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Democrat Scott Colom is overperforming among affidavit ballots in two Mississippi Delta counties in the race for U.S. Senate, continuing a pattern MFP has reported on elsewhere in Mississippi. Hyde-Smith needs significant gains in affidavit ballots to overcome Colom’s more than 2,500-vote lead, but so far, affidavit ballots are only...
JACKSON — Mississippi’s environmental permit board will hold a hearing Monday on a proposed Southaven power plant that would supply electricity to data centers. Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson will chair the hearing. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board will hear evidence in the matter...
Energy Transfer has given the official go-ahead to a $1.6 billion natural gas pipeline that would snake 215 miles through South Mississippi, locking in plans to feed the region's growing appetite for electricity tied to artificial intelligence data centers, LNG export terminals and power utilities. The project, still pending federal approval, is expected to begin service in 2030.
Brother of slain civil rights activist Andrew Goodman writes that 62 years after death of his brother Mississippi is still putting up barriers to voting. Experian is the latest roadblock.
NAACP leaders from Mississippi and across the country called for election officials to follow state laws and to report and resist attempts at intimidation during a press conference at Jackson State University on Sunday. “Mississippi voters did their part—they registered, they voted, and they made their voices heard,” NAACP Senior...
Workers in Indiana, Nebraska and Mississippi will pay lower state income tax rates on income earned in 2027. Indiana’s rate slips to 2.90% from 2.95%, Nebraska’s top rate falls to 3.99% from 4.55%, and Mississippi’s rate on income above $10,000 drops to 3.75% from 4%. All three cuts were already written into state law, so […]
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Fourteen propane-related fires in Mississippi between 2022 and 2026 resulted in eight injuries and seven deaths, according to State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO). The SFMO urged consumers to take precautions when using propane in their homes and businesses and to ensure licensed professionals perform installation and service work. “Propane is a […]
As Mississippi sits on the verge of electing Scott Colom, outstanding absentee ballots and affidavit ballots have required a diligent post-election sprint to ensure every vote counts. Prioritizing full political participation in the self-proclaimed greatest democracy ever shouldn’t require this much effort. Written off as a red state, Mississippi...
Forests cover more than 19.2 million acres of Mississippi. From the oak, walnut, and sweetgum of the Northern and Delta regions to the loblolly and longleaf of the Pine Belt, Mississippi forestry is a massive sector of the state’s economy as well as a multigenerational legacy to many local families.
Attala County has been officially selected as one of Mississippi’s newest Opportunity Zones, opening the door for increased private investment and economic growth across the area. The designation comes as part of a statewide rollout recently announced by Governor Tate Reeves, following approval from the U.S. Department of the...
JACKSON – Mississippi public schools recorded nearly 244,000 fewer student absences in August and September than in the same two months a year earlier, a 24% decline, the Mississippi Department of Education said. Districts reported 769,180 absences in the first two months of the 2026-27 school year, down from...
VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) recently celebrated another milestone as students graduated from the Legacy Prep Academy, Mississippi Rehabilitation Initiative (MRI) and HiSET (GED) programs. The graduation ceremony highlighted the accomplishments of participants who completed educational programs designed to provide personal development, essential life skills and...
Mississippi college students have until November 30 to apply for the Fall 2026 Space to Succeed Scholarship from The Storage Center, which operates six facilities in the state across […]
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – As ballots are still being counted in the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, advocacy groups are hammering home the idea of civic engagement. The groups, including the NAACP, came together to empower voters at the Mississippi AFL-CIO on November 10, 2026. They encouraged civic engagement to improve life in the Magnolia […]
More than 100 census tracks in Mississippi have recently been approved as Opportunity Zones by the federal government, which private investors across the state can utilize to drive economic development for the next decade. Of the 102 tracks designated under the Opportunity Zones 2.0 federal program for Mississippi, 78 are...
Former Department of Justice voting rights lawyer David Becker explains why the razor thin Mississippi midterm election is proceeding “exactly as it should.”
In a cabin surrounded by other campers, I stood huddled with fellow high school girls, trying to make a good impression before the upcoming week of summer camp. The camp was up north, and most of the other girls lived nearby. I was met with a mixture of amusement and pity when I confessed to living in Mississippi. To make things worse, I was also the only girl who attended public school.
BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry, alongside the governors of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, is petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements for 2027, saying it will help lower gas prices. Landry and the other governors say that the RFS requirements, which...
From November 5-7, 2026, the 81st Annual Mississippi State Conference NAACP Convention & Policy Institute will be held at the Golden Nugget Casino Resort in Biloxi, MS. This year’s theme is “We the People” – both a declaration and a call to action. Keynote speakers include...
The winner of the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi between incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and Scott Colom should be known by the end of this week. Circuit clerks and election commissioners must submit their results to the Secretary of State’s office by Friday. Harya Tarekegn, director of advocacy and policy at the Mississippi Center for Justice , said the vote count is taking so long because more than 230,000 registered voters were labeled inactive by the Secretary of State’s office. "Which means that when they showed up on Election Day, they weren't on the voter rolls and have to cast that affidavit ballot. So, we have more affidavit ballots than we have had in previous years, and all of those need to be checked against the voter roll by election commissioners," Tarekegn explained. She added Secretary of State Michael Watson used unverified information from Experian to check the addresses of registered voters. Before the election, the center and other civil rights groups, including the NAACP, the Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU of Mississippi, sent a letter to Watson asking him to reinstate the voters. Anyone forced to cast an affidavit ballot or anyone who was impacted by Mississippi’s Shield Act
