2 months ago
Give an orchid this
Valentine’s Day
By Eddie Smith
MSU Extension Service
While roses may be the traditional choice when Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’ve found that orchids offer something even more meaningful -- a living reminder of love that returns year after year.
I’ve been gifted several orchids over the years, and they bring me joy every time they bloom.
Phalaenopsis orchids, often called moth orchids, are the most popular Valentine’s Day choice.
Published on
2 months ago
Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
1. Noem visits North Mississippi
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed in Tupelo on Monday to assess winter storm damage in North Mississippi as FEMA, military leadership, first responders and linemen continue to work to recover from the ice storm that blanketed the area.
By Magnolia Tribune Staff on
2 months ago
The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG) activated an additional 150 service members, bringing the total to 650 personnel, to conduct general support, fueling operations and aerial logistics packaging of food, water, medical and other needed supplies following a major winter storm Jan. 23-26.
Published on
2 months ago
Jackson, Miss. - At approximately 4:18 a.m. on January 30, 2026, the Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to a call regarding a single car accident on U.S. Highway 51 near State Park Road in Holmes County. Upon arrival, a female was found deceased in the driver’s seat with apparent gunshot wounds. Another passenger was in the vehicle unharmed.
Published on
2 months ago
Sarah Adlakha, a Chicago native, is running against incumbent U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the March 10 Republican Primary Election.
With less than six weeks before the party primary election, political newcomer Sarah Adlakha is attempting to draw distinctions between herself and her opponent in the Republican Primary, incumbent U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Adlakha is selling herself as the outsider fighting against “entrenched political interests.” On Thursday, Adlakha said if elected, she would not accept money “from Washington lobbyists.”
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
One state funded scholarship program focuses on traditional students, while the second is geared toward older, returning students.
Bills passed out of the Mississippi Senate Universities and Colleges Committee this week that seek to ensure the financial literacy of students, amend a current state funded financial aid assistance program, and address workforce shortages across the state by offering aid to non-traditional students.
By Jeremy Pittari - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
In finding portions of Mississippi’s home health agency “Certificate of Need” laws unconstitutional, U.S. District Court judge Carlton Reeves said, “the Court cannot escape the absurdity in maintaining an out-right moratorium for over forty years.”
A federal judge on Wednesday struck down Mississippi’s decades-old moratorium on new home health agencies, ruling the state’s blanket ban on new licenses violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
By Russ Latino - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
Entergy Mississippi CEO Haley Fisackerly speaks with The Grenada Star's Publisher Adam Prestridge during his visit to view storm damage in Grenada Thursday afternoon.
Winter Storm Fern coated Grenada County and much of north Mississippi in a thick layer of ice last weekend, uprooting trees, snapping limbs and loading down power lines and poles, leaving thousands of Entergy Mississippi customers in the dark for days.
By Adam Prestridge on
2 months ago
Hospitals and health facilities in Mississippi are continuing to provide critical care to patients in the wake of a treacherous winter storm, even as they endure power outages, impassable roads and no running water.
Scott Simmons, Mississippi Emergency Management Authority’s external affairs director, said his agency is working to bring 30 generators to North Mississippi hospitals, long-term care facilities, nursing homes and warming centers. He said multiple locations had generators that failed over the weekend, and only some had come back online by Monday morning.
By Gwen Dilworth, Sophia Paffenroth and Allen Siegler - Mississippi Today on
2 months ago
Delta State’s nationally renowned NCAA Division II baseball team was supposed to open the 2026 season Friday against Harding (Arkansas) University in Cleveland.
That won’t happen. Boo Ferriss Field at Harvey Stadium on the DSU campus in Cleveland is covered in ice and snow. At noon Monday, the temperature was 21 degrees. The wind chill was 7. The weekend forecast is for more freezing temperatures. The DSU Statesmen are sometimes called the Fighting Okra, but they would be more like Eskimos if they played this weekend.
By Rick Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
2 months ago
As with tens of thousands of fellow Mississippians since a winter storm struck during the weekend, the Hood family of Oxford was coping with the loss of electricity as best they could early Monday in their Northpointe neighborhood home about 2 miles north of Square.
By Rick Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
2 months ago
Robert St. John says some drinks come and go. Trends pass through fast and leave just as quickly. Iced tea never left.
Iced tea has been called the house wine of the South. Rick Bragg once wrote that a glass of iced tea can tell you just about everything you need to know about where you are and who you’re with, and he wasn’t wrong. Around here, iced tea is just part of how things are done. It shows up early and sticks around.
By Robert St. John on
2 months ago
Below is a religion column by Matt Friedeman:
May we follow Paul’s example, cherishing and celebrating older men or women who have spent their lives in faithful service to God and others.
In a recent discipleship group meeting, as we were reading in 1 Timothy, one of the guys pointed out a verse on “widows” and commented, “Man, that is a perfect picture of the abundant life…a life well-lived.” It was. It is!
By Matt Friedeman - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
Below is a political opinion column by Russ Latino:
It is rooted in a very old conservative belief that parents, not the government, are responsible for raising and educating their children. They do not belong to the state.
Social media in Mississippi is abuzz with misinformation and scare tactics over school choice after the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a Trump-backed plan to deliver meaningful options to families in the Magnolia State.
By Russ Latino - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
Below is an opinion column by Patricia Levesque:
Mississippi is at a unique crossroads: celebrating what’s already been accomplished and tackling what still needs to be done.
By Patricia Levesque - on
2 months ago
Lawmakers in both chambers continue to hold budget hearings with state agencies as they work to compile appropriations bills and set a Fiscal Year 2027 state budget.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, AccelerateMS and the Community College Board presented their budget proposals to the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this week.
MDES kicked off the meeting by asking for level spending as well as the ability to keep 22 positions.
By Jeremy Pittari - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
Below is a religion column by Matt Friedeman:
The more you mature in your relationship with the Lord, the more you will repent and change.
I just got out of a pastor’s discipleship group where we were discussing Matthew 4 and Jesus’ call to repent.
“Repent” is central to the understanding of the gospel. It means “change” – and change is all fun and games when it feels good. But when it challenges our ingrained sensibilities, we need a good measure of grace to receive the capacity to…change.
By Matt Friedeman - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
Every year, Paul’s Pastry Shop receives orders from all over the country, including North Pole, Alaska—proof that even the coldest corners of the country could use a little Mississippi warmth, preferably wrapped in icing and sprinkles.
The smell hits you first—warm butter, sugar, yeast. By Mardi Gras, king cakes with a beloved label fill homes across Mississippi: Paul’s Pastry Shop.
The story starts in 1970: a dream between two parents, and an 800-square-foot bakery downtown. One mixer. Two tables. All built on faith and hard work.
By Meredith Biesinger - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
If the measure is passed by both chambers of the Legislature, voters could see the proposed amendment on the November General Election ballot.
A proposed state constitutional amendment was voted out of the House Constitution Committee this week. The legislation would mandate that judges require a secured bond for anyone charged with a felony, ending a practice the measure’s author sees as problematic.
By Daniel Tyson - Magnolia Tribune on
2 months ago
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reminded Mississippi this week that it could face significant penalties over the misspent TANF funds uncovered in 2019.
Mississippi could still face significant penalties from the federal government related to the misspending of upwards of $90 million in welfare funds, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conveyed to Department of Human Services executive director Bob Anderson in a letter this week.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
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