potential $1 billion site for Facebook parent Meta Platforms, and the developer recently withdrew its request after Howell Township put a moratorium on new data-center development. "I assumed Republicans would be for this: business, deregulation," said Breanne Green, a community organizer who helped start one of the first Facebook groups there opposing the project. "That just evaporated." The battle is part of a nationwide resistance to the AI boom, challenging President Trump and others who have embraced the technology. Fearing rising utility costs, job losses and privacy violations, locals blocked or delayed about 20 projects around the country representing nearly $100 billion in combined investment in the second quarter of last year, according to Data Center Watch, a research firm tracking the fights. Many of them belong to tech giants including Meta and Amazon.com, fueling battles from Indiana to Oklahoma. Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) has also criticized AI companies. "People [are] being subjected to rolling brownouts, because the Silicon Valley data center that is now plumped down in rural Missouri is sucking up all the energy," Hawley said recently. "That's outrageous." |
| Banks Using AI to Automate Routine Work | |
| Manav Misra, Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Regions Bank, said AI helps people and businesses streamline, increase efficiency and grow. Banks are no exception. "At Regions, we have focused on building software products powered by Machine Learning and traditional AI (which we call data products) to solve key challenges that help our associates enhance how we serve clients with greater precision, better forecasting and enhanced support," said Misra, who is responsible for overseeing the company's data strategy and enterprise data governance. Misra said money is moving faster today than ever before, and AI can help banks continually enhance how they work with clients. He said efficiency in operations, faster information processing and translation, and forecast precision in challenges and opportunities, etc., are all key benefits to using AI in financial services. Matt Mayo, Chief Banking Officer with Community Bank, based in Flowood, said one reason AI is vital to banking is that primary vendors are embedding it within key operating systems, so banks won't be able to avoid it. However, said Mayo, if banks proactively start leveraging new AI tools, it will result in better experiences for customers and staff, help defend against fraud and improve operational processes freeing time for our humans to do what the computers can't -- build in-person relationships. |
| Diaz: Vicksburg's transformation fueled by $4.6B in new investments | |
| Vicksburg and Warren County are in the midst of what Pablo Diaz, president and CEO of the Vicksburg Warren Partnership, describes as a transformation fueled by years of planning, investment, and community partnership. Speaking to the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Diaz said the meeting was meant to highlight the community's progress and the role members play in shaping its future. "After years of preparation, investments, and hard work, our community rose to the top of the economic development charts in the state of Mississippi, as this community announced more than $4.6 billion in new investments and hundreds of high-paying jobs for our citizens," Diaz said. Diaz said the recently announced Amazon Web Services data center in Warren County is "the largest investment in our community's history," and the exact location is expected to be announced soon. Diaz said construction will begin on the new port in 2026, starting with the main entrance road. He said efforts are already underway to attract companies in targeted sectors, including steel, aluminum, forestry, and chemicals, with the goal of securing a first tenant to accelerate full site development. |
| Tribe begins construction on Workforce Training Center | |
| The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has begun construction of a new Workforce Training Center that will include more than 37,000 square feet of space for vocational and technical job training. The Center is expected to open in December of 2026. Funding for the Workforce Training Center was provided by a $5.8 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration. The Center will include spaces for classrooms, computer labs, flex labs, offices, an exhibit hall, a small business incubator, and a maker space. "Workforce development is a primary focus for our Tribe," said Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben. "We have undertaken many projects to help our community members prepare to face a challenging and ever-evolving job market. This Workforce Training Center is a key component of our strategy to increase the skills of our Tribal community, whether choosing a career on or outside of our Tribal lands." "We have a long-term plan to achieve our goals in the workforce development arena," said Economic Development Director John Hendrix. "This facility will greatly enhance our efforts to provide instruction in a variety of areas, specifically vocational HVAC and Electrical certifications, computer digital skills, healthcare, and management training." |
| Genuine MS program offers free one-year memberships through Farm Credit partnership | |
| Mississippi farmers, artisans and small business owners can join the state's Genuine MS program at no cost for a year through a new partnership with First South Farm Credit. The financial cooperative announced it will cover the cost of one-year memberships for new applicants who enroll in the Genuine MS program by March 31, helping more producers and makers promote Mississippi-grown and Mississippi-made products. Genuine MS is a branding program through the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce that highlights products grown, raised or crafted in the state. Members can use the Genuine MS logo and participate in statewide marketing and promotional efforts. Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson said the partnership expands access to the program for small businesses and producers. "This partnership with First South Farm Credit helps Mississippi producers and small businesses who want to promote their products under the Genuine MS brand," Gipson said. "We are grateful for the investment in our farmers and businesses by creating new opportunities for growth within our state branding program." |
| Campaign finance reports give voters a glimpse into who's jockeying for higher office in 2027 | |
| This time next year, all eyes will be on who is running for what state office in Mississippi. Campaign finance reports filed last week, and the related messaging from current officeholders, give voters a glimpse into who will be jockeying for higher office. Governor Tate Reeves (R) and Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) are term limited, meaning the top two seats in Mississippi state government will be up for grabs next year. There is no shortage of Republicans rumored to be considering a run for both, which could leave open seats down ticket as well. Lt. Governor Hosemann, State Auditor Shad White (R), Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson (R) are said to be eyeing a run for Governor. While the first three have given hints of their intentions, Gipson has been actively campaigning for the office for months, speaking at events across the state. Hosemann pulled in the most over the last year, raking in nearly $1.7 million in donations. |
| Senate moves campaign-finance reform. House panel promptly kills it | |
| Senate committee approved legislation to reform Mississippi's notoriously lax campaign finance laws, while a House committee made clear it has no intentions of even considering it. The Senate Elections Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would require local and state candidates to file reports online, cap cash donations from any donor to political candidates at $1,000 and corporate donations, cash or otherwise, to $1,000 a year. Donations from individuals, other than cash, would still not be capped. The measure would transfer enforcement authority from the Mississippi Ethics Commission to both the Secretary of State's office and the Attorney General's office. Some members of the Senate committee said they want certain portions of the legislation to change, but committed to working on the bill. "You know I've voted with you every time on these campaign finance bills," Republican Sen. Jeff Tate of Meridian said. "I know they're complicated, but I hope that one day we can get to a point to where we have actual bank statements tied into this, because until you have that, you can put down whatever the heck you want." But the House Elections Committee, on the same day killed a similar measure with no discussion and without allowing the chairman of the committee, Republican Rep. Noah Sanford of Collins, to even explain what the bill would do. |
| Bills focused on student mental health head to House floor | |
| Several bills passed out of the House Education Committee last week that focused on the mental health of Mississippi's students. One of the bills passed Wednesday was HB 1578. It directs public school districts to establish policies that protect students from acts of dating violence. It also tasks schools with educating children about how social media can be used by predators to prey on them. "One example, they would catfish a child. The child would send a picture, that picture would be used to basically harm that child and tell him that they will send it to their parent," Education Committee Chair State Rep. Rob Roberson (R) explained. "A lot of these kids, they're just naive, they have no idea anybody would do something like this." The purpose of the bill is to give administrators and teachers the tools they need to educate young people on the dangers of dating violence as well as the confidence to share any such interaction with a parent, guardian or teacher. "In my own neck of the woods, we had a young man that rather than go to his father, rather than go to his mother, rather than go to a teacher, he harmed himself," Roberson said. "And all of his tomorrows were taken away, and his parents' dreams were taken away." |
| All elected school board bill moves forward in Mississippi House | |
| A bill that would require all school boards members to be elected in the state of Mississippi passed out of the House Education committee on Thursday. It was also amended to include a recall process for board members if the electorate decides the process is needed. Advocates contend that HB 1292, authored by State Rep. Jansen Owen (R), provides parents with a sense of accountability over the people who oversee their child's public education. Similar bills have been introduced over the last decade but they never reached the governor's desk. Owen said he filed the bill this year after speaking with a number of parents who all believe their local school board should report to the parents and taxpayers. Many county and municipal districts have school board members that are appointed by the Board of Supervisors or members of the City Council or Board of Aldermen. Some districts also have boards comprised of a mix of elected and appointed members. HB 1292 would require that all school board members be elected. "There's a huge push out in the public of parents wanting their school districts to be more accountable to them, not necessarily the political fiefdom that, oftentimes, is involved with the appointed school board structure," Owen said. "So, parents want to be able to hold their school board members directly accountable, come speak to their school board at public meetings." |
| Out with the old? Young Democrats are trying to convince voters to send a new generation to Congress | |
 | Mai Vang wouldn't be born for another seven years when Bob Matsui was first elected to Congress from California in 1978. By the time Matsui died in 2005 and was replaced by his widow, Doris Matsui, Vang was still studying biology and sociology in college. Now a member of the Sacramento City Council, Vang, 40, is mounting the first serious challenge that 81-year-old Matsui has faced since she began representing the area two decades ago. Vang is among a nationwide cadre of young Democrats who are trying to oust some of their party's most stalwart figures in Washington, channeling angst that an aging generation of lawmakers is unable or unwilling to mount a bare-knuckles opposition to President Donald Trump. In Trump's first term, grassroots Democrats focused their ire on the Republican president. But now, after President Joe Biden's reluctance to step aside in 2024 at age 81 helped pave the way for Trump's return to the White House, many see their party's own veterans as part of the problem. Evan Turnage had barely learned to walk when Rep. Bennie Thompson, a civil rights leader, was first elected to Congress from Mississippi. Now Thompson, 78, is one of the most senior Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and Turnage, 33, is challenging him in the state's Democratic primary. Turnage, who is also Black, is an antitrust lawyer who previously worked for top Senate Democrats in Washington, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Channeling Warren's economic populism, Turnage said Mississippi needs a representative who will fight back against what he sees as predatory corporations. |
| GOP faces divide on ICE reforms as House struggles to end shutdown | |
 | Republican lawmakers are battling one another over what reforms to make to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies as the House gets set to vote on legislation to end a partial government shutdown triggered by the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. The House is expected to vote Tuesday on legislation approved by the Senate at the end of last week, after Democrats in the lower chamber said they would not agree to provide the votes for the measure to pass under suspension of House rules. That would have required a two-thirds majority vote. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed confidence Sunday that the bill would be passed in the House by Tuesday, but he faces a challenge in rallying his party around the rule vote, given his tiny majority. The package would fund much of the government through September, ending a partial shutdown that began Saturday. But the bill will only provide a two-week stopgap for the Department of Homeland Security, which is at the center of the funding fight. That means lawmakers will only have a few days to negotiate a list of immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats. |
| House GOP searches for votes to reopen government with razor-thin majority | |
 | The House returns to Washington this week with plans to find enough votes in the narrowly divided chamber to reopen the federal government, which has been partially shut since early Saturday morning after funding lapsed. It won't be simple: Many House Democrats do not plan to support the deal Senate Democrats struck with the White House. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) last week that his party would not help pass the package without numerous additional restrictions on immigration enforcement, according to two senior House Democratic aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. If most Democrats do not support the package, Republicans will need near-unanimity to pass the funding package, which President Donald Trump has endorsed. But Johnson predicted on NBC News's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that they would be able to end the shutdown "at least by Tuesday." "We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town, and because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we've got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own," Johnson said, referencing a floor vote that is traditionally passed on party lines. |
| The Tightrope for Defense Contractors: Satisfying Investors and President Trump | |
| U.S. weapons makers are fighting a battle on two fronts: ensuring strong returns for investors and trying to satisfy their biggest customer -- the Pentagon. RTX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies said they were working to step up production of missiles, rocket parts and other weapons systems, following pressure from the Trump administration to beef up U.S. arsenals. At the same time, executives said, they aim to keep setting aside enough cash to reward shareholders who count on the big contractors to deliver steady payouts. Trump administration officials have been hounding major defense contractors for months to deliver weapons at a brisker pace, as conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East eat into U.S. missile stockpiles. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in November said that the Pentagon needed an industrial base on a "wartime footing" to address new threats. In early January, President Trump issued an executive order that threatened to limit defense contractors' spending on CEO pay, dividends and stock buybacks. Trump singled out RTX's Raytheon division for special criticism, saying that military leaders had complained about delayed deliveries and slow investment in new manufacturing capacity. "Either Raytheon steps up, and starts investing in more upfront Investment like Plants and Equipment, or they will no longer the doing business with Department of War," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, using an alternate name that the Defense Department has adopted. |
| 'Hot mess': Former Trump cyber leader slams DHS leadership void | |
 | Bridget Bean, the former acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the early months of the second Trump administration, is raising serious concerns about the lack of Senate-confirmed senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that it's hamstringing DHS's ability to execute the president's priorities. "I am really concerned about the lack of permanent, confirmed people," she said in her first interview about federal agencies under DHS since retiring from government late last year. "You've got to get leaders in there." She added that having officials confirmed by the Senate is "very different than someone in an acting capacity who is serving in the role. It's not the same." Bean shared her perspective on the department's leadership crisis after POLITICO approached her for comment on her participation in a Signal group chat, where she wrote on November 11 to other current and former Trump DHS political appointees that the department was "a hot mess." A participant in the group recently showed POLITICO the message. The existence of the group chat and her message has not been previously reported. "My comments about DHS as 'a hot mess' is if you don't have permanent leadership ... you're not working," she said. "It's just so much more important for the organization to have it." |
| Does the Constitution protect begging? Supreme Court asked to decide | |
 | Two years after the Supreme Court said cities can punish homeless people for sleeping in public places, Alabama wants the high court to end protections for public begging. The constitutional issues are different. In 2024, the court said fining or jailing someone for sleeping outside when there are no available shelter beds doesn't violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In Alabama's pending appeal, the state argues begging was widely criminalized at the start of the nation and so it should not be protected speech under the First Amendment. While the legal strategy may be a longshot, Alabama hopes the justices will want to hear its appeal for one of the same reasons an Oregon city's sleeping ban was taken up: local governments' pleas for help with the nation's growing homelessness problem. Alabama has asked the court to decide whether the Constitution prevents broad bans on panhandling, such as two Alabama laws successfully challenged so far by Jonathan Singleton, a homeless resident of Montgomery. Alabama's appeal is scheduled to be considered by the Supreme Court at a closed-door conference on Feb. 20. |
| T.K. Lee to Give Annual Humanities Lecture at MUW | |
| Thomas Kris Lee, Associate Professor of English at Mississippi University for Women, will deliver the annual Humanities Teacher of the Year lecture, "Not the Same Old Story: Learning How to Stop So You Can Start," at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Painter Hall, Room 113, on the MUW campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg, chair of MUW's Department of Languages, Literature and Philosophy, encourages both campus and community members to attend. "Kris Lee is a well-loved, dynamic speaker and performer," Dunkelberg said. "His talk will reveal insights into his creative process and how it informs his teaching." Lee teaches undergraduate creative writing and playwriting and participates in the graduate MFA programs in Creative Writing and Theatre Education. He is the author of numerous plays, including "Paper Thin," "On How to Accommodate Marlo's Frying Pan," "Sindication" and "Loose Hog." He is also an accomplished actor and director, earning national community theatre Best Actor awards for his performance in the one-man play "Under the Lintel." |
| UM Construction Update | |
| As the University of Mississippi continues to break enrollment records, the need for on campus housing has grown. UM has partnered with Greystar, a national leader in student housing development, to add about 2,700 new beds for students at the Oxford campus. The housing is expected to be ready by 2027. Another major construction project at Ole Miss will house programs designed to catch learning disabilities sooner and expand educational resources in north Mississippi through a new Early Learning and Evaluation Center. The center will be operated by the UM School of Education and will house the university's nationally accredited preschool, the Willie Price Lab School. Construction of a new, $56-million new parking garage is under way adjacent to the existing parking garage. This new parking garage will add more than 1,300 parking spaces and is expected to open in the fall of 2026. Another major improvement is a new mechanical plant behind Kinard Hall expected to open in the spring of 2026 which will improve energy efficiency and necessary support for an area of campus that will include a new data science center and student housing. |
| Delta State University Awarded Research Grant | |
| Delta State University has been awarded a prestigious Mississippi-IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (MS-INBRE) Research Initiation Grant to fund an innovative project that blends cutting-edge computational chemistry with hands-on undergraduate research and education. The project, titled A Computational Approach to Elucidating Functional Dynamics in Enzyme Catalysis, is led by Dr. Christopher T. Jurgenson, Sullivan-Outlaw Professor of Biochemistry at Delta State. TA key feature of the project is the integration of advanced molecular docking simulations directly into the undergraduate curriculum and research program. This approach will provide Delta State students with practical experience using industry-standard computational tools typically available only at large research-intensive institutions. "This grant allows us to give Delta State students access to tools normally found only at large research universities," says Jurgenson. "It provides a unique opportunity for students to explore real-world biochemical problems, gain research experience, and present their work at regional and national conferences---experiences that can be transformative for their careers in science, medicine, and industry." |
| JSU's MADDRAMA to bring Cultural Magic to the Big Apple | |
| Jackson State University's MADDRAMA Performance Troupe is set to light up the stage with an unforgettable performance in the Big Apple. MADDRAMA will be a part of the captivating "Mississippi to Manhattan: New Dance Works" by JSU alumnus Jaylen Taylor. The renowned performance troupe, under the direction of Artistic Director Dr. Mark Henderson, will perform in Brooklyn, Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 8 p.m. The audience is asked to step into the story and witness the movement, memory and migration from the hospitality state to Manhattan for one night, one journey, and many voices. While soaking in the New York City experience, MADDRAMA students had the unique opportunity to visit the Tamron Hall Show, where the Emmy-award-winning host enthusiastically gave a shout-out to Jackson State University, celebrating our talented performers and their meaningful work. |
| Bestselling author presents Mississippi high schooler with full-ride scholarship | |
| Bestselling author Angie Thomas surprised Mississippi high school senior Stephanie Hartmann with the news that she will be getting a free ride to college. Hartmann was named the 2026 recipient of the Angie Thomas Writers Scholarship, which covers tuition, room, and board at Belhaven University in Jackson. A native of Brookhaven, Hartmann is an aspiring writer and a student at the Mississippi School for the Arts. Named in honor of the acclaimed author and Belhaven alumna, the Angie Thomas Writers Scholarship was created and is funded by Belhaven to support young writers who show exceptional promise and financial need as they pursue a calling as authors. Hartmann believed she was participating in a final interview for the scholarship when Thomas appeared to deliver the news. "I thought it was a prank," Hartmann said. "I wasn't expecting it at all, and I even thought there might have been a mistake. But the experience was very magical." Hartmann was selected based on her creative writing submissions, which were reviewed by Thomas and Dr. Randall Smith, the chair of Belhaven University's Creative Writing Department. |
| Auburn Rec makes group fitness free, forever | |
| Auburn University's Campus Recreational Center, commonly known as "The Rec," is now offering free group fitness classes to students, forever. Spring 2026 group fitness classes, which are available for registration on the Auburn Rec's RWC Connect website, will be included with student tuition and are currently open for registration. Auburn University Recreation and Wellness group fitness classes have been offered at The Rec since the RWC's opening in 2013. Group classes are a signature staple of The Rec and offer Auburn's student body, as well as non-students, an outlet to support fitness habits, find relief from class-induced stress and build a sense of community. As of January 2026, group fitness classes at The Rec will be included in the student recreation fee, at no extra cost, indefinitely. "I love that there is no longer a fee for participants because they get to try new classes without the stress of having to pay extra," said Emily Otto, a group fitness instructor at the Rec. "I always enjoy seeing new faces in my classes; the more, the merrier." |
| LSU to partner with Department of Energy labs on energy security, cyber research | |
 | LSU will partner with two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories on research projects focused on nuclear energy, chemical manufacturing and other technologies, the university announced Friday. The research partnership agreements are in place "to ensure America's worldwide competitiveness and energy dominance," a news release said. "These agreements place LSU at the center of the nation's energy and national security priorities," LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton said in the release. LSU will work with Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee as a "bridge" between national energy research and the implementation of research findings on the Gulf Coast, the release said. The agreements, along with a memorandum of understanding signed with the Idaho National Laboratory last year, advance LSU's work in advanced nuclear energy, cybersecurity and integrated energy systems. The announcement named energy security and protection of the nation from emerging threats as ongoing research priorities for LSU. |
| Student-led protest promotes 'ICE Out' message | |
| Chants, megaphones and handmade signs crowded the streets of downtown Knoxville on Friday morning as hundreds of protesters marched from World's Fair Park to the Knoxville City-County Building, demanding the removal of ICE. The protest -- one of dozens of "ICE Out" protests occurring across the nation Friday -- targeted heavy ICE presence in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities following the deaths of Minnesotans Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Many University of Tennessee students faced freezing temperatures to attend the protest. "What really convinced me I had to be here was when I saw Alex Pretti get shot on the street for no other reason than defending a woman and carrying something he's legally allowed to carry," Aiden Fennell, junior psychology major, said as he walked among friends. "When they're killing people in the streets, I know I have to be here." But efforts from Knox County high school students are what set the protest into motion. Three of those students, Kyle Harper, Kiernan Standish and Eva Eng, shared their motivation for organizing the movement. "We feel that ICE is violating our rights by entering our schools, and also just terrorizing our country in general," Harper said. UT students, including Jonah Lehmann, a freshman political science major, helped reinforce the high school organizers. |
| Baker Award winner: Mayor David Holt says public service requires 'patience of explaining' | |
 | David Holt defies labeling. The mayor of Oklahoma City is an institutionalist who wants to blow up the primary election system and a Republican in the ruby-red Sooner state who has crossed swords with President Donald Trump over pandemic protocols and immigration. When Holt was a state senator, he pushed to reduce or eliminate Oklahoma's income tax, then led a wildly successful effort as mayor to raise the city's sales tax to spend $1.1 billion on everything from a new animal shelter to a jail diversion program to improvements for the Oklahoma City Thunder's practice facility. Holt embodies focus, but juggles what most people would consider two full-time jobs – leading America's 20th-largest city while also serving as dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law. And for good measure, he's the newly elected head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the organization that represents the leaders of more than 1,400-plus cities with 30,000 or more residents. And Holt is now connected to Knoxville as the inaugural recipient of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Award for Public Service bestowed by the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee. |
| Florida Universities Have Partnered With ICE, Stoking Anxiety Among Students | |
| An unusual agreement between many Florida universities and federal immigration officials has caused a new wave of anxiety among students, as immigration raids around the country have swept up thousands and ignited protests. The agreements give university police departments, after training from ICE, authority to conduct immigration enforcement and access to databases to check immigration status. It remains unclear to what extent university police departments have worked with ICE in practice. On Friday, students at Florida International University, a Miami campus that is majority Hispanic, protested against their school's decision to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which was made in July. The university is one of at least 16 public higher-education institutions around the state that have agreed to join forces with ICE over the last year. Carlton Daley, a student activist and engineering major, said his university's embrace of the agreement is concerning given that the institution highlights its international student population --- in total, about 4,500 students from more than 140 countries. The partnerships are known as 287(g) agreements, for the section added to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1996 that allowed ICE to delegate some immigration enforcement to local law enforcement agencies. |
| Texas A&M Shutters Women's and Gender Studies Program, Citing New Curricular Rules | |
 | Texas A&M University at College Station shuttered its women's and gender studies program on Friday, citing student interest as well as a new systemwide policy dictating that courses cannot "advocate for race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity." It would have been difficult to "bring the program in compliance with the new system policies," the university's interim president told The New York Times in a statement. The program's discontinuation affects two bachelor's degrees, a minor, and a graduate certificate. Students studying in women's and gender studies will be able to complete their degrees. University officials also said Friday that they had reviewed 5,400 syllabi and made edits or revisions to a number of courses. Six classes were canceled entirely. |
| What Texas' new H-1B visa policy means | |
| Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all public universities and state agencies to halt processing any new H-1B visas, a move experts argued throws into disarray a small -- but crucial -- sector of the state's workforce. In a radio interview earlier this month, Abbott said he did not see "any reason" for foreign workers at taxpayer-funded institutions. He ordered schools, including campus leadership across the University of Texas System and school districts, to submit detailed reports on new and existing applications for H1-B visas, a process typically administered by the federal government. Until Texas can conduct a sweeping review, Abbott said on Tuesday he has prohibited public universities and state agencies from initiating H-1B visa petitions without written permission from the Texas Workforce Commission through the end of the next legislative session on May 31, 2027. Such employees make up a small share of the overall workforce in Texas, policy experts told The Texas Tribune, both at higher education institutions and corporations. H-1B workers at Texas' public universities comprise a fraction of the workforce. At Texas A&M University, for example, around 200 of the 30,000 total workers -- less than 1% -- are employed under the visa program. |
| 'Challenge yourself to put yourself out there': Students grow careers at veterinarian convention | |
 | This year's Missouri Veterinary Medical Association convention focused its lens on students, with events centered on kickstarting their careers. The convention started Thursday and continued through Sunday at the Wyndham Executive Center. The organization is dedicated to supporting Missouri veterinarians. Newly-inducted Missouri Veterinary Medical Association President Lynn Martin, a graduate of the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine, said the event is a great opportunity for Mizzou students to get a head start on their veterinary careers. "It's veterinary level material, but they're coming here grabbing the bull by the horns and taking the opportunity to come in and put themselves that much further ahead of some of their classmates and get ready to be out there," Martin said. Mizzou's College of Veterinary Medicine collaborated with the convention to host a breakfast with the event Sunday morning, where Dean Srinand Sreevatsan gave an update of ongoing events. |
| UVa to Trump: No Illegal DEI Here | |
| The University of Virginia shuttered its diversity offices, removed language from websites and programs that might suggest racial preferences in hiring or admissions, and stopped participating in some race-specific programs and events in order to assure the Trump administration that it is complying with its interpretation of civil-rights laws. Those steps were spelled out in the first quarterly compliance report UVa was required to submit as part of a controversial agreement reached in October with the U.S. Department of Justice. The university's announcement, signed by the interim president, Paul G. Mahoney, also pointed out what isn't restricted: the curriculum, research topics, or academic programming. It added that the agreement contained no monetary penalty, didn't impose an external monitor, and didn't restrict the university's eligibility to receive grants, funding, contracts, and awards. The agreement isn't affected by the Department of Education's decision last week to withdraw its appeal in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's anti-DEI directives, the university said. |
| Education Department's efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, watchdog says | |
 | A new report from a government watchdog suggests the Trump administration's efforts to fire staff at the U.S. Department of Education cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The report, from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), focuses on the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which investigates complaints of discrimination in schools based on students' sex, race, national origin, disability and more. In March, the administration attempted to fire more than half of OCR's civil rights attorneys and staff. At the time, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the cuts reflected the department's commitment to "efficiency" and "accountability." But, when that reduction-in-force (RIF) was blocked by the courts and the Education Department was forced to retain and continue paying these staff, the department prohibited them from returning to work. For nearly nine months, from March 21 to mid-December, "there were 247 people on administrative leave from OCR who were being paid while not being allowed to work," says Jackie Nowicki, lead investigator of K-12 issues at GAO, "and that decision came with a cost." A cost of between $28.5 million and $38 million, according to GAO. |
| Federal Government Shuts Down, Again. Here's What to Know | |
 | The federal government is shutting down for the second time in four months. While the first closure persisted for a record 43 days, this one is expected to end within this week, as soon as Tuesday. However, until the House of Representatives agrees to pass a five-bill package that the Senate approved Friday, nonessential operations at the Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services departments will be curtailed along with those at Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, State, and Treasury. Congress has already approved legislation to fund the other agencies. During the previous shutdown, about 95 percent of employees at the Education Department were furloughed, and the agency suspended grant-making activities as well as civil rights investigations. Shutdowns historically don't have an immediate impact on colleges and universities, but the longer one lasts, the more disruptive it becomes. The last lengthy closure, which started Oct. 1, 2025, fueled uncertainty on college campuses and disrupted research funding, tuition assistance and basic needs support for students. The House returns Monday, and Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he was "convinced" lawmakers will approve the five spending bills by Tuesday. Funding for the agencies ran out Friday night. |
| The new America -- police state tactics and government lies | |
 | Columnist Bill Crawford writes: "Are we really going to be the Gestapo?" podcaster Joe Rogan asked. "'Where's your papers?' Is that what we've come to?" Uproar over ICE and Border Patrol aggressive tactics has begun to breach President Donald Trump's fortress. "Hate to say it, but they are all lying," posted lifelong Mississippi Republican Pete Perry on Facebook. "Denial of what we have seen, what has been put in front of us -- them and us -- and ignored and lied about. We saw it. They saw it. And they know we and everyone else have seen the truth." Perry was writing about the numerous fallacious statements justifying the killing of American citizen Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse in Minnesota, made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem, her cohort Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino, and other high-ranking officials in the Trump administration. He cited numerous falsehoods from Noem, Bovino, and others made before and after the facts of the killing became known. You can tell he was angry. "OK. I've been an active, participating, fighting Republican for almost 60 years, I'll bet longer than damn near anybody else that is reading this post or bothering to comment on it and telling me how wrong I am. But my Republicanism is based on a law-and-order basis, a constitutional basis – and this is not it." |
| Gov. Reeves says ice storm in Mississippi not as bad as ICE protests in Minnesota | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: On Saturday morning, Jan. 24, as a massive ice storm was carving a path of destruction through parts of north Mississippi and more than 48 hours before Gov. Tate Reeves activated the Mississippi National Guard to provide assistance, he went on Fox News. The governor says he went on Fox News to provide national viewers an update on the storm's impact on Mississippi. It seemed logical for Reeves to go on Fox to remind the national audience about Mississippi and the plight caused in the state by the ice storm. After all, it is not unheard of for Mississippi to be overlooked in national reports on the impact of weather events. So, it could be argued the governor was doing his duty by reminding a national audience that Mississippi was the state that stood to be the most impacted by the winter storm. But the second-term Republican governor did not stop there. Reeves felt compelled not only to talk about the woes Mississippians face from freezing rain, but also to pontificate on events in Minneapolis, where the largest congregation of ICE agents in the country are clashing with protesters resulting in chaos, violence and at least two tragic deaths. Reeves blamed the Democratic Minnesota governor and Minneapolis mayor for not taking control of the situation. It is perhaps worth noting, though, that as Reeves spoke Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had activated the National Guard to deal with his situation. Reeves had not at that time done the same for the ice storm in Mississippi. |
SPORTS
| Basketball Dawg Talk Set For Monday | |
| Mississippi State basketball's radio show, "Dawg Talk" presented by Learfield, is back for the second of three exclusive men's basketball episodes on Monday at Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux from 7-8 p.m. CT. The 60-minute program airs on the MSU Sports Radio Network affiliates from Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux which is locally owned by State alumni and located at 996 MS HWY 12 E in Starkville. Neil Price, "The Voice of the Bulldogs", will serve as the show's host. He will be joined by head coach Chris Jans, while Jayden Epps and Sergej Macura are scheduled to appear on the Feb. 2 episode. For those unable to attend the show in-person, "Dawg Talk" will be streamed courtesy of Hail State On-Demand at www.HailState.com/watch and The Varsity Network App. Coach Jans is slated to make one more appearance on Monday, Feb. 9. Fans can purchase single game tickets for the program's remaining home games through Mississippi State's Athletic Ticket Office at www.HailState.com/tickets or by calling (662) 325-2600 / (888) 463-2947 (GO DAWGS). |
| New Pirates Outfielder Jake Mangum Looking for More in Year 2 After Surviving Rookie Season | |
| Jake Mangum had to wait a while to reach the big leagues for the first time. The new Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder is a strong defender with experience at all three outfielder spots and is likely the leading candidate to be the Pirates' starting left fielder on Opening Day against the New York Mets in Citi Field. He's also part of the improved lineup that pushed the Pirates' futures betting to 77.5 projected wins, even as the betting research is still primarily based on last season. Mangum, who attended Jackson Prep in Mississippi -- the same high school as Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin -- was selected by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the 2019 draft out of Mississippi State University. Mangum grinded through five minor-league seasons with three different teams -- the Mets, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays -- before ever getting called up to the big leagues. "It's weird, I was in Triple-A for a while. My first full season as a pro baseball player was 25 years old, so I had a late start," said Mangum. "But you know, when you're playing in Triple-A and having some success, you think like, 'Man, just give me a shot. I feel like I can do it.'" Having one year in the big leagues under his belt, Mangum is looking to do more damage in his second big-league season and his first with the Pirates. |
| Starkville Academy's Mark Alexander has Rare Workload this Season, Coaching Four Basketball Teams | |
| Starkville Academy's Mark Alexander is the only coach in the 20-team MAIS Class 4A who coaches both high school boys and girls and junior high boys and girls basketball teams this season. In fact, he may be one of handful of coaches who coaches all four teams in Mississippi. In addition to that, Alexander is the co-host of Mississippi Sports This Morning, a sports talk show which runs from 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, based out of Jackson. Also, he is a part of the athletic communication department where he sends out information to parents about weekly schedules and changes. Alexander -- who is known around Mississippi for his detailed scouting reports (another time consuming task) -- does manage to find time to sleep and eat occasionally. The four-game grind is slowing down. Alexander's junior high teams played their last games this week. He led his junior high boys team to the district runner-up finish Saturday. His junior high girls lost in the semifinals Thursday, His high school boys and girls teams are playing this week in the North State Class 4A tournament at Pillow Academy. |
| Carl Fox Haas, woodsman and father of Mossy Oak founder, dies | |
 | Carl Fox Haas, an avid outdoorsman who provided a guiding hand that helped build West Point-based Mossy Oak into an international outdoors brand, has died. He was 95. Haas died on Jan. 25. Born on August 20, 1930, in Mobile, Alabama, Haas was the youngest of three sons born to World War One Veteran Toxey and Maurine Haas. According to his obituary, Haas grew up in Mobile and shortly after starting college was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He spent four of his years, from ages 17 to 23, in the sanatorium. After recovering, he re-enrolled at Mississippi State University for a degree in Animal Husbandry and served as president of Sigma Chi. It was at MSU that he met his future wife, Evelyn. After marriage, the couple moved to nearby West Point, where Evelyn Haas gave birth to their first child: a daughter, Shurley. In the following years, their son, Toxey, and another daughter, Nina, were born. Haas took a job with Bryan Foods, where he spent his entire career. He retired as VP of procurement. In 1986, Toxey founded Mossy Oak. |
| Georgia president Jere Morehead says SEC may take rule enforcement into own hands | |
| The SEC should create and enforce its own rules on tampering and other regulations, said University of Georgia president Jere Morehead, who added there is support among at least "several" other presidents in the conference. Morehead, speaking Friday after a meeting of the Georgia Athletics Board, did not directly address tampering allegations by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney against SEC member Ole Miss. Morehead expressed general frustration about what he sees as a lack of enforcement by either the NCAA or the College Sports Commission, which was created last year to enforce the House settlement. "Have we seen the CSC move against any institution yet? I don't think so. Have we seen the NCAA take any action on tampering? I don't think so," Morehead said. "So I think we're getting to the point that the Southeastern Conference is going to have to create its own set of rules, enforce them against our members, and hope that we can set an example that the other Power 4 conferences would then follow. But we desperately need rules, and rules that are going to be enforced. We have rules, but they're not being enforced." |
| San Diego State Agrees to Pay Former Female Athletes in Title IX Litigation First | |
| In a college sports industry that churns through billions of dollars each year, a $300,000 allocation by one university might seem inconsequential. But in resolving a class action lawsuit against San Diego State University, brought by 15 former SDSU rowers and track and field athletes, that six-figure sum represents a potentially historic breakthrough. SDSU has agreed to pay that money to settle a Title IX lawsuit filed in 2022 by the former athletes who alleged the school failed to provide women with athletic opportunities proportionate to their enrollment, as required under federal law. The school has also agreed to pay $1.3 million to cover the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees, court costs and expenses. After the parties reached a preliminary settlement last fall, class-action notices were distributed to affected members Wednesday. A final fairness approval hearing is scheduled for April 16. If granted, the case would mark the first time plaintiffs have recovered monetary damages in a Title IX case centered on disproportionate athletic financial aid. Because the federal court overseeing the action did not issue a ruling on its merits, its disposition does not establish legal case law, but it could still set a powerful precedent for future Title IX litigation against colleges and universities around the country. |
| NFL's chief medical officer downplays theory 49ers' injuries are linked to substation | |
| The NFL's chief medical officer became the latest expert to downplay the notion that the rash of injuries suffered by the San Francisco 49ers over the past two seasons is due to the team's practice fields being close to an electrical substation. "Listen, I would say we look at injury causation across the board," Dr. Allen Sills said Friday during the league's health and safety call. "We consult with experts throughout sports medicine and other industries to try to understand and gain as comprehensive an understanding of injury causation as we can." He continued, "I would tell you that I'm not familiar with anything in the sports medicine literature that supports those associations, but I would also tell you that injury causation is really complex." The 49ers have been practicing at the same facility in Santa Clara, Calif., since 1988. It is next to Levi's Stadium and adjacent to the Silicon Valley Power Mission Substation. The team has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, with fantasy football website Rotowire ranking them fourth worst in the league in injuries in both 2024 and 2025, and a viral conspiracy theory posits the injuries could be linked to excessive exposure to electromotive force (EMF), the invisible electricity from power lines and other electrical equipment. |
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