| Monday, February 16, 2026 |
| Endangered sea turtles get high-tech care at Mississippi State University | |
 | Two endangered sea turtles are getting a new lease on life thanks to advanced imaging at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Alfonzo, a sub-adult Green sea turtle, and Sawyer, an adult male Kemp's ridley sea turtle, recently traveled from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Starkville for computed tomography (CT) scans that will guide their ongoing treatment. "IMMS recovered the turtles, and our veterinary clinicians have been providing all of their medical support," said Dr. Debra Moore, MSU CVM and University Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security assistant clinical professor, who has worked with sea turtles for 35 years. "The hope is always to provide the highest level of veterinary care so we can improve or even resolve their medical issues and ultimately release them back into the wild." The turtles were rescued by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) in Gulfport and brought to MSU through a partnership that allows the school's veterinarians to provide specialized care when needed. Resident Dr. Tom Campbell led the CT imaging team, with Dr. Alexandra Emelianchik helping oversee diagnostics. |
| MSU trains entrepreneurs at mCITY | |
 | Startup Expedition, an entrepreneur workshop run by Mississippi State University (MSU), kicked off on Jan. 30 at MCITy in downtown Vicksburg. The program is a multi-phase event that runs from Jan. 30 to mid-April. The first phase, Basecamp, took place over the course of two days. During this time, attendees pitched business ideas, formed teams, and learned the fundamentals of problem discovery and customer interviews. Tasha Bibb is the Senior Program Manager of the Office of Technology Management at MSU. She described what attendees were working on during the two day introduction. "We talked about how to look at a business plan ... (At the beginning of Basecamp), you just lay out your assumptions and what you're thinking, and that kind of directs the conversations that you'll have with potential customers to either validate or invalidate what you're thinking," Bibb said. "So we showed them how to do that. We allowed them to work with mentors one-on-one. We had a lot of folks from the city and the community come in and help them kind of think through those things. And then at the end of the day, we allow them to pitch what they worked on." |
| Halfway to a halfpipe: Starkville secures funds for skate park | |
| A new skate park could open at the Sportsplex by the end of the year following aldermen approval of a $120,000 federal grant Tuesday evening. The funding, administered through the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks' Recreational Trails Program, would cover 30% of the planned $400,000 park on Lynn Lane. City Engineer Cody Burnett said he hopes to see construction on the park begin this summer. "They build these very quickly," Burnett told The Dispatch following the board's Friday work session meeting. "So it's possible, I won't say for sure, but possible we'll all be skating by the end of the year." The remaining $280,000 needed for the project would come from the city's 1% and 2% tourism taxes, Burnett said. Approval of the item has been placed on the consent agenda for aldermen to consider during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday at City Hall. "This is really a chance to create a legacy facility," Burnett said during the meeting. "... We have never had an accommodation for this use-type in our parks system." |
| Saving farmers money on equipment purchases | |
| Lawmakers are looking at removing sales taxes on ag equipment sales to help farmers save some money. Mississippi State Senator Neil Whaley's bill SB 2272 passed in the Senate on Feb. 9 by a vote of 50-1. The legislation proposes axing the 1.5 percent sales tax rate on "retail sales of farm tractors and parts and labor used to maintain and/or repair such tractors, when made to farmers for agricultural purposes," the bill says. Farm implements, materials for raising poultry and livestock, agricultural lime, and logging equipment would also be exempt from the tax. The tax exemption wouldn't be a blanket exemption. SB 2272 directs the State Department of Revenue to create an application process for qualified farmers to get a permit for the exemption. Once a farmer has the permit, he or she shows it at the point of sale, and the 1.5 percent tax would be removed. Farm equipment is becoming increasingly expensive in Mississippi. "Mississippi farmers have been struggling with multiple years of losses, and this is a straightforward way we can provide immediate relief and cut their operating costs," Delbert Hosemann, Lt. Gov. of Mississippi, said in a Feb. 9 social media post after the bill passed. The National Federation of Independent Business also supports the legislation. |
| Farmers Are Aging. Their Kids Don't Want to Be in the Family Business. | |
 | Don Guinnip is running out of time. The fifth-generation farmer still wakes early each morning to tend to roughly 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans and 40 cattle. But four decades of grueling work, a bout with prostate cancer and surgery to replace both of his hips with titanium implants have taken their toll. The 74-year-old estimates he can maintain the current workload for a couple more years. Under the gaze of generations of Guinnips in black-and-white photos, he gathers his four siblings to chart the future of their family's farm -- and contemplates a day when a Guinnip no longer cares for the land that runs along Guinnip Road. The natural choice to take over, his son and daughter, left for college and now work in corporate fields. His siblings made the same decision years earlier. The number of farmers in America has been shrinking for years, but rising costs and weak commodity prices are pushing more families out at a faster rate. In 2025, 315 farms filed for bankruptcy, up 46% from 2024, U.S. court data shows. Those left are aging; there are more farmers 75 and older than under the age of 35, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are facing tough choices and tougher prospects. "Family agriculture is in crisis, and American farmers and ranchers are fighting for their livelihoods," says National Farmers Union President Rob Larew. |
| Lauderdale County in talks for second data center investment | |
 | Lauderdale County residents may soon see construction in the Sonny Montgomery Industrial Park as talks are underway to bring a second data center to the area. According to public records, county officials and Echelon Data Centres, a data center company based in Dublin, Ireland, have signed a letter of intent for Echelon to purchase approximately 300 acres of land south of Northeast Industrial Park Road. The property includes the old Loblolly site and stretches from Highway 45 on the west side to the railroad tracks on the east. The five-parcel purchase includes county-owned land as well as property owned by Meridian Coca-Cola. Public records show Echelon is also working with Mississippi Power to provide approximately 500 mega volt-amperes to power the site. If finalized, the deal would be Lauderdale County's second data center project, following just over a year after local and state officials announced a $10 billion investment from Compass Data Centers to build an eight-center data campus in the Key Brother's Industrial Park, just south of the proposed Echelon site. |
| Lawmakers entertain consolidation within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety | |
| The Mississippi Department of Public Safety supports legislation passed by the state Senate last week that would streamline its operations. The bill -- SB 2817 -- would consolidate DPS's current 11 divisions into 7 units. DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell said that by merging the units, the department could see savings in administration and purchasing while making it easier for agents to make moves within the department during their career. Additionally, he said it would be easier for DPS to share intelligence and coordinate investigations. The funds saved, Tindell said, "could be put to use for front-line purposes," such as additional equipment and training. Under the proposed legislation, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Narcotics, the Bureau of Homeland Security, and the Bureau of Forensic Laboratories would fall under the authority of what would be termed the Mississippi State Bureau of Investigation. Tindell said combining the four units under the MSBI would allow the agencies to cut administrative costs and share computer software as DPS intends to save funds by purchasing a single system. The bill, which passed 48 to 4 in the Senate, was transmitted to the House, where it was referred to the Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency and Judiciary B committees. |
| House looks to create state health insurance exchange | |
| A bill working its way through the Mississippi Legislature could lead to the creation of a state health insurance exchange. Authored by State Rep. Henry Zuber (R), HB 605 does not immediately establish the exchange, but he said it will start the process. While exuberant in his initial description of the bill, he later cautioned that the actual creation of such an exchange could take up to two years. "One of the best things that we can do to accomplish that and to help our healthcare providers in the great state of Mississippi is to help small businesses provide insurance for their employees and to increase the number of our fellow citizens that have insurance," Zuber told the House. Creation of the exchange will begin with a meeting by the State Affairs Committee early next week where members will consider the best method to establish the state sponsored health insurance exchange. "We're going to help our employers provide insurance for our hardworking citizens, we're going to bring down medical costs and we're going to increase the number of insured in Mississippi," Zuber exclaimed. The Coast state representative said the bill is a starting point for future action that might be required under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. |
| All elected school board bill dies in Mississippi House | |
| A measure that would have made all public school board members in Mississippi elected died on the calendar Thursday without a vote in the full House, much to the chagrin of the bill's author, State Rep. Jansen Owen (R). "After passing the bill [in the House Education Committee], the consensus was present in the House to move it forward," Owen told Magnolia Tribune on Friday. "What we didn't realize was how widespread the lack of uniformity is between districts. Some elect a few members and not others. Some elect them for four-year terms or six-year terms. The election years vary widely." Owen said many of the districts fail to hold elections, causing members to hold over beyond their terms. "Even appointed members end up not re-appointed but hold over beyond their terms," Owen said. Ultimately, Rep. Owen said to make all of the state's school boards elected, "we must also have uniformity and to get it right, we need more time to study the differences between districts." As previously reported, it is not the first time such legislation has been filed in the Mississippi Legislature. Similar bills have been proposed and allowed to die for well over a decade. |
| House farm bill would set hemp testing, pesticide label authority | |
 | The House Agriculture Committee on Friday unveiled a five-year farm bill ahead of the scheduled Feb. 23 markup of a measure that could divide members across regional lines as much as political ones. The draft bill would set intoxicant testing requirements for hemp, give the EPA sole authority for pesticide labeling, restrict states from setting animal cruelty standards that apply to other states, and move the orphaned Food for Peace program to the Agriculture Department from the shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development. The issues are to some extent more regional than political, with members from both parties supporting provisions important to their states. The farm bill has historically balanced Republicans' rural interests with Democrats' urban ones to secure enough votes for passage. The summary also includes several arcane provisions, including one that would make propane used for drying or in handling equipment eligible for a USDA program providing low-interest loans to finance storage facilities. Another would protect producers "from Washington dysfunction" by making sure they can use marketing assistance loans during a government shutdown. Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson said Thursday the committee would begin marking the bill up on Feb. 23, indicating the drafting session could take several days. The bill, if enacted, would be the first long-term farm bill since 2018. The Senate hasn't yet released its version of the new farm bill. |
| Republicans worry party won't do enough to address costs before midterms | |
 | Some Senate Republicans are warning that the party is not doing enough to address affordability entering the midterm elections, with hopes of passing more big-ticket items this year quickly fading away. Legislating has been difficult in this Congress, with fractious Republicans holding only a narrow majority, and is only expected to slow further in an election year. And President Trump last week poured cold water on the possibility of a second massive, GOP-only bill, saying in an interview that "we've gotten everything passed that we need." Some in the party think that's a mistake -- and worry the GOP does not have an ambitious enough legislative agenda for the rest of the year aimed at driving down costs, which is expected to be a top issue for voters in November. "We're not going to win the midterm by going to the American people and saying, 'Look, we passed 11 out of 12 appropriations bills and we confirmed all of President Trump's nominees,'" Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. "The American people don't care. That's not what, when moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can't -- that's not what they're worried about. They're worried about the cost of living. ... In their minds, they're tired of selling blood plasma to go grocery shopping." |
| Trump Is Having to Work Harder Than Ever to Keep GOP In Line | |
| In September, Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon struggled over whether to back the White House on tariffs in a key House vote and, after an intense lobbying campaign from his party's leaders, supported President Trump. This week the congressman flipped, one of six House Republicans to vote to rein in the president's tariffs on Canada. Bacon's switch came despite an effort he said included party leaders calling companies in his state and promising exemptions if he would get on board. Instead, the lawmaker said he stood on principle after rereading Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," the philosopher's seminal 1776 treatise championing free trade. It is just one example of how Trump and the White House are finding they need to spend more and more effort on a task that used to come easily: Keeping the GOP rank-and-file in line. After facing little resistance from Republicans during the first year of his second term, Trump is now contending with pushback from the GOP on multiple fronts including on issues that are most closely associated with his agenda like trade and even immigration. The nascent independence, particularly in Congress, shows how some Republicans are recalculating the delicate balance between fealty to Trump and concern that some of his policies depart from their views or drag on their election prospects. |
| Rubio says U.S., Europe 'belong together,' despite rifts over Trump policies | |
 | Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the United States and Europe "belong together" in a speech Saturday seeking to unify the Western alliance, while condemning hallmarks of globalization, open borders, unfettered free trade, "deindustrialization" and mass migration. Rubio's message, in a keynote address at the annual Munich Security Conference, received applause from an audience of European leaders distressed about divisions with the United States stoked by President Donald Trump's punitive tariffs, territorial ambitions for Greenland and disagreements over how to end Russia's war in Ukraine. "We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together," Rubio said. But even as he appealed to those ties, Rubio promoted several Trump administration positions that put him at odds with many of the United States' closest traditional allies. Compared, however, to Vice President JD Vance's blistering speech in Munich last year, which left the audience stunned by his political criticisms of Europe, Rubio's appeal to strengthen the alliance was received as more constructive. "Our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe," he said. |
| Kennedy Promises Action, Though Not Regulation, on Ultraprocessed Foods | |
 | Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Sunday that the Trump administration was likely to limit its action on ultraprocessed foods to simply informing Americans about their potentially harmful ingredients rather than regulate them. Mr. Kennedy made the remarks on the CBS News program "60 Minutes," which also featured Dr. David A. Kessler, the former F.D.A. commissioner who filed the citizens petition in August. Dr. Kessler modeled his request to the agency on his own work in the 1990s taking on the tobacco industry. Dr. Kessler, who held an advisory role in the Biden administration and disagrees strongly with Mr. Kennedy's stance on vaccines, contended in the petition that the agency he ran more than 30 years ago had the authority and the scientific evidence to declare that some of the core ingredients in ultraprocessed foods were no longer "generally recognized as safe." "We will act on -- on David Kessler's petition," Mr. Kennedy said on the program. "And the questions that he's asking are questions that F.D.A. should've been asking a long, long time ago." But Mr. Kennedy demurred when asked whether the Trump administration would regulate ultraprocessed foods. The secretary has been traveling the country touting his "Eat Real Food" message. He has repeatedly described ultraprocessed foods as poison and has said he wants them out of the food supply. |
| Immigration officers seem to be trained to be 'nasty, mean and cruel,' Schumer says | |
 | Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday questioned the Department of Homeland Security's training of immigration officers, calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement a "rogue force." "They're almost trained, it looks like, to be nasty and mean and cruel and go way beyond what ordinary police departments do," the New York Democrat told CNN's "State of the Union." "They need to be reined in and they need to stop the violence," Schumer added. Schumer's comments come after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security without extensive changes to ICE and Customs and Border Protection following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti last month. Their demands include strengthening warrant requirements, unmasking federal immigration officers and ending roving patrols. Congressional Republicans and the White House have largely rejected the demands, arguing things like unmasking agents could lead to an increase in doxxing officers. But Schumer on Sunday said the argument "makes no sense." "Every other police department in America is unmasked. ICE can do the same," he told host Jake Tapper. Part of that immigration crackdown could be seen at polling places this year. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday said the department would "make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders." Schumer on Sunday issued a sharp rebuke of Noem's statement. |
| Elon Musk's xAI faces threat of NAACP lawsuit over air pollution from Mississippi data center | |
| Elon Musk's xAI, which merged with SpaceX last week, is facing increased pressure from environmental and civil rights groups over pollution concerns, this time at the company's facility in Southaven, Mississippi. On Friday, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, on behalf of the NAACP, sent a notice of intent to sue xAI and subsidiary MZX Tech LLC, saying the company's use of dozens of natural gas-burning turbines requires a federal permit, violates the Clean Air Act and harms nearby communities. Pollution from the turbines, which xAI has also used in Memphis, Tennessee, for its Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers, has been a major source of local contention for more than a year. Plans for a third data center in Southaven, located about 20 miles from Memphis, were announced early this year, when Mississippi Republican Governor Tate Reeves said he expected the project to create "hundreds of permanent jobs throughout DeSoto County." Musk is banking on the area in and around Memphis as the foundation of his AI ambitions, and he's been flouting environmental rules in order to develop as quickly as possible. Noise pollution from the turbines has also been a source of local consternation. Jason Haley, a Southaven resident, told CNBC the turbines make headache-inducing noises around the clock that he can hear inside his home. |
| Amazon's Canton Data Center Promises Prosperity. For Neighbors, It's Bringing Dust, Noise and Pollution Fears | |
| Johnny Sims has spent the past two years living next to a neighbor unlike any other. Less than 200 yards from his home on the outskirts of Canton, Mississippi, is a sprawling industrial park with a partially completed data center campus -- one of two Madison County locations selected by Amazon to store, process and distribute massive amounts of digital data. The arrival of the data center and adjacent development has transformed conditions in Idlebriar, the serene, tree-filled subdivision that Sims and his wife settled in three decades ago. An influx of traffic around the site has created bottlenecks in the neighborhood and lengthened residents' commute times, and the sounds of vehicles and heavy machinery have kept Sims' family up at night. Ongoing construction has also caused dust to accumulate in the subdivision, covering houses, cars and vegetation and raising alarm bells about degraded air quality. The dust has proven especially damaging for Sims' teenage daughter, who suffers from asthma and has had to wear a face covering outdoors to keep her symptoms from worsening. "Amazon brought a lot of baggage with them," said Sims, who has been a Madison County constable for almost 30 years and previously served as Canton's fire chief. "When I moved out here, it was a peaceful, quiet neighborhood. But once all that (development) came, everything went to mess." Amazon's Madison County complexes are part of a boom in IT infrastructure development around Mississippi, fueled by the escalating power demands of artificial intelligence and large language models like ChatGPT. |
| Primary care doctors are burned out, and many are turning to concierge medicine | |
| A growing number of primary care doctors are going into concierge medicine, meaning they charge patients a flat fee of often a couple thousand dollars a year, or more, to be part of their practice. They're still a minority, but between 2018 and 2023 the number of practices charging an annual fee almost doubled, according to a study from Harvard. Concierge doctors still bill insurance, too, but charging that annual fee means they can afford to have fewer patients on their roster and give the ones they do have a lot more time and access. When Dr. John Siedlecki first started working as a primary care doctor in Virginia almost 30 years ago, he loved it. Physicals were an hour long, follow up appointments were 20 or 30 minutes, there was plenty of time to spend with patients. It was great. But it didn't last. These days, he said, "the patients you're taking care of tend to be older, sicker, they take more time." Yet primary care doctors have less time. Reimbursement rates have declined over the years, so doctors make less money now, per patient, than they used to. A growing number of primary care doctors are going into concierge medicine, meaning they charge patients a flat fee -- often a couple thousand dollars a year, sometimes much more -- to be part of their practice. |
| Pope's Lenten message: Abstain from harsh words and rash judgement | |
| "I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor." Pope Leo XIV made that invitation at the heart of his message for Lent 2026, which was released on Friday. As Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, the Pope said this liturgical season offers Christians an opportunity to place the mystery of God back at the center of our lives. Every journey of conversion, he said, begins by letting God's word touch our hearts, so that we may renew our commitment to follow Christ in the mystery of His saving passion, death, and resurrection. Pope Leo focused on the importance of listening to God and to those around us, allowing ourselves to enter into authentic relationships. "In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society," he said, "Sacred Scripture helps us to recognize and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering." |
| Holmes Community College's $20M expansion: What it means for Ridgeland | |
 | A $20 million expansion of a building along I-55 in Ridgeland could change the look of the Jackson suburb and take Holmes Community College to the next level both educationally and from an economic development perspective. Holmes broke ground in summer 2025 on its new 65,000-square-foot Allied Health Facility on the Ridgeland Campus. This new facility, which is expected to open in early 2027, will allow HCC to expand its training programs for practical nurses, registered nurses, surgical technologists, and occupational therapy assistants. It will also free up much-space for the school's EMT and paramedic programs and create room for the growth of the culinary arts program. "It's a good time to be in the community college business," Holmes President Jim Haffey told the Clarion Ledger. "We have eyed that site since the mid 1980s and took over the old fitness business that was once there, but this addition really solves a need for us and creates a real gateway to our Ridgeland campus." Holmes had wanted to make this move for a long time, but Entergy owned the property adjacent to the former fitness center that HCC had already acquired. Haffey said he and Entergy CEO Haley Fisackerly eventually came to an agreement and Holmes took over the property. |
| Demystifying technology: Base Camp Coding Academy turns 10, prepares for next class | |
 | Every year, Mississippi has 1,200 unfilled computing jobs but has fewer than 200 computer science graduates. But Base Camp Coding Academy in Water Valley is doing its part to try to help fill some of those roles. During the past decade, more than 150 students have graduated from the BCCA, with many getting coding jobs with companies like C Spire, Renasant, Walmart, Trustmark, mTrade, Morgan White Insurance, BankPlus and more. Another 25 or so should graduate next year. And all have not had to pay a dime to attend the non-profit Base Camp Coding Academy, which is designed to train recent high school graduates -- as well as working adults looking for a career change -- to be software engineers. "It's not magic, you don't have to be a super-genius, you don't have to work 80 hours a week," said Sean Ennis, BCCA senior director. "It's a skill just like anything else. We align ourselves a lot of times with the trade school community, the idea being it's a skill that you learn whether you want to be a welder, cooking an omelet or hitting 90 mile per fastball. You learn the rules and you apply it." Base Camp Coding Academy is located in a former garment factory, where Northwest Community College also occupies a large space. The two organizations also have a partnership that benefits the younger students. |
| A record-breaking number of students are applying to LSU -- most from out of state | |
 | In the past decade, the number of students applying to LSU has nearly tripled --- and the number of applicants from out of state has soared. Over 62,000 potential incoming freshmen have applied this cycle, university officials say, compared to 29,000 in 2020. While the pool of applicants swells, so does the proportion of out-of-state students interested in becoming Tigers. A staggering 82% of applications came from non-Louisiana residents, up from 49% in 2017. "That is a trend across all institution types, whether it's a regional, public or a flagship, even private institutions, seeing more students choose to come to the southeast than ever before," LSU Vice President for Enrollment Management Emmett Brown said. "This region, in general, is growing. We happen to both be the type of institution that's grown the most but also in a region that's in demand." Officials say LSU benefits from a confluence of factors, which might help it head off the dreaded "demographic cliff" that is worrying other universities as the number of high school graduates in the U.S. ebbs due to population decline. The appeal of the SEC, the university's resources as a flagship institution and a vibrant student experience attract the "best and brightest" from Louisiana and other states, they said. |
| Oklahoma Is 'Phasing Out' Tenure. Will the Idea Catch On? | |
 | Alexandra Doyle was scrolling through social media at a restaurant last week when she saw the news: The governor of Oklahoma had signed an executive order to "phase out tenure" at most of the state's public institutions -- including Northeastern State University, where Doyle is an assistant professor of clarinet. Doyle is still a few years from going up for tenure, but now she wonders: Will she still be eligible to do so? Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, decreed that Oklahoma's public regional institutions and community colleges "shall not grant new lifetime tenure appointments" and should instead sign faculty members to renewable contracts. But the order's language is unclear: Can professors on the tenure track, like Doyle, still pursue the dream they've spent decades chasing? Doyle spent much of the evening in tears. The following days brought more uncertainty; neither Doyle's department chair nor her dean had answers, though the dean promised at a faculty meeting last week that Northeastern State would "proceed as normal" until it receives word from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education that it needs to change its policies. But on Thursday, Northeastern State administrators said they'd been asked to put tenure recommendations on hold while they await "clarification and direction" from the regents and the Regional University System of Oklahoma. |
| New inverted food pyramid suggests more general approach to nutrition | |
 | In early January, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an initiative to encourage Americans to take their health into their own hands. While some nutrition experts say eating real food is the key message people should take from the guidelines, others say limiting factors could affect access to nutrient dense options. The report encourages individuals to increase the consumption of protein and continue to consume foods such as dairy, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats. Noticeably, refined carbohydrates were mentioned in a string of highly processed foods to avoid, including food with added sugars, sodium and unhealthy fats. Piper Forthaus, a University of Missouri student studying nutrition and exercise physiology with an emphasis in dietetics, works at NutriZou and counsels patients on their diet. She criticized the report for its more basic and relatively generalized approach to dieting and nutrition. She said that a lack of information on legumes, beans and lentils, very cost-effective sources of protein and carbohydrates, gives an incomplete picture as to what nutrition can look like. |
| For College Applicants, Pressure to Make Summers Count Has Gotten Even Worse | |
| The country's most ambitious high-schoolers now have one more thing to fret over: crafting their "summer story." Overachieving teenagers have long pursued a smorgasbord of résumé-polishing summer activities. But a range of impressive summer pursuits is no longer enough, some college advisers say. Students now feel pressure to specialize -- as early as their freshman summer -- in interests they want to pursue in college. The idea, college advisers say, is to assemble a list of summer pursuits that show increasing mastery in a distinct specialty. That "narrative" can help students stand out in a sea of all-rounders, they say. So many students now have high GPAs and strong test scores that the competition has extended to the summer, said Lisa Bain Carlton, a college counselor in Austin, Texas. "A significant differentiator is: What have you done outside the classroom? And what does it tell us about what you're going to do at our college?" Bain Carlton said. Summer activities have always played a role in college admissions, but now "it's like a train that's taken off and gotten faster and faster and faster," she said. Ben Bousquet, director of college consulting at Sierra Admissions and a former assistant admissions director at Vanderbilt University, said his strategy is to help narrow students' academic interests down to one or two passions. He then recommends summer programs that authentically align with those interests. |
| Pell Grant Facing $11.5B Shortfall, CBO Says | |
 | Last year, analysts projected a significant long-term budget shortfall for the Pell Grant program -- the first in more than a decade -- sending shock waves through Congress. And while the Legislature tried to address it with a $10.5 billion Band-Aid, the Congressional Budget Office's latest projection shows that even such an emergency action won't be enough to prevent devastating deficits for the long-standing financial aid program that helps low-income students pay for college. The report, released late Thursday evening, projects that by the end of fiscal year 2026, which ends Sept. 30, the Pell Grant program will be short $5.5 billion; that number skyrockets to $11.5 billion in fiscal year 2027 if Congress doesn't make cuts or put in new money. And by 2036, the final year included in the CBO's 10-year projection, the cumulative toll could reach up to $132 billion if Congress doesn't up its spending to keep pace with inflation. (The 10-year deficit would be about $104 billion if adjusted for inflation.) Pell awards are already set for the 2025–26 academic year and many grants have already gone out the door, so Congress can't address the shortfall by clawing back federal dollars, experts said. That means lawmakers will have to find the $5.5 billion before grappling with the larger long-term shortfall. |
| The Heritage Foundation Drove Trump's 2025 Higher-Ed Agenda. What's Its Plan for 2026? | |
| Project 2025, the influential policy blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation, set a clear agenda for the Trump administration's sweeping efforts to reform higher education in its first year in office. What comes next? Heritage's "Themes for Higher Education Reform," published in January, give an indication. One item high on its list: stripping accreditors of their role as gatekeepers of federal funding. The Trump administration has already sought to shake up accreditation by bringing new agencies into the mix, but the Heritage proposal goes much further. I dug into that proposal with Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow for higher-education reform at the Heritage Foundation and an author of the report. We started out wonky, but I was surprised to find us veer into deeper questions of moral development and college access. Our conversation shows that higher education and its critics have come to hold far fewer shared assumptions than those on campus might think. The following has been edited for length and clarity. |
| School choice, not teacher pay, has been Tate Reeves' priority for 2026 Legislature | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: While the final chapter is far from being written, it appears that the primary focus of the 2026 Mississippi legislative session will be teacher pay instead of school choice. Nearly all of the talk before the three-month session began in early January was centered on the plans of House Speaker Jason White and Gov. Tate Reeves to greatly expand programs providing public funds to private schools. But support for the proposal has been lukewarm in White's House and it appears to be practically non-existent in the Senate. On the other hand, the Senate has passed a proposal to provide a $2,000 per year pay raise for kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and faculty at the community college and university level. The House has proposed an annual $5,000 pay raise for K-12 teachers. No House or Senate member has voted against the teacher pay proposals. The two Republican-controlled chambers have to agree on a single plan to send to the governor. If the final number agreed to by legislators is closer to the speaker's House plan, it would be one of the larger teacher pay increases in the state's history. |
| Mississippi reflects the nation regarding jobs | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: The boom in manufacturing jobs President Donald Trump forecast last April has yet to loom much yet boom. "Manufacturers shed workers in each of the eight months after Trump unveiled Liberation Day' tariffs," the Wall Street Journal reported this month. In April 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 12,847,000 manufacturing jobs. By October the number had fallen to 12,702,000 (seasonally adjusted), dropping to 12,692,000 in December (preliminary). This news comes as major companies across the nation announce significant layoffs. UPS, Amazon, and Meta were among major corporations planning to lay off thousands of workers. So how is Mississippi faring in comparison? Last April, state manufacturing jobs totaled 140,100. For all of 2025, they averaged 140,900, a third year in a row drop from 147,400 in 2022. From 2022 through 2025, manufacturing jobs fell from 12.6% of total nonfarm jobs to 11.7%. |
| The greatest president the world's forgotten | |
| The Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: At a Washington dinner party, a socialite sidled up to President Calvin Coolidge with a mischievous smile. "Mr. President," she said, "I've made a bet that I can get you to say more than three words." Coolidge looked at her, expression unchanged, and replied, "you lose." That was Calvin Coolidge in a nutshell. Few words. No theatrics. No appetite for spectacle. And, perhaps because of that, one of the most misunderstood -- and under-appreciated -- presidents in American history. On Presidents' Day, Americans tend to remember the loud ones -- the generals, the orators, the reformers who promised sweeping change. But in the nation's long history, there was one president whose greatness lay not in what he did, but in what he refused to do. ... He believed government was most effective when it was limited, disciplined, and respectful of the people's freedom. To him, the presidency was not a pulpit for grand social engineering. It was a trust to be handled with care, humility, and restraint. That philosophy produced one of the most remarkable fiscal records of any modern president. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: An Opening Weekend Full Of Winning And Learning | |
| God probably isn't too concerned about the outcomes of baseball games. Considering all the world's issues, the creator of the universe surely has more pressing matters. However, Friday looked like heaven was just about as excited for Mississippi State baseball as Bulldog fans have been for months. It was 68 degrees with hardly a cloud in sight as MSU began the head coach Brian O'Connor era. The picturesque afternoon was perhaps a wink from above, providing a perfect setting for an Opening Day record crowd of 12,824. Thousands more packed Dudy Noble Field for a pair of games on Saturday to witness the first steps of a team loaded with promise. By the time it was all said and done, the Diamond Dawgs were 3-0. But in the big picture, perhaps the biggest development was how the many new faces that fill State's roster got the chance to see and experience firsthand how special and unique it is to be a Diamond Dawg. "You can talk to the players on how to manage their emotions, which I did leading up to the [first] game, but they have to experience it themselves," O'Connor said. "They have to go through it, and they have to have an ability in the game to slow the moments down, slow the game down, and not do too much. Do what the game tells you to do." Without question a few heart rates were up over the weekend as State battled, and ultimately swept, a feisty Hofstra squad. How could the pulses not pound a bit, given the anticipation for the season, the electric crowd and the hopes for what these first few ballgames might ultimately lead to? |
| No. 4 Diamond Dawgs sweep Hofstra to open 2026 season | |
| The 2026 season got underway with a Mississippi State sweep at Dudy Noble Field this weekend, though it wasn't always a walk in the park for the Bulldogs. The debut weekend for new head coach Brian O'Connor, and indeed much of the team, started and finished with nervy games that went into the ninth inning with pressure on MSU to close out. A record opening day crowd of 12,824 witnessed a 6-5 Friday win, followed by a Saturday doubleheader of 6-1 and 7-5 wins, coming down to a pair of strikeouts from closer Maddox Webb to finish the job and keep the team perfect to start the season. O'Connor admitted that some blowout wins would be nice every once in a while, but his postgame press conference gave the impression that he was eager to see his team experience some pressure right out of the gate. "You play to win anytime you're on that field, and I've stressed to the players so often that learning to win in the game is critically important," he said. "That's paramount, and we're going to line up with the guys every day that we believe gives us the best chance to win. But there's also lessons that happen." In both Game One and Game Three of the series, the Bulldogs had to come from behind. Despite a slow start with just three hits on Friday, the team showed discipline at the plate when under pressure, found multiple opportunities to score with two outs and found a way to win. |
| What went well in Mississippi State baseball opening series and what could've been better | |
| Mississippi State baseball didn't have any run-rule wins but swept Hofstra at Dudy Noble Field to begin the 2026 season. The Bulldogs (3-0) and new coach Brian O'Connor won the opener 6-5 on Feb. 13. Then, they won both games of the Feb. 14 doubleheader, 6-1 and 7-5. The 12,824 attendance at Dudy Noble Field on Feb. 13 was the largest opening day crowd in program history. MSU plays two midweek games next against Troy on Feb. 17 (4 p.m., SEC Network+) and Alcorn State on Feb. 18 (4 p.m., SEC Network+). "Wouldn't I love a blowout at some point? Sure, I would and a chance to breathe a little bit," O'Connor said. "But it's good for those players to be in the fire." MSU star third baseman Ace Reese missed all of fall practices after undergoing toe surgery. It didn't have any negative impact on his opening weekend after receiving numerous preseason All-American selections. The junior batted 5-for-12 with three doubles, a home run, four RBIs and six runs. Reese's three-run home run in Game 3 was the Bulldogs' only homer of the series. |
| Men's Basketball: The Final Horn: State 90, Ole Miss 78 | |
| Mississippi State got back on track in a big way Saturday night with a 90-78 rout of Ole Miss in Oxford. Josh Hubbard became MSU's all-time leader in career 3-pointers as he led the way to the Bulldog victory. MSU took control early on. Achor Achor came out hot, scoring State's first 11 points to vault the Bulldogs to an early 11-3 advantage. Hubbard also notched 16 early points on the way to a 47-28 halftime lead for the Dawgs. In the second frame, State kept its foot on the gas pedal at the offensive end to maintain a cushion. Despite the Rebels' late attempt at a comeback, the MSU offense proved to be too much in the end as State was able to ice the game. Hubbard led all scorers with 32 points on an efficient 12-for-16 (75 percent) shooting clip along with six assists. Hubbard's first trey of the game late in the first half officially made him MSU's all-time leader in 3s, surpassing Bulldog great Barry Stewart (2007-10). The Bulldogs return home to face the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Humphrey Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be aired on ESPN2. |
| Mississippi State dominates Ole Miss as Rebels drop seventh in a row | |
| Mississippi State's Achor Achor scored the first 11 points for the Bulldogs on Saturday night against Ole Miss, and star guard Josh Hubbard scored 16 of his 32 points in a dominant first-half offensive effort as Mississippi State defeated the Rebels 90-78 at SJB Pavilion. The Rebels have lost seven games in a row and have not won since defeating the Bulldogs in Starkville on Jan. 17. Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8) led 47-28 at halftime after finishing the half on a 16-2 run and hitting its last seven shots from the field. Ole Miss senior forward Malik Dia scored a career-high tying 32 points in the loss for Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC). Hubbard's 32 points came on 12 of 16 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs shot 58% from the field in the game. The seven-game skid is the longest of head coach Chris Beard's career at the Division I level. Achor scored the first 11 points of the game for the Bulldogs, who jumped out to a 13-3 lead less than five minutes into the first half. The Rebels battled back, however, cutting the lead to three with under eight minutes to play by way of a 7-2 run. From there Mississippi State went on a 23-7 run over the final 7:43, however, and led the Rebels by 19 at halftime. |
| Women's Basketball Set For Monday Matchup With Arkansas | |
| Mississippi State will hit the road for a nationally televised contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks inside Bud Walton Arena on Monday. Tipoff for the contest is set for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Mississippi State got back in the win column in their last game with a victory over Georgia, 85-71, inside Humphrey Coliseum. Five Bulldogs finished the contest in double figures, the eighth time State has done so this season. Destiney McPhaul led the team with 18 points. She also led the team in assists (6), steals (4) and three-pointers made (4). The Razorbacks have lost 12 straight games after starting the season 11-3. Taleyah Jones leads the team with 17.2 points per game. Bonnie Deas is a rebound shy of a double-double with 10.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. State has won the last three contests between the two programs, all under Sam Purcell. The two teams last faced off on February 6 last season, where the Bulldogs earned a 78-55 victory. |
| Softball: Keller Leads State To Snowman Sweep In Win Over North Texas | |
| No. 19 Mississippi State defeated North Texas, 10-2, on Sunday behind a three-hit day from freshman Kinley Keller. Keller collected two doubles while scoring three runs and driving in two. She is now batting .667 (8-for-12) to start her collegiate career. Abby Grace Richardson picked up two doubles herself while scoring twice. The Bulldogs' Nos. 7-9 hitters were a combined 6-for-9 with four doubles, a stolen base and seven runs scored. "They were swinging it," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "AG [Richardson] has just looked great all year for us and continues to deliver. She's just so consistent and then plays first, right and left all in one game for us. The two freshmen just got some experience, Kinley Keller and Gabby Schaeffer. They're just such phenomenal athletes, and they're going to be really good for this program and for the future. It was just good to see them get more comfortable and aggressive on the bases, use their speed, play some good defense. Kinley's turned into a double machine, so it's fun to see her get out there and do what we know she can do because she's going to have a bright future for us." |
| Men's Tennis: Mississippi State Completes the Reverse Sweep, Knocks Off No. 4 Stanford | |
| No. 6 Mississippi State completed a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over No. 4 Stanford on Sunday afternoon at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Dallas, Texas. The victory served as redemption for Mississippi State after Stanford edged the Bulldogs, 4-3, in last season's NCAA Quarterfinals. In that match, State erased a 3-0 deficit to tie the contest before Stanford secured the deciding point to eliminate the Bulldogs from the NCAA Championships. The Bulldogs capped their ITA National Indoor run with two wins over ranked opponents and improved to 8-1 on the season. The victory also marked Mississippi State's second consecutive season with a win over a top-five opponent. Head Coach Matt Roberts moved within one victory of becoming the all-time winningest head coach in Mississippi State men's tennis history. No. 6 Mississippi State opens SEC play to face Vanderbilt at 12 p.m. CT on February 21st at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. |
| How big is MSU athletics? $165 million big, a record number | |
| Mississippi State's athletic department operated at a $200,000 surplus in Fiscal Year 2025, while posting record revenue and expenditures, according to the university's annual NCAA membership report. The Dispatch obtained a copy of the membership report Thursday through a public records request. Athletic Director Zac Selmon revealed in a newsletter last week that the department saw an all-time high in total revenue and contributions, with a record revenue of $164,684,369 for FY 2025 per the report, up 29% from the previous year. The total expenses amounted to $164,482,616. The department operated at a planned deficit of $6,991,258 for FY24, based on a then-record $127,241,981 in revenue against $134,233,239 in expenses. The report obtained by The Dispatch also shows a 79% increase in departmental fundraising contributions from 2024, with MSU athletics raising $59.1 million in cash received during FY 2025. MSU Athletics, like most other athletic departments, has not released any specific numbers related to revenue-sharing distribution across its sports, though Selmon told The Dispatch in August that the department's approach is focused on rewarding revenue-generating sports without ignoring non-revenue sports. |
| LSU partners with Woodside Energy on jersey patch deal | AP News | |
 | In an era when athletic departments are forced to find new revenue streams to stay financially viable, a 4-square-inch jersey patch might offer a solution. Athletic departments on Aug. 1 can begin cashing in on the uniform sponsorship patches that NCAA Division I leaders approved last month. The patches have the potential to generate millions of dollars for schools, World Emblem CEO Randy Carr said. Carr estimated patches for top football and basketball brands could "realistically land in the high six figures to low seven figures annually." In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, there already is a multimillion-dollar deal lined up. LSU on Monday unveiled its partnership with Woodside Energy. The logo will match the school's signature purple-and-gold color scheme and will be featured on all 21 of LSU's varsity uniforms starting in the 2026-2027 athletic calendar. "At LSU, we're going to be really aggressive in revenue opportunities going forward, and the jersey patch is a big piece of that," deputy athletic director Clay Harris said. Shifts in the landscape have forced universities to get creative and explore a variety of revenue streams, whether that calls for upping ticket prices, hosting concerts, creating exclusive fan experiences or pursuing new licensing deals. |
| Olympics turn political as US athletes speak out against Trump | |
| A growing number of Olympic athletes competing for the U.S. in this month's Winter Games are expressing discomfort with representing the U.S. under President Trump's administration, sparking intense pushback from the president's supporters and Trump himself. Trump attacked U.S. athlete Hunter Hess directly after Hess said he was conflicted about competing for Team USA given the country's political climate. "It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now. I think it's a little hard," Hess, a freestyle skier, told reporters during a recent press conference. "There's obviously a lot going on that I'm not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren't. Just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S." The president in a Truth Social post hours later called Hess a "real loser" and said it is "very hard to root for someone like this" when watching the games. Hess's comments came days after Amber Glenn, an American figure skater, decried the administration's policies toward people in the LGBTQ community. "I hope I can use my voice and this platform to help people stay strong in these hard times," Glenn said. Some of Hess's fellow athletes have come to his defense, like snowboarding superstar Chloe Kim, whose parents are immigrants and said the issue "hits pretty close to home" for her and other competitors. |
| In a village courtroom, a fervent prayer was answered for Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss. But it took quite a while | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: If NCAA lawyers didn't know they were in for a long Thursday in court, they got a strong hint early on. Chad Logan, pastor of First Baptist Church of nearby Calhoun City, began proceedings with a prayer for wisdom and clarity on the part of the court that was considering a dispute over the college sports eligibility of Trinidad Chambliss. Logan praised the Ole Miss quarterback "for his unwavering faith we've observed, with him praying with his mom." Speaking passionately as if from the Sunday pulpit, Logan ended his prayer: "We know you are the God who has extended to us eternal salvation. ... You extended King Hezekiah's life for 15 years. So since you specialize in extensions, we are asking for one more extension here today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen." Said one of Chambliss' lawyers during a break later in the day, "I didn't know if it was a prayer or a closing argument." Said one of the NCAA lawyers, "If God is against us, we're in trouble." It took about eight hours of sometimes tedious testimony and arguments, but the preacher's fervent prayer -- and that of tens of thousands of Ole Miss football fans -- was answered. Chancery Judge Robert Whitwell ruled for Chambliss and against the NCAA, granting Chambliss a temporary restraining order and in essence another year of football eligibility at Ole Miss. |
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