1 month 2 weeks ago
The Mississippi State Department of Health is overhauling its home visitation and care management program for high-risk pregnant women and infants in an effort to move the needle on the state’s high infant mortality rate.
The Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program, which previously served mothers and babies in all 82 counties, will restart under a pilot model to serve 10 counties with few resources and utilize community health workers for home visitation rather than nurses, State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney told Mississippi Today.
By Gwen Dilworth - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Proceeds from the sale of the tags will be used exclusively to promote opportunities for college students to study freedom and liberty at institutions of higher learning around the state.
Mississippians, by and large, love their freedom and are a patriotic lot, with faith, family and flag as their guiding values.
Soon, vehicle owners across the state will be able to show their affinity for liberty in these United States by displaying a Gadsden Flag car tag, proudly declaring “Don’t Tread On Me” just as the founding fathers did 250 years ago.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature have advanced bills aiming to crack down on immigration, despite some lawmakers raising concerns that the federal government is responsible for enforcement and that the proposals could inadvertently harm U.S. citizens.
The Senate on Tuesday passed a measure that would create a state crime of being in Mississippi illegally and authorize local law enforcement to charge people with being in the state without proper documentation.
By Taylor Vance and Michael Goldberg - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
National school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis urged Governor Tate Reeves to call a special session to handle the issue after the Senate killed the House bill.
Even though HB 2 died in the Senate Education Committee last week, supporters of education freedom are not giving up on their push to allow parents to find the best options for their child.
By Jeremy Pittari - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
See who is well-positioned to make a run for a statewide office in Mississippi next year should they choose to throw their hat in the ring.
Jockeying for statewide office in Mississippi is heating up ahead of the 2027 election.
Some likely candidates are quietly floating their names in Capitol circles in hopes of cutting off potential challengers while others are being encouraged to make a run, having earned respect among their colleagues and constituents.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Speaker of the House Jason White speaks during the Mississippi Economic Council's annual Hobnob at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
House Speaker Jason White was not happy the Senate killed his expansive school choice bill, without even taking a full vote.
Now House leaders appear to be sending a message to the other chamber: Most of the education bills passed by the Senate have been sent to two committees in the House, or “double-referred,” a tactic often used to kill bills or delay their passage and overhaul them.
By Devna Bose - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The chamber passed alcohol-related bills Tuesday that would allow direct shipping of distilled spirits and Sunday sales. Another measure would remove the prohibition of alcohol from state law.
State Rep. Hank Zuber (R), the Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, stepped to the well of the House Tuesday and said, “It’s a great day to talk about alcohol policy and bringing Mississippi into the 21st Century.”
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The program recognizes the individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the arts in Mississippi.
Established in 1988, the Governor’s Arts Awards are presented annually by the Mississippi Arts Commission in partnership with the Governor’s office. The program recognizes the individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the arts in Mississippi.
By Susan Marquez - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
It’s time to talk about what Mississippians do best, which is play and support college baseball. Mississippi State is a consensus top 5 team. Southern Miss is consistently a top 25 team and Rick says Ole Miss is underrated.
By Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The construction industry has struggled since the Great Recession but now one of its main struggles is finding skilled workers.
A bill passed by the state House on Monday proposes creating a fund to help schools with construction training programs and encouraging students to explore these careers.
By Katherine Lin - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Asked to describe Jim Poole, his close friend of six decades, Archie Manning paused, pregnantly.
“I’m really struggling with Jim’s death,” he finally said.
By Rick Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Marilyn Mays, left, with Two Mississippi Museums Director Michael Morris, center, and Hinds County Tax Collector Eddie Fair, speak at the new exhibit of the Fannie Lou Hamer Presidential Medal of Freedom, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the "I Question America" gallery in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. Mays and Fair are the niece and nephew of Hamer. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer’s Presidential Medal of Freedom is now on display at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
The Medal of Freedom was unveiled on display in the “I Question America” gallery Tuesday by Hamer’s niece, Marilyn Mays, and cousin, Hinds County Tax Collector Eddie Fair.
By Simeon Gates - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
A federal court is reviewing proposed alternatives to a rate increase for customers in Jackson, home to one of the most historically troubled water and sewer systems in the country and where over 1 in 4 people live in poverty.
JXN Water, the city’s third-party, court-appointed interim manager, argues it has no choice but to raise rates as it owes money to contractors doing daily upkeep of the infrastructure.
By Alex Rozier - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The House passed a pair of bills on Tuesday that would reshape laws surrounding the sale of alcohol in Mississippi.
The first would allow the direct shipment of liquor to Mississippians’ homes, and the second would let local authorities pass ordinances allowing the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
By Michael Goldberg - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
University of Mississippi officials are still assessing the full storm damage from Winter Storm Fern.
University of Mississippi leaders plan to spend up to $10 million on tree removal and other debris cleanup on the Oxford campus because of an ice storm that caused widespread damage in the northern part of the state.
By Candice Wilder - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration granted the approval on February 9, 2026.
The governor’s office announced Tuesday that Mississippi has received final federal approval for its comprehensive plan to expand broadband infrastructure to every area of the state that still lacks access to high‑speed internet, a milestone for Mississippi under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
After spirited debate in the chamber, a voice vote on a motion to table killed State Senator Jeremy England’s proposal to restore Mississippi’s ballot initiative process.
An effort to restore the ballot initiative process in Mississippi died in the Senate on Wednesday by a voice vote.
Senate Elections Chairman State Senator Jeremy England (R) presented SCR 518 to the full Senate after the measure he authored was moved out of the Elections Committee last week.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 month 2 weeks ago
Mississippi is poised to receive at least $528 million in direct funding under the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, according to figures released by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s office after congressional passage of the bill.
The $528 million includes funding explicitly authorized for Mississippi military installations, universities, research and education programs across the state, said Wicker, the Republican from Mississippi who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.
By Taylor Vance - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
National Park Service Ranger Keena Graham serves as the Superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, where a memorial tribute was held for the slain Civil Rights leader June 12, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“It was pretty surreal to listen to that, because there was nothing about Medgar Evers being murdered,” said Michele Storms.
Visitors in 2025 to the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument described powerful tours from National Park Service rangers, but people who visited the house last month say they walked away puzzled by omissions both to the couple’s story and the motives of Medgar Evers’ assassin.
By Jerry Mitchell - Mississippi Today on
1 month 2 weeks ago
The measure would allow students to opt-in to pray and participate in religious activities while on public school grounds, so long as it does not affect instruction time.
A bill that would allow students to engage in prayer or other religious activities while attending school has passed in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
By Jeremy Pittari - Magnolia Tribune on
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