| Monday, April 5, 2021 |
| MSU's Dipangkar Dutta receives 2021 SEC Faculty Achievement Award | |
 | Dipangkar Dutta is Mississippi State University's winner of the 2021 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award, which annually honors distinguished faculty from across the SEC for their teaching accomplishments, scholarly contributions and discoveries. The conference announced that Dutta, a professor in MSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy, is among 14 faculty members from SEC universities to receive the prestigious award this year. Each award candidate must have amassed records of extraordinary teaching and nationally or internationally recognized scholarship. In addition to receiving a $5,000 honorarium, Dutta and other winners become nominees for the top SEC Professor of the Year Award. When announced later this month, that faculty member will receive an additional $15,000. "Dr. Dutta is a dedicated teacher and mentor, a gifted researcher and an outstanding colleague, and I applaud the tremendous contributions he has made in his field," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "Dr. Dutta embodies the attributes of a professor worthy of this most prestigious award." |
| Producers lock in 2021 planting intentions | |
 | Mississippi row crop growers are planning to plant more soybeans and corn in 2021 than they did last year but not as much cotton, rice or hay. The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, publishes its planting intentions report each year at the end of March. This report provides a state-by-state estimation of how many acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton farmers will plant in the upcoming growing season. USDA estimates the state's total row crop acreage for 2021 will be around 4.18 billion acres. Last year, the state planted nearly 4.1 billion total acres. Will Maples, a row crop economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said high commodity prices could push this projection even higher. "A key surprise was the small increase in total principal crop acres nationwide. Given the current high commodity prices, it was assumed that farmers would try to plant as many acres as possible this year," Maples said. "Both corn and soybean acres came in lower than expected and caused bullish reactions. After the intentions report was released, corn futures and soybean futures traded up at the daily limit. This very rarely happens in response to a USDA report." |
| MSU-Meridian student veteran aims to support others through social work degree | |
 | Growing up, Karsten Taylor never thought about career options such as joining the military or serving others. He just wanted to stay out of jail. Taylor, a senior social work student at Mississippi State University-Meridian, was born on Lakenheath Air Force Base outside of Suffolk, England, where his father was stationed. The family eventually moved to Oklahoma and, after his father retired from the military, they settled in Midwest City, where Taylor graduated from high school in 1995. When he was 19, Taylor became a father, dropped out of college and spent the next few years working in various bakeries around town until he was fired for being late "one too many times." "My dad saw the road I was going down and basically told me, 'Son, leave, join the military and don't come back,'" Taylor said. "Although I'd always joked the military didn't need any more Taylors, since my dad had served and two of my older brothers were serving at the time, I took his advice and enlisted, joining the U.S. Navy in 2001." "I've really loved my time at MSU-Meridian; the small class sizes and the interaction with my instructors and professors, and the excellent staff who have helped me along the way, whether in veterans services, advising or financial aid -- they've all been great!" Taylor said. "But I'm more of a hands-on person, so I'm ready to take the knowledge and things I've learned in the classroom and use them in my field placement this spring," he said. |
| MSU, USM have embraced construction industry with programs | |
| Building construction degree programs at two state universities are bringing trained employees into the construction industry where they can have long-term careers. The programs at Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi have been embraced by the construction industry. Lee Nations, president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors Mississippi Chapter, said, "ABC Mississippi serves on the Advisory Board of both programs at MSU and USM. We work with the programs to provide speakers, programming assistance and industry networking opportunities." At MSU, the Building Construction Science program prepares graduates with a clearly defined management skill set for careers in construction or construction-related fields where effective decision making, problem solving, and multiple forms and levels of management are required, according to Dr. George Ford, professional engineer and professor and director of Building Construction Science. Ford said MSU construction program graduates typically are employed in the commercial, industrial, heavy civil and residential sectors of construction as estimators, project coordinators, schedulers, and field engineers. |
| MSU Hosts Annual Startup Summit | |
| Mississippi State University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach recently hosted its annual Startup Summit, a student business venture competition. The event concluded with a first-place tie between Shuvam Saha, an engineering doctoral student from Kolkata, Ind., and Stone Vincent, a fashion design and merchandising master's student from Bolton, Miss. The two each received a $5,000 award. Participating students competed for cash prizes totaling $36,000 of seed capital funding for their proposed startup businesses. Judges evaluated business model pitches based on company technology, management, financials and market, a release from MSU says. Saha's business, Triton Aerospace, creates drones for commercial and military use while Vincent's startup, Mycelium Leather, develops biodegradable, sustainable and vegan leathers made from mushroom mycelium. Three judges committed $6,000 additional prize money to help fund the five highest-placing projects due to the ties at first and third place and the high-quality presentation of viable business plans, MSU's release says. For more information or to see the complete results from the 2021 Startup Summit, visit ecenter.msstate.edu/summit. |
| Reserve officers supported SPD at events, through pandemic | |
 | As the lights faded from the bars and restaurants of the Cotton District on March 26, just like every weekend night, Capt. Brian Locke looked out at the empty streets, thankful for a rewarding and safe night. He, along with other members of the reserve division of Starkville Police Department, not only ensured the safety of community members but chatted and interacted with the young adults who were out enjoying themselves for the night. While Locke knows he could be spending these weekend nights at home or even out with his friends, he said there is nothing more fulfilling for him than being able to help out his town. "We do this because we want to, not because we have to," Locke said. "We just have this heart to serve." SPD created the reserve division in February 2020 to oversee special events and operations in Starkville. The board of aldermen approved Locke, who serves as Mississippi State University director of veterans and military affairs, as the captain for the division. Locke previously worked four years as the captain of the Columbus Reserve Division, taking what he learned from that position and applying it to his job here now. Two weeks ago, the reserve division worked a food and clothing drive at J. L. King Park. The officers have worked MSU campus activities but also events in town, including Downtown Starkville Main Street Association events, Starkville High School football games and the Starkville Strong March. |
| Starkville Area Arts Council summer scholarships available | |
| Applications for Starkville Area Arts Council annual Summer Scholarships program are now open. Awards are available to students between ages 11 and 18 for extracurricular youth development programs in art and art education. Any art discipline is eligible (performing arts, music, applied arts, visual arts, creative writing, etc.). Funds may be used for summer lessons, camps, auditions, and more. Applications are due April 15. Awards are based on a combination of need and merit for those who live in Oktibbeha County currently attending public, private or home schools. Over the past decade, more than $40,000 has been awarded to support youth attending programs at organizations like MSU Summer Scholars OnStage, Mississippi Lions Band, Controllers 4-H Club, American Ballet Theatre, Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute, and more. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Rules and Applications are online at starkvillearts.net/artseducation. |
| Teen killed in Starkville shooting Sunday | |
| Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a young man in central Starkville Sunday evening. The Starkville Police Department responded to the intersection of Hilliard Street and Sherman Street around 5:15 p.m. April 4 to the report of a shooting with a possible victim. The responding officers found a deceased white male, later identified as Clifton Hester Files, 17, of Starkville. According to Starkville police spokesman Sgt. Brandon Lovelady, the incident occurred on the end of Sherman Street. The suspects are believed to have fled on foot into a wooded area after firing the shots. Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe the suspects and victim knew each other and their motive is under investigation. If you have information related to this incident please contact the Starkville Police Department at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151. |
| 4-County unveils fiber internet service rollout plan | |
| 4-County Electric Power Association unveiled its rollout plan Thursday for FASTnet, a fiber broadband service, for parts of rural Clay, Choctaw, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties. 4-County oversees a nine-county coverage area, including rural portions of Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties. CEO and General Manager Brian Clark said the company is proficient with electrical services, but with internal training is now equipped for fiber internet as well. "This is an initial strategy buildout plan..." Clark said. "We're going to build a ring around our system for communications and expand on that." Clark said this four-phase fiber buildout will take about three years to complete. Phase one, which will begin this spring, includes Lone Oak, Montpelier, Maben, Brooksville and Adaton. Phase two, scheduled to begin in early 2022, includes Oktoc, Golden Triangle, Lake Lowndes, Magbee and Stinson Creek. The co-op began construction for the fiber buildout in October 2020 with a pilot program using $6 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES). This funding allowed 4-County to springboard the project into action, Clark said, granting parts of west Clay, northeast Choctaw and north Noxubee counties with 500 miles of fiber. |
| Bulldog Burger opening soon on Lake Harbour Drive in Ridgeland | |
| Craft burgers are coming back to Lake Harbour as a Starkville-based brand that includes Harveys is bringing a third location to Ridgeland. Workers unloaded kitchen supplies and fresh signage earlier this week as they prepared the building at 879 Lake Harbour Drive, previously a Mugshots. John Bean, president of Eat With Us Group, Bulldog Burger's parent company, said they plan to have their management team in place and ready to start taking applications later in April. He said they expect to open in early June with dinner only service for a week or so before opening for lunch. "We are excited about it," Bean said. "We think this is a great spot." Bean said their indoor build-out is being done by Manning and Manning, a local firm. He said that most of what they have been doing has been bringing in new appliances and furniture and doing some decorating as well as installing signage outside. "It has been an easy conversion," Bean said. Bulldog Burger opened in Starkville in 2016 and was followed by a Tupelo location in 2019. This will be the brand's third location in the state. |
| Carp problem has possibility of spawning industry in Mississippi | |
| Perhaps you've seen one of those videos of crazy fish leaping out of a river as a boat passes and passengers laugh, scream and try to defend themselves. Those are Asian carp, and they can grow quite large -- 100 pounds or more -- and inflict injury on humans. The Magnolia State's waterways and lakes on the western part of the state starting at the Mississippi River have millions of silver carp, according to Dennis Rickey of the Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks department. An Indianola company, Moon River Foods Inc., is trying to do something about the situation. The idea is to catch the carp in sufficient numbers and turn a "bad thing into something good," said Claire Qi of Moon River Foods. So far, not so good. As of now the company has invested $12 million and lost at least $6 million, Qi said. The problem is Moon River can't get enough of the fish because he company cannot find enough fishermen, she said. But some help has arrived. A program funded by the federal government and administered by the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, started incentivizing the industry on March 15. Meantime, the industry has spawned other interest and investment. |
| New Meridian museum attracts children and families | |
| Frances Long discovered the perfect place to take her grandkids -- the new Mississippi Children's Museum in Meridian. Opening March 27, the fabulous facility in the Queen City has impressed visitors since day one. The first satellite venue linked to the Mississippi Children's Museum in Jackson is getting rave reviews in Lauderdale County. "We just think the children's museum is fascinating,'' Long said as her two grandkids recently visited from Virginia. "It's just a great addition to Meridian for all the children that will come here and experience, really, things they might not have ever had a chance to do.'' The Mississippi Children's Museum in the capital city has won over people of all ages since it was birthed in December 2010. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and kids are equally passionate about the newcomer in East Mississippi. "There's something for everybody,'' Long said as her grandkids, Annabel and Barrett, enjoyed their visit to the shining new star in her hometown. The Meridian museum is packed with exhibits focused on literacy, STEAM displays (science, technology, engineering, art and math) with others showcasing health along with nutrition. Its goal in the Magnolia State is to help children develop their talents to grow into productive adult learners. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves extends COVID rules, ups capacity for indoor events in Mississippi | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has extended through April his last executive order that lifted the statewide mask mandate, expanding capacity limitations for indoor events at colleges and K-12 schools in the process. The new executive order, signed by Reeves on Wednesday, is set to expire on April 30 unless it is modified before that date. One change under Reeves' newest order increases seating capacity at indoor arenas from 50% to 75% on college and university campuses. Also, attendance at indoor K-12 extracurricular activities is now limited to 50% capacity -- a 25% increase over the previous order. Those attending indoor events on college and K-12 campuses are encouraged to wear a mask, but Reeves' order continues to only mandate the wearing of masks inside school buildings. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted Thursday that the state is "making remarkable progress" on the spread of coronavirus, but more Mississippians still need to be vaccinated and be safe over Easter weekend. |
| Analysis: Mississippi Capitol actions have real-life impact | |
 | If spring pollen keeps you congested, if you're a 16-year-old enjoying freedom as a new driver or if you're hosting a party and running short of tequila for margaritas -- and, ideally, you are not all those things at once -- the Mississippi Legislature took action this year to affect your life. Gov. Tate Reeves has already signed Senate Bill 2119, which will become law Jan. 1. It will eliminate the prescription requirement for decongestants containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Under the new law, the medicine will be available behind the counter of pharmacies, and pharmacists will be required to keep track of how much is sold to one person. Like many other states, Mississippi mandated a prescription years ago because drug enforcement agents said medications with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine were being used as an ingredient in crystal methamphetamine. Some consumers had complained that nonprescription decongestants were not strong enough. Mississippi Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Republican from Sumrall, told WDAM-TV that drug agents have seen an increase in crystal meth smuggled from other countries, and most states had already eased the prescription requirement for the decongestants. |
| Welfare, golf carts and fake urine: Which bills has Gov. Tate Reeves signed? | |
| Mississippi's three-month legislative session finished Thursday, but Gov. Tate Reeves is still deciding whether to sign dozens of bills lawmakers sent him into law. It's no sure thing Reeves will approve all of them: He has traditionally declined to reveal whether he will sign legislation until he reviews it. And last year the Republican ultimately vetoed a handful of bills at the last minute -- including the education budget, criminal justice reforms and a skills-training bill -- taking many lawmakers off-guard. Below are key bills Reeves has already approved, and several still awaiting his review. Not included in the list are a slew of state agency budget bills. Lawmakers restored pandemic-related budget cuts made during last year's session, and granted many state employees small raises effective next year. They also increased education funding by $102 million -- doubling early childhood program money, paying for more teacher supplies and covering a $51 million teacher pay raise. |
| Rep. Hester Jackson McCray, D-Horn Lake, citing legislative inaction, files early voting ballot initiative | |
| Mississippians could have the final say on whether they should have the same early voting opportunities as voters do in 44 other states and the District of Columbia. An initiative was filed Thursday with Secretary of State Michael Watson's office to place on the election ballot a proposal to allow a minimum of 10 days of early voting, including two Saturdays, before each election. Supporters of the initiative will have to garner the signatures of roughly 100,000 registered Mississippi voters -- 12% of the total from the last governor's election -- during a year's time to place the proposal on the ballot. One-fourth of the required number of signatures must come from each of the four U.S. House districts. Rep. Hester Jackson McCray, D-Horn Lake, said she is sponsoring the initiative in response to requests for early voting from her constituents and because of the long lines she witnessed in the 2020 presidential election and when she campaigned for election in 2019 her home county of DeSoto. "Voting should not be difficult," said McCray, the first African American woman elected to the Legislature from DeSoto County. "Long lines discourage voting." |
| Mississippi AG, website partner to prevent underage drinking | |
 | Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced her office has partnered with Responsibility.org to create and promote resources parents and caregivers can use to talk to their kids about underage drinking. April is Alcohol Responsibility Month. "Underage drinking is not only dangerous and harmful to kids' developing brains and bodies, but it is also illegal," said Fitch. "Parents have the greatest impact on their kids' decision to drink or not to drink alcohol, so I encourage parents to have conversations early and often about the risks of underage drinking. Together, we can keep our children safe and substance-free." According to research, parents and caregivers are already doing a great job talking to their children about staying substance-free. Seventy-four percent of 8th graders report they have never consumed alcohol, a statistic that has decreased 63 percent since 1991. |
| GOP governor: Infrastructure proposal looks more like the Green New Deal | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) on Sunday weighed in on President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, saying it looks more like the Green New Deal, an ambitious climate proposal touted by progressives. "It looks more like the Green New Deal than it looks like an infrastructure plan," Reeves told host Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union." "The problem with this particular plan though is although the Biden administration is calling it an infrastructure plan, it looks more like a $2 trillion tax hike plan to me," Reeves said. "That's going to lead to significant challenges in our economy, it's going to lead to a slowing GDP, it's going to lead to Americans losing significant numbers of jobs," Reeves added. The governor went on to say that infrastructure is an area in which "Republicans and Democrats ought to be able to come together and do something good for the country." But he said that Biden's proposal is a "political statement and not a statement on trying to improve our infrastructure for America," pointing to subsidies for electric vehicles. |
| President Biden's Infrastructure Plan Draws Attacks From Right, Left | |
 | resident Biden's big infrastructure plan drew new criticism from the right and left on Sunday, underscoring the difficult road ahead for the $2.3 trillion effort. In a spate of Sunday television interviews, Republicans continued to criticize the size and sweep of the proposal unveiled Wednesday aimed at addressing climate change -- as well as the corporate-tax hike proposed to pay for it. They also questioned the White House commitment to bipartisanship, saying it was hard for them to support proposals so at odds with their longstanding priorities, even if paired with funding for roads and bridges. "How could the president expect to have bipartisanship when his proposal is a repeal of one of [Republicans'] signature issues in 2017?" Mississippi GOP Sen. Roger Wicker said on NBC. Mr. Wicker added that every Republican senator voted for corporate tax cuts four years ago that Mr. Biden now wants them to partially reverse. The criticism illustrated the plan's legislative challenges ahead because of the 50-50 party divide in the Senate. |
| In Mississippi and New York City, leaders fight to overcome vaccine obstacles | |
 | Leaders from Mississippi and New York said Sunday they are hopeful constituents will ultimately receive the Covid-19 vaccine despite low vaccination rates for their areas. "I'm hopeful as we move forward, that more and more of my constituents will recognize the importance of it," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, said on CNN's "State of the Union" in discussing the reluctance of some of his citizens to get vaccinated. For his part, Reeves said that vaccine hesitancy among some of his citizens is affecting Mississippi's vaccination rate. "I don't think there's any doubt there's vaccine hesitancy, particularly in rural areas across America," Reeves said. "We also had vaccine hesitancy early on within our African American community, in our state and across America." When asked if an endorsement from President Donald Trump would help his constituents get vaccinated, he said that education needs to be the main priority. "Well, I certainly think that President Trump and other leaders across America, not only political leaders, but leaders across all methods would be helpful," Reeves said. "But let's be honest ... We need to educate folks." |
| President Biden's infrastructure plan seen as aiding 'initial link' in farm supply chain | |
 | President Joe Biden's plan to spend billions for better roads, safer bridges and modernized locks and dams on waterways will aid rural areas and the agriculture sector, but some groups say his broad definition of infrastructure and his proposed tax increases are problematic. Johnathan Hladik, policy director for the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska, said he is heartened by the $115 billion the plan says is needed to "repair the worst 10,000 smaller bridges, including bridges that provide critical connections to rural and tribal communities." Hladik said large-scale farming means heavy equipment is needed for harvesting and the routes to fields frequently mean crossing bridges "in very, very poor condition" built decades ago for smaller vehicles. Navigating those bridges can be tricky. "When you're growing corn, you need to bring your semi and your trailer to that field to haul the corn back away," he said. "Well, if you can't get to that field because all of the bridges are out or all of these bridges are so antiquated that they are not designed to hold the weight that you have with your machine, you can't do your job." The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2021 report card gives U.S. roads, bridges, rails, waterways, public parks and other infrastructure an overall grade of C-. The grade was an improvement from D+ in the last report card issued in 2017. |
| Culture wars: Joe Biden avoids engaging the right on social issues | |
 | The culture warriors keep knocking on the White House doors, but President Joe Biden seldom answers. When the Vatican announced last month the Catholic Church wouldn't bless same-sex unions, the White House dodged when asked for a response from Biden, the nation's second Catholic president and a gay rights supporter who officiated at a wedding of two men five years ago. "I don't think he has a personal response to the Vatican," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing that day. Psaki reaffirmed the president's support of same-sex unions: "He's long had that position." A couple of weeks earlier, Psaki punted when asked why Biden made no mention of Dr. Seuss in his proclamation declaring March 2 -- the children's book author's birthday -- as the annual "Read Across America Day." Psaki suggested a reporter reach out to the Department of Education, which she said drafted the proclamation. Psaki's nuanced response to both questions underscores the delicate balance the White House is taking as Biden navigates a minefield of hot-button social issues ranging from the gender of children's toys (see Mr. Potato Head) to transgender athletes in school sports to GOP complaints about "cancel culture." |
| Job creation soars in March | |
| Jobs are blooming, the spring economy is springing. As you've no doubt heard in the news, we got a very good March jobs report Friday morning. To recap a few of the headline numbers: 916,000 jobs were added to the economy, including 280,000 in hard-hit hospitality, places like bars and restaurants and hotels. Also education, construction, manufacturing, warehousing, office work and more. The unemployment rate declined 0.2% to 6%, the lowest level since the pandemic hit and unemployment soared, at one point to 14.8%. That was in April. 350,000 people flowed back into the workforce, looking for jobs, and 200,000 returned from temporary layoffs. The breadth of job growth is what impressed Curt Long at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions. Not just hard-hit bars and restaurants, but retail, transportation, the building trades, finance. "A lot of businesses are looking ahead to really strong consumer demand, and they don't want to be caught flat-footed without the necessary employees," Long said. |
| MUW Alumni Association announces alumni award recipients | |
| The Mississippi University for Women Alumni Association recognizes four outstanding alumni for their achievement and service to the institution, their profession and community as Outstanding Recent Graduate, Alumni Service and two recipients for Alumni Achievement Award. Bridget Wells Brown ('95), Ashley Dean ('06), Carolyn Wilson Byrd ('76) and Symone Bounds ('12), will be honored with an in-person ceremony at the annual alumni meeting in April and at a delayed Homecoming gathering in August 2021. "We are so proud of our alumni and their accomplishments. Not only do they bring honor and recognition to our wonderful institution, but also support and dedication to our alma mater. It's not a surprise that we are honoring four alumni this year," said Rebecca Rogers, MUW Alumni Association president. The MUWAA supports and promotes the mission of The W and provides alumni engagement opportunities. Any former student who has completed at least twelve (12) semester hours at the university and has made an annual contribution to the MUW Foundation is an active member eligible to vote and hold office for the year. F |
| U. of Mississippi to allocate graduation tickets in compliance with public health guidance | |
 | The University of Mississippi is allocating tickets for the class of 2020 and 2021 commencement ceremonies to remain in compliance with current government orders and public health guidance. According to the university's commencement registration form, each 2020 graduate will receive an allotment of tickets based on the total number of RSVPs received by the April 1 deadline. However, 2021 graduates' ticket allotment will be based on the total number of graduates in each school. Both commencement ceremonies will be live streamed, though the university has not released any information about how to view either event. Venue capacities can change depending on COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, according to the commencement frequently asked questions. COVID-19 procedures, including masks and social distancing, will be followed during both ceremonies. Graduates and children under 2 years old do not need a ticket to enter either ceremony. However, children and under will be required to sit in an adult's lap. |
| McLean Institute Partners with IHL for Virtual Event April 13-14 | |
| In an effort to showcase a variety of resources available to aspiring business owners across the state, the University of Mississippi's McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement will co-host the 2021 Mississippi Entrepreneurship Forum on April 13-14. The event, which will be held virtually from Ridgeland, brings together leading entrepreneurs, economic developers, innovators and future business owners to learn more about the entrepreneurial climate and the future of entrepreneurship in Mississippi. Registration for the forum will be on the Cadence event platform on the MEF website. "Events like the Mississippi Entrepreneurship Forum help aspiring business owners gain valuable knowledge and practical applications and expose them to resources that are available to help them in their growth," said John Rounsaville, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority. "Small businesses are the cornerstone of Mississippi's economy, and forums such as this one provide an invaluable network of support that help lead to success." For the first time in its six-year history, the forum will host a virtual NextUp Student Pitch Competition, on April 13. Tasha Bibb, entrepreneurial development director with Innovate Mississippi, has coordinated the planning team's efforts for the pitch competition, thanks to a financial gift from the Mississippi Development Authority. |
| Telehealth in Mississippi has grown rapidly since the coronavirus pandemic began | |
 | The University of Mississippi Medical Center's Center for Telehealth has helped Mississippians, especially those in rural areas, connect with doctors throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Vice Chancellor Dr. LouAnn Woodward says on a normal year, the center will have around 20,000 virtual doctor visits. But last year, she says that grew to more than 130,000. "We're expanding the program so that it includes patients with hypertension, patients with heart failure, and very soon patients with asthma. So it allows us to extend our reach in a different way and in a way that is more convenient to the patient. It's better for patients who have challenges with travel and those sorts of things." The center received $1 million in federal funding last year from the FCC's COVID-19 telehealth program. The funding helped to purchase tablets and other take-home electronics so patients can monitor their health and keep in touch with physicians. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Mississippi U.S. Senator Roger Wicker toured the telehealth facility last week. Chairman Carr says Senator Wicker was an early advocate for telehealth at the start of the pandemic. And Carr says the next step is to expand rural broadband access. "Because all of this is meaningless if you get home and you don't have a high-speed connection at home. So Senator Wicker has been on us at the FCC to make sure that we are prioritizing rural connectivity. We've got to make sure that every single community has a fair shot at a next-gen connection, not just our country's biggest cities." |
| Murals help UMMC students celebrate a year of community service | |
| A year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, some medical students in the capital city are celebrating how the virus brought out the best in the community. Volunteers with Jackson Community Response recently set up two murals in Fondren, both of which are designed to serve as a thank you to the people who helped them better serve the community. "We were thinking about how we wanted to celebrate all the hard work and collaboration and unity over the last year," said Alexa Engel, executive director of JCR. "It wouldn't have been possible without every person that helped us." One of those murals, "Embracing Jackson," is currently on display on Duling Avenue and shows two people wrapping their arms around the city. The work was created by local artist Sabrina Howard. Another mural, entitled "Community Essentials," is a collage featuring such COVID necessities as hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, paper towels, and face masks. It was created by Dipannita Saha, but is not currently on display. The goal is to eventually set up the pieces to other parts of the city, so they can be seen by even more people. |
| Colin McKenzie to serve as new director of Southern Miss School of Music | |
| Following a nationwide search, Chris Winstead, dean of USM's College of Arts and Sciences, has announced that faculty member Colin McKenzie will become the new director of the School of Music effective July 1. McKenzie assumes the position currently held by Jay Dean, who will be retiring from full-time employment in June after serving 33 years in the university's School of Music. "Dr. McKenzie has served with distinction as our associate director of bands and has provided strong leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," Winstead said. "I look forward to working with Dr. McKenzie as he serves in this critical leadership role." McKenzie said he was "thrilled and humbled" at the opportunity. "There is no better place to study music in the country than within the walls of the University of Southern Mississippi School of Music. World-class faculty, dedicated staff and an environment which is ripe with opportunity for students at all levels are hallmarks of what makes our school so great," McKenzie added. |
| 'SCREAMING EAGLE': City announces student-suggested moniker for new Southern Miss-themed fire engine | |
| On the 111th anniversary of the University of Southern Mississippi's founding, the Hattiesburg Fire Department revealed the latest addition to its fleet, the Screaming Eagle. The new engine will be housed at Fire Station No. 6, which is adjacent to the university. Because of its location and the area of service covered by the station, the new engine was wrapped to match Southern Miss school colors -- black and gold -- with a nod to athletics through the golden eagle logo prominently placed on its doors. "On March 30, 1910, a bill was signed that authorized the creation of Mississippi Normal College, now known as the University of Southern Mississippi. Our noble institution has shaped the lives of many, but more than that, it has spurred the growth of the city of Hattiesburg," said Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker. "It -- along with other anchors in our community like William Carey University, Forrest General and Camp Shelby -- has helped elevate the expectations and dreams for our city. The university and our city depend on one another; we benefit from one another, and this truck is an illustration of that." Reflecting the Southern Miss spirit in design, the truck needed a name to match. |
| Mississippi community college offering free summer tuition | |
| A community college in Mississippi is making it easier for students to take classes this summer. Northeast Mississippi Community College plans to use money left over from COVID-19 relief funds to offer free tuition for all students, WCBI-TV reported. The college's president, Dr. Ricky Ford, said the college was looking for ways to help students with federal dollars from the CARES Act, which established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Colleges can only spend the money on COVID-related expenses. "We purchased disinfecting equipment, masks, hand sanitizers, created situations where our classes would have spacing involved in it, so anything COVID related we have used to spend it on, then of the money given to each institution of higher education, a certain amount of that money, usually 50%, is required to go toward students," Ford said. NEMCC is able to use those dollars to fund the tuition free program. "You can come to Northeast Mississippi Community College, get free tuition, free room and board and then if you do not stay in the dorm, you get living expense money you can use to pay for your gas and those type of things, so this is taking federal tax dollars and putting it to work with our students," Ford said. |
| Auburn University Provost Bill Hardgrave misses out on Oklahoma State president's job | |
 | Auburn University Provost Bill Hardgrave will be staying put for now, it appears. Hardgrave was one of the finalists for the presidency of Oklahoma State University, but that school's governing board announced late Friday that Dr. Kayse Shrum, an internal candidate, will get the job. It would have been a reunion for Hardgrave, as he had worked previously at Oklahoma State before taking over as Dean of the Harbert College of Business in 2010. He also taught at the school and obtained his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems there in 1993. In addition, he spent several years at the University of Arkansas in various administrative and faculty roles. It wasn't the first time Hardgrave missed out on the top job at a major university. He was a finalist in 2019 for the Chancellorship at the University of Tennessee, and has been a candidate for the president's chair at the University of Central Florida and the University of Mississippi in recent years. Hardgrave has been a lightning rod of sorts for some Auburn University faculty since taking over as provost in 2018. Some faculty members have complained over the last several months that Hardgrave should consult with them more, especially in the scheduling and makeup of classes since COVID-19 shut down the campus in March 2020. |
| Engineering alum Kenneth Kelly to deliver Auburn's spring commencement address | |
| Eufaula native and Auburn alumnus Kenneth Kelly will deliver Auburn University's Spring Commencement address. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 30, in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Class of 2021 and their guests. "I am humbled to deliver the commencement address to the class of 2021 in one of the greatest venues in our nation," Kelly said in a Tuesday morning news release. "Auburn University provided a foundation for me that was life-changing, and having the opportunity to share this impact is an honor and tribute to all my family, instructors, classmates, peers and administrators who believed in me. "My goal will be to ensure that the Class of 2021 knows that I believe in them." Kelly, a 1990 Auburn University electrical engineering graduate, serves as the chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank, the seventh largest African-American-controlled bank in the country, and chairman of MAC Leasing, a Michigan-based and minority-owned equipment lease financier. Prior to entering the financial sector, Kelly held several positions at the Southern Power Company for nearly 30 years, leading negotiations for solar projects totaling more than $3.4 billion in partnership value. There, he negotiated Southern Power's first $500 million solar facility in California. Kelly retired from Southern Company in 2017. |
| AU Campus Safety addresses lack of communication | |
| Uncertainty over Auburn University's AU Alert system and channels the University disseminates information through promoted student concerns over the past few weeks. A shooting took place the evening of March 13 at Summer Brooke Apartments on Opelika Road, but no AU Alert was sent out. Mackenzie Aycock, sophomore in supply chain management, was near the incident and questioned why no notification came afterward despite the apartment complex's less-than-a-mile distance from campus and its number of student residents. She called the University's Department of Campus Safety and Security seeking answers. "I talked with a woman named Susan and ... I was asking, 'Why have we not been notified of this?'" Aycock said. "She [said] ... it's because it's a location issue." Aycock was told the incident did not fall within a certain radius of University property and thus did not meet the criteria for an AU Alert to be delivered, which she said seemed unreasonable to her. "Auburn is majority students -- there's students coming from downtown, to downtown, from house to house... you're going to have students around the area anywhere in Auburn," she said. "Yeah, it's not next to the University, but we're still all impacted by it." |
| In LSU harassment scandal, lawmakers look to legislative session to fix the 'broken system' | |
 | Furious with LSU's sexual misconduct scandal, Louisiana lawmakers are heading into the upcoming legislative session with hopes of fixing some of the glaring problems around universities' reporting of abuse, with at least three bills already in the hopper that would tighten oversight and reporting requirements on public college campuses. The legislation comes as women lawmakers continue to hold hearings to probe LSU's systemic failures in addressing sexual harassment and abuse. A third hearing on the issue is slated for next week, and a host of LSU officials at the center of the scandal, including head football coach Ed Orgeron, have been asked to testify. At the same time, legislators have been trying to use the legislative process to address the problems exposed since the scandal came to light. Gov. John Bel Edwards is backing at least one of the bills, by Rep. Aimee Freeman, D-New Orleans, which would add teeth to the requirements that employees of colleges and universities report misconduct and abuse allegations, creating a chain of accountability all the way to the board that oversees the school. Importantly, the law would also force institutions like LSU to fire any employee who fails to comply with reporting sexual misconduct and other allegations of abuse. That component of the bill addresses one of the key complaints lawmakers and others have of LSU: that university officials didn't fire anyone in the wake of the scandal. |
| How One University Is Preparing for a Vaccine Blitz | |
 | Florida will start allowing people age 16 and older to be vaccinated on Monday. It's a moment that Michael Lauzardo, deputy director of the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute, has been thinking about for 14 months, since the scope of the coronavirus pandemic started to become clear. Lauzardo oversees the university's mass-vaccination effort, also set to start on Monday. Working with county health officials, the university wants to vaccinate 20,000 students and community members a week for six weeks. "Everything we were working towards was to this moment," he says. "We knew this was our only way out." The University of Florida plans an all-out vaccination blitz. It's not the only one. For instance, the University of Arizona has already administered 100,000 doses. Big universities like them could be critical to bringing the pandemic under control in the United States before more-transmissible variants of the virus spread further. Doing that takes close communication with local health authorities and robust efforts to target vaccine hesitancy. The linchpin of Florida's effort is a relationship between the university and local health officials that predated the pandemic, including medical experts who do work for both the university and the local government. The partnership is a natural fit. |
| U. of Florida researchers engineer new membrane for at-home, overnight dialysis | |
 | Almost 750,000 people per year undergo kidney failure in the U.S., according to statistics from the University of California San Francisco. For those who cannot receive a transplant, dialysis -- mechanical filtering of blood -- is the most common treatment. It's expensive: Medicare covers around 80% of dialysis costs for patients, paying about $90,000 per person per year. It's time consuming: a typical treatment session at a dialysis center takes four hours three times a week, normally during the day. And it's restricting: patients usually have to remain seated or lying down during their sessions as the machines either aren't mobile or are cumbersome, limiting normal movement. That's where University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering department researchers Saeed Moghaddam, professor, and Richard Rode, postdoctoral researcher, come in. Scientists have been trying for years to make smaller, more efficient dialysis filters. Since 2016, Moghaddam and Rode have successfully worked on their own and published their findings in February in the "Advanced Materials Interfaces" journal. Now, the team is making its discovery wearable for at-home, overnight dialysis. It's called a graphene oxide membrane, and a full prototype device will be made in the next year, the engineers said. |
| Graduate students worry about UF's plans to demolish 40% of graduate housing | |
| Emily Fahey worries about where she would raise her two young daughters if UF follows its plans to demolish Maguire Village and University Village South, two of the five graduate and family housing complexes on campus. She lives at Maguire Village with her husband, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, and their 2- and 4-year-old daughters, Penelope and Hermione. They appreciate being able to take the girls to a playground 10 feet outside their house -- something that cannot be found in a complex tailored to undergraduate students. "If they remove graduate housing, they are going to make UF less attractive to families like mine who want to be able to have a family life while they pursue a higher education," Fahey said. Graduate and family housing is a living community reserved for graduate and professional students, as well as those with families, according to its website. Fahey, 35, is not the only graduate housing resident who said they felt unheard and devalued by UF after hearing its plans to demolish nearly half of graduate on-campus residencies. In October 2019, the university announced the campus housing plan with a proposal to tear down two of the five graduate and family housing complexes at UF, stating the buildings were falling apart and too costly to repair. |
| Job training for state's displaced is U. of Arkansas System project's goal | |
| A new University of Arkansas System initiative aims to match Little Rock workers displaced by the pandemic with job training opportunities from colleges around the state. The effort involves making available training programs now offered at all seven UA System community colleges and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. It is being funded by a $900,000, three-year federal grant. The program's first months will involve gathering data from employers, asking, "What are the acute skill sets that you need that you can hire right now?" said Chris Thomason, vice president for planning and development for the UA System. Industry responses will then be matched by bringing relevant training programs from around the state to the Little Rock workers, Thomason said. This would eliminate a worker's concerns about traveling for training while providing hands-on learning opportunities, he said. The project involves helping workers like those in the tourism and hospitality industries hit hard by the pandemic, Thomason said. "A lot of those folks have still not been re-employed," Thomason said. |
| This University of Kentucky campus tradition will take place online. Here's how. | |
 | For many University of Kentucky students, last year's 24-hour DanceBlue marathon was the last taste of normalcy before the curtain fell on pre-pandemic Lexington. The marathon that saw over 900 dedicated, dancing UK students and their donors raise over $2 million for children's cancer research ended on March 1, 2020 -- just a few days before Kentucky's first confirmed case of COVID-19. The UK students behind this year's marathon have had to plan how to move a campus tradition to a fully online format while also keeping the charity's sole purpose in mind: Raising money for pediatric cancer research. "Obviously, nobody expected any of this but also, kids with cancer and their families don't expect to go through that," said Morgan Thurza, a UK senior and DanceBlue's programming chair. After careful planning, this year's dance marathon -- slated for April 10 -- will be fully virtual and shortened from 24 hours to 8 hours. Allie Holt, a UK senior and DanceBlue's overall chair, said the biggest challenge in planning this year's marathon was weighing whether to have an in-person component. |
| Texas A&M, A&M-Kingsville students to take part in Moderna vaccine study | |
 | Students at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville will be part of a nationwide study aiming to determine whether young adults who have received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine can still spread the virus to others. The COVID-19 Prevention Network, headquartered at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, announced March 26 the launch of the Prevent COVID U study, which involves students from colleges and universities across the country. Researchers from the Texas A&M University Health Science Center are involved in data collection for the study. "University students were selected for the study because of high-density housing, zeal to socialize more and less fear of severe disease. These factors are associated with the high burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection on university campuses," George Udeani, professor at Texas A&M's College of Pharmacy, said in a university press release. In total, 12,000 students from 21 universities will participate in the study, and the ages of the participants range from 18 to 26, according to a Tuesday article from the Denver Post. "This is an incredible opportunity for students of Texas A&M to be part of something big," Rebecca Fischer, a professor at Texas A&M's School of Public Health, said. |
| Moody's Investors Service: International enrollment drop to hit higher ed's credit for years | |
 | The U.S. higher education sector will feel a revenue hit for several years from a low number of international students enrolling in colleges and universities this fall, according to a report issued last week by Moody's Investors Service. The development has a negative impact on the sector's credit profile, according to the bond ratings agency. International student enrollments at four-year U.S. colleges and universities fell by 13.6 percent in the fall. A rebound in the upcoming fall may be likely, especially given reports of rising applications from international students, but small classes one year flow on to future years. Several factors could also slow recovery -- coronavirus travel restrictions, reputational effects of hard-line federal immigration policies under former president Trump and increased competition overseas among them. The U.S. has a relatively low percentage of international students compared to some other countries at 5.5 percent, versus 28 percent in Australia, 15 percent in Canada and 20 percent in the United Kingdom. But the U.S. market for international students is highly concentrated. Almost 20 percent of all students from overseas who study in the U.S. attend one of just 20 universities. Those universities tend to have strong brands that may be able to withstand downward demand pressures -- they include Northeastern, New York and Columbia Universities. But other institutions rely heavily on international students to fill out relatively smaller student bodies, even if they don't count among the top international enrollment destinations by sheer number of students. |
| For top colleges, 2021 is a great year in admissions | |
| Not all of the most selective colleges have given out their acceptance letters yet -- the Ivy League will announce Tuesday evening -- but the trends are already clear. The pandemic has not hurt the colleges in admissions; it's helped them. It has sent them new applicants, new minority and first-generation applicants, and new attention. The results are starting to come in -- and they suggest that the most selective private and public institutions are going to have a very good year. What that means for all the other colleges remains to be seen. Colby College admitted only 8 percent of the (record) 15,857 students who applied, down from 10 percent last year and 13 percent the year before. Despite the popularity of test-optional admissions (which Colby had as a policy before the pandemic), Colby received students with great test scores: the median ACT score is 34, and the median SAT score is 1520. Thirty-five percent of American students are people of color, and 11 percent are international students. "Obviously, this had been the most challenging admissions year we have ever had, but we had a really strong strategy," said Matt Proto, vice president for enrollment and communications. Now the key is to get students to enroll. Proto said the college will stream current classes online so newly admitted students can watch. He's hopeful that and other virtual interactions will get the students to enroll. |
| Pandemic scrambles college admissions, with new test-optional rules and surge in applications | |
 | Akosa Obianwu dreams of studying public health, and he has admission offers in hand from Johns Hopkins University and several other competitive schools. Now this 18-year-old high school senior from Maryland is waiting to hear in the next few days from the Ivy League. His story, of perseverance amid pandemic upheaval, would be one to celebrate in any year. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Obianwu excelled in Advanced Placement courses at Bishop McNamara High School in Prince George's County, played alto saxophone in the school band and jazz ensemble and immersed himself in a group called the Black Cultural Alliance. Yet there's a twist that illustrates a moment of profound change in the rules of the game for college admissions, with application totals smashing records at highly selective schools. Obianwu didn't submit SAT or ACT scores when he applied. The coronavirus pandemic derailed admissions testing plans last year for him and hundreds of thousands of other college-bound students. After enduring many cancellations, Obianwu managed to take the SAT once in the fall. He secured what he called a good result, but he said it could have been better with more tries. When selective universities nationwide suspended testing requirements, a concession to the chaos, Obianwu felt relieved and emboldened to stretch his ambitions. Far more students than ever applied this year to the most selective colleges and universities. In recent days they've been learning the results. |
| For many college students, pandemic life is disappointing. For others, it is a financial crisis. | |
 | Colleges around the country have been struggling under the shadow of the coronavirus, facing declining enrollment and major budget cuts. And students have mourned the loss of the traditional college experience, grappling with the disruption as campuses closed and many classes moved on line. But while the pandemic's effect on ordinary college life has been widely chronicled, a new survey took a closer look at the profound effect it has had on the highest-risk students. Many, it found, have faced challenges just to make ends meet, with nearly three in five struggling for access to housing and food. The survey of 195,000 students, released Wednesday by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University found that many are hard put to pay for even the most basic necessities. "There are just way too many students who are struggling with food and housing and they're unlikely to succeed," said the center's founding director, Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of sociology and medicine at Temple. |
| Generation Unemployed: Graduates Again Face Pandemic-Scarred Future | |
 | The job market is starting to roar back, but for anxious college seniors like Bao Ha, it's a different reality altogether. "I've probably applied to like 130 or 40 jobs or something," Ha says. "I have not gotten even an email back, or an interview." Ha is graduating soon from Macalaster College in Minnesota, and between his anthropology thesis and trying to check items off his senior year bucket list, he has spent hours crafting cover letters and scouring job postings. And now, self-doubt has started to trickle in. "Maybe my cover letter sucks; maybe my resume sucks," he says. By many indications, the job market is coming back: The employment report was a blockbuster, showing more than 900,000 jobs created with a big recovery in previously struggling sectors like restaurants. The problem for students like Ha is that youth unemployment remains stubbornly high. Though much better than the 27.4% rate in April last year, the unemployment rate for those ages 16-24 actually ticked higher, to 11.1% in March. That was significantly above the overall unemployment rate of 6%. That's no surprise to Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. When the economy tumbles, the job market tends to be worse for young people, she says. |
| President Biden's infrastructure plan would boost science, tech, R&D funding | |
| President Joe Biden's proposal to invest $2 trillion in American infrastructure and climate change efforts also aims to reverse a more than decadelong decline in federal spending on science, research and development, and technology, as a proportion of the nation's overall spending. According to a rough outline of the spending plan provided by the White House this week, the proposal envisages the following (some of these amounts could be overlapping): $50 billion for the National Science Foundation, which "will focus on fields like semiconductors and advanced computing, advanced communications technology, advanced energy technologies, and biotechnology," according to a White House document. $30 billion in research and development aimed at spurring jobs in rural areas. $40 billion to upgrade physical infrastructure of research labs in federal and university settings. As a result of cuts in federal research and development spending during both Republican and Democratic administrations, the U.S. government "now plays a much smaller role in advancing science than it did in the past," Goldman Sachs said. "The consequence of this trend is particularly damaging for basic research, which depends on the government as its main source of funding." |
| What you need to know when seeking your first job | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, writes: As there are a limited number of weeks remaining in the spring semester, thousands of students are looking forward to graduation and the next phase of their lives. For many, this next phase will include securing a full-time job and, for the first time, demonstrating financial independence. While this is an exciting time, it can also be fraught with challenges if the applicants do not ensure that they offer their best selves to be considered for employment. There are a number of critical issues which must be addressed. The candidate must first fully research any/all available positions which relate to his or her skills and experience in areas where the individual is willing to live. In most cases, the first job is unlikely to exist in the candidate's hometown or even in an area where he or she is extremely familiar. Taking advantage of virtual connecting communities like LinkedIn prior to graduation can help prospective employees vet the employment landscape to see where a majority of opportunities exist as well as to familiarize themselves with specific employer presentations and highlights. It is important for the candidates to recognize that they must do their own due diligence when researching prospective employers just as the employers will do in selecting the candidates to interview. |
| GOP leadership seems witless on Medicaid math | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Hard-headed and hard-hearted Mississippi leaders can't do math. So wrote Greenwood Commonwealth editor Tim Kalich regarding Mississippi's stand against Medicaid expansion. "Gov. Tate Reeves and Republican lawmakers who resist Medicaid expansion have for years said that Mississippi cannot afford to extend health-care coverage to the working poor. They obviously don't bother to do the math." You see, the latest COVID relief package makes Medicaid expansion much more affordable. State Sen. Hob Bryan, chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee, told Mississippi Today, "there will be more money in the state treasury if we expand Medicaid than if we don't." State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney explains. "The federal government puts up 80 cents of every dollar that we spend on Medicaid," he told the Community Foundation for Mississippi's local news collaborative. "If Mississippi were to expand, that amount would increase to 95 cents." ... "I am opposed to expanding Medicaid in Mississippi," Reeves reiterated in March. Asked if the new COVID rescue money would change his mind he said, "No, sir, it will not." This is where Republican hypocrisy reveals itself. The governor and lawmakers are okay with the federal dole for farmers, for paving highways and building bridges across the state, and for Community Development Block Grants used for economic development. |
| The 2021 session might be remembered most for what didn't happen | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: The just-completed 2021 legislative session might be remembered more for bills that were not passed than for those that were. While having little in common, it is fair to say that both Medicaid expansion to cover primarily the working poor and House Speaker's Philip Gunn's Tax Freedom Act would have been among the most impactful legislation for the state of Mississippi in decades if they had passed. Whether that impact would be beneficial or detrimental, of course, like most things, would be determined over time. Neither passed. The Tax Freedom Act, authored by Gunn and two of his top lieutenants, Speaker Pro Tem Jason White of West and Ways and Means Chair Trey Lamar of Senatobia, passed the House but did not make it out of committee in the Senate. The proposal would have phased out the state's income tax, eventually reduced the grocery tax from 7% to 3.5% and increased the sales tax on most other retail items from 7% to 9.5%. In addition, taxes on multiple big-ticket items, such as vehicles and airplanes that have a sales tax rate of 5% or less, would also be increased by 2.5% on each dollar expended on those items. Like Gunn's tax plan, the proposal to expand Medicaid would be significant -- perhaps the most significant change to the state's health care system since Mississippi opted into the original Medicaid health care program in 1969. |
SPORTS
| No. 7 Mississippi State baseball beats Kentucky 4-3, finishes SEC sweep of Wildcats | |
| No. 7 Mississippi State baseball held on and swept its way past Kentucky. The Bulldogs (20-7, 5-4 SEC) beat Kentucky 4-3 on Saturday after beating the Wildcats 8-1 on Thursday and 3-2 on Friday. The sweep is the Bulldogs' first of the SEC season and came on a 2-for-4 day with a home run and a double from catcher Logan Tanner. Mississippi State took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning thanks to Tanner's home run. Luke Hancock also pounded a home run in the second inning and Tanner Allen and Lane Forsythe drove in the other runs. Kentucky trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 4-3 in the eighth inning on two hits and a double steal that let a runner take home. Relief pitcher Parker Stinnett put two runners on base but threw a clean ninth inning for the save. Freshman starting pitcher Jackson Fristoe allowed two runs in five innings with eight strikeouts. Fristoe lowered his ERA to 3.34. Mississippi State returns to action on Tuesday against Southern in Starkville. The Bulldogs will resume SEC play Friday in the first game of a three-game road series against Auburn. |
| Mississippi State baseball completes sweep of Kentucky | |
| Getting swept against Arkansas one week ago left a gloomy forecast hovering over No. 8 Mississippi State. Six days later, the sun was shining bright as ever in Starkville and admittedly may have been the home team's secret 10th player after Kentucky consistently misplayed fly balls and pop-ups in the sun Saturday, leading to just enough offense for the Bulldogs to complete the sweep of the Wildcats with a 4-3 victory at Dudy Noble Field. "It's huge," MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. "It's fun to watch them bounce back, get their confidence back and play really good baseball. Kentucky is going to win a lot of games this year, so getting the sweep is huge in the conference rankings." The Bulldogs (20-7, 5-4 SEC) were bolstered by stellar starting pitching for the duration of the weekend. MSU ace Christian MacLeod racked up 11 strikeouts in an 8-1 win Thursday, while Will Bednar notched double-digit punchouts with 10 in a tight 3-2 victory Friday. Although it wasn't quite as sharp as the previous two outings from his rotationmates, freshman Jackson Fristoe showcased flashes of brilliance of his own in a contest that meant quite a bit for the Paducah, Kentucky, native. "I thought he was great," Lemonis said of Fristoe. "He's a Kentucky kid, so for him to go out there with all that emotion, the only coaching point there is to keep your focus. His stuff was good, his composure was great ... He's one of the better Sunday starters out there. He's ultra competitive for a freshman." |
| No. 8 Bulldogs hold on, sweep Kentucky at home | |
| A week after being embarrassed at home against Arkansas, the Mississippi State baseball bounced back by wrapping up a weekend sweep on Saturday afternoon. No. 8 MSU beat Kentucky, 4-3, at Dudy Noble Field to sweep the three-game weekend series. The Bulldogs (20-7, 5-4 SEC) won on Thursday, 8-1, and won on Friday, 3-2. "It's huge to sweep and it's huge for our guys to play well," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "Getting them going this week was a challenge a little bit. They got knocked down a bit. I'm excited. It's fun to watch them bounce back and get their confidence back and play good baseball." The Bulldogs played well, and the sun helped a little as well. Rowdey Jordan hit a deep fly ball to center field in the first inning, but Kentucky's Austin Schultz lost the ball in the sun and it fell in front of him. By the time he recovered, Jordan was standing on third base. Tanner Allen then drove Jordan in with a sacrifice fly to put MSU up, 1-0. Logan Tanner added Mississippi State's last run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run to go up, 4-1. |
| Mississippi State baseball notebook: Jordan, Fristoe finding success, Hatcher struggling at the plate | |
| After sweeping Kentucky last weekend, Mississippi State baseball moved up to No. 5 nationally in the D1Baseball.com rankings. The Bulldogs will try to keep their momentum going with a midweek contest against Southern Tuesday and a road series against Auburn this weekend. There may not have been anyone more excited about the sweep of the Wildcats than outfielder Rowdey Jordan, who saw his season batting average rise .24 points to .257 after collecting five hits, including a three-hit effort in a win Friday. "He had some good swings (this weekend)," MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. "I feel like he's kind of turning the corner a little bit. Sometimes it's just the game play, you ride it a little bit. I remember a couple years ago when he got going, he flared a ball in against Samford, next thing you know he took off. We need him. He's one of the better offensive players out there and when he's going, he can help us out a lot." Lemonis confirmed unfortunate news Saturday: the Bulldogs will be without the services of right-handed pitcher Riley Self for the duration of this season. "We're not sure of all the details yet, but he hurt his elbow last weekend and he'll be out for the season. He's going to help me coach a little bit. He's always telling me what to do anyways so it'll be nice that he can be officially helping me out." |
| How Mike Leach evaluated Mississippi State's first spring football scrimmage | |
| Just how do the Mississippi State football team's offense and defense feel after the Bulldogs' first scrimmage of 2021 on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium? "Both sides have plenty to be happy with," coach Mike Leach said. "Both sides have plenty to be pissed about." Typically, Leach said, that makes for a pretty good scrimmage, and Saturday's tilt on the bright green grass of Scott Field was no different. The Bulldogs ran out three full units on offense and defense in a loosely officiated intrasquad competition that featured the lack of punts, phantom first downs and yardage sleight of hand without which spring football could never seem complete. Drives were seemingly required to end in touchdowns or field goals, and when one series quickly resulted in six points, the same players took the field again to run it back from the 40-yard line. Still, after more than three months, football was being played, and that was enough. "We were able to go out there with three units, and it still looked like football," Leach said. |
| MSU softball roars back to sweep doubleheader with North Alabama | |
| The Mississippi State softball team was on the brink. Down 7-1 in the sixth inning of the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at North Alabama, the Bulldogs knew what they were up against. Lose both games, and MSU's record would fall to a paltry 16-16 before heading back into a Southeastern Conference slate in which the Dawgs have yet to emerge victorious. Then Mississippi State showed what can make its offense so dangerous on the occasions it happens to be firing on all cylinders. Fa Leilua blasted a grand slam as part of a five-run sixth inning, Madisyn Kennedy delivered the go-ahead hit in the top of the ninth, and the Bulldogs (18-14, 0-9 SEC) came away with a 9-7, extra-inning win over the Lions (17-11, 5-4 Atlantic Sun). MSU went on to beat North Alabama 9-1 in Game 2 of the doubleheader on the run rule in five innings, finishing with seven home runs across the afternoon's two contests. "I thought the hitters really did a good job of sticking within their plan and, even the first time through the lineup, making her grind out at-bats and throw a lot of pitches," MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said in a news release. "We went deeper into counts than we've been doing in the past. It was really good to see them locked in early in the game, and I think that paid off in late-game at-bats." |
| Theo DeRosa to begin covering MSU sports for The Dispatch | |
| Theo DeRosa has been promoted to Mississippi State University athletics beat reporter for The Dispatch. DeRosa joined The Dispatch staff in August 2019 as the high school sports reporter. In his new position, he will primarily provide comprehensive coverage of Bulldog athletics -- from game stories and analysis to profiles, enterprise and other human interest stories. He replaces Ben Portnoy, who has covered the MSU beat for the past two years. Portnoy is moving on to The State, the largest newspaper in South Carolina, where he will cover University of South Carolina Gamecocks football. "I couldn't be more excited to be taking on this new challenge here at The Dispatch," DeRosa said. "Covering Mississippi State sports is a huge responsibility, and I'm ready for all that entails --- providing strong game coverage, writing in-depth features and staying on top of breaking news. I intend to be the go-to reporter for Mississippi State coverage, and I look forward to serving the MSU and Starkville communities well." DeRosa is a Sacramento, California, native. He holds a bachelor's degree in sports journalism and statistics from the University of Missouri. |
| SWAC, with assist from Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, lands deal with Pepsi as part of racial equality initiative | |
| It is hardly a coincidence that as Deion Sanders works to revitalize the football program at Jackson State, a long-term partner has joined forces with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) as a major sponsor. Pepsi announced on Monday it has become the primary beverage sponsor for all SWAC football and basketball championship games through 2023. The three-year deal, according to the company, is a component of the brand's Racial Equality Journey, a series of initiatives the corporation launched in April 2020 with a pledge of $400 million over five years. Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback who has served as a spokesman for Pepsi since the mid-1990s, played a behind-the-scenes role in aligning the beverage powerhouse with the SWAC. "We've been in a relationship for a long time," Sanders told USA TODAY Sports, referring to his connection with Pepsi. "And this just takes it to a whole 'nother level. Back in the 1990s, like every year, it's been about me. But now it's not just about me. It's about us. And that's a beautiful thing, man. I love it." Would the brand's global agreement with the SWAC have occurred without the involvement of Sanders? "No," Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson told USA TODAY Sports. "There's a lot of things that have happened since we hired Coach Sanders." Call it the "Prime Time" effect. |
| Auburn hires Johnnie Harris as women's basketball coach | |
| Auburn has found its next women's basketball coach, in a woman who helped build Mississippi State into a power. Auburn has hired Johnnie Harris as the seventh women's basketball coach in program history, the program announced on Saturday. Harris has spent the last 14 seasons working alongside Texas head coach Vic Schaefer, coaching with him from 2012 to 2020 at Mississippi State before they jumped to Texas this past season. Harris served as associate head coach at Mississippi State for eight seasons, and during that time, the Bulldogs rose to unprecedented heights for the program, making the women's Final Four in 2017 and 2018. "I am excited and honored to join the Auburn Family and be part of a program with such a storied tradition," Harris said in part in a statement released by the university. During both those trips to the Final Four, Harris and Mississippi State won there to make the national championship game both years. Mississippi State won the SEC regular-season championship in 2018 then swept both the conference's regular-season title and the league tournament title in 2019. Harris won the Women's Basketball Coach Association's National Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2018. This season, Harris served as associated head coach for a Texas team that made the Elite Eight. |
| Athlete Ally releases LGBTQ equality ratings for Division I institutions | |
| LGBTQ advocacy groups are calling on college athletic departments to support the participation of LGBTQ students in intercollegiate athletics and to affirm their right to protection in the face of growing political hostility. The demand by advocates comes at a time when lawmakers in various states are proposing or adopting legislation banning transgender women from competing on women's sports teams and as the Biden administration reviews Department of Education policies on the participation of transgender athletes on intercollegiate and K-12 teams. The LGBTQ advocates are concerned about whether the athletes will be protected from discrimination given the policies implemented under former secretary of education Betsy DeVos that were aimed at preventing transgender athletes from competing in college and K-12 sports programs. The advocates want college athletics administrators to enact and publicly support inclusive policies and practices that protect LGBTQ athletes and ensure staff members are adequately trained, said Anna Baeth, director of research for Athlete Ally, a national organization that advocates for LGBTQ inclusion and equality in sports. The group released its third Athlete Equality Index today, which rates the policies of all 353 institutions in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and how they treat LGBTQ students. The index is an accountability measure to ensure the equal participation of LGBTQ athletes in sports programs. |
| What baseball can learn about COVID-19 case spikes and crowd size from the NFL's 2020 season | |
| Baseball season is here, and thousands of cheering fans are back in the ballparks after a year of empty seats and cardboard cutouts as fan stand-ins. Still cautious of the COVID-19 risk, most teams were keeping season openers to 20-30% capacity. Only the Texas Rangers planned a packed stadium for its home opener on April 5, a move President Joe Biden called irresponsible. It isn't just baseball -- college basketball was allowing up to a quarter of seats filled for Final Four games, soccer season starts April 17, and promoters are planning professional fights in filled-to-capacity arenas. Many of these attendance decisions are being made with minimal data about the heightened risk that players and fans face of getting COVID-19 at stadiums or arenas and spreading it the community. There is one large-scale experiment that can offer some insight: the National Football League's 2020 season. The NFL played 269 games in 30 cities, some with thousands of fans on hand, others with none. To help everyone understand the risks, we and other colleagues who study large-scale risks to professional sports crunched the numbers. What we found can help teams and fans decide how best to enjoy their favorite games. |
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