Home Blog

Coffee Shop Stop – Lost & Found Coffee Company

Lost+Found Coffee Company @ 248 South Green Street, Tupelo,MS. inside Relics in Downtown Tupelo. Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am till 6:00pm.

With most any restaurant or coffee house, it’s a balance between atmosphere, menu, and know how. For a coffee shop, Lost & Found has it going on!

You could spend the better part of a day just strolling through both floors of the antique building looking at all the treasures. When your ready for a coffee break, the knowledgeable baristas can help you choose the perfect pick me up!

They have everything from a classic cup of joe to the creamiest creation you could imagine! From pour overs to cold brews. From lattes, mochas, to cappuccino’s, Lost & Found Coffee Company has got ya covered!

So the next time you want to hunt for lost treasures, or find the perfect cup of coffee, Lost & Found Coffee Company has got ya covered! See y’all there!

Visit my blog for events, contests, new restaurants, LOCAL Favorites, and their FAMOUS foods!

Help us grow our community @ Eating Out With Jeff Jones
* visit our page
* Click community
* Invite friends
* Like and share this post

Message me If you would like to have your restaurant, menu, and favorite foods featured in my blog. Over 18,000 local Foodies would love to see what you have to offer!

Facebook @ Eating Out With Jeff Jones https://m.facebook.com/eatingoutwithjeffjones

Instagram @ Eating Out With Jeff Jones
https://www.instagram.com/eating_out_with_jeff_jones/

Twitter @ Eating Out With Jeff Jones https://mobile.twitter.com/jeffjones4u

Support LocaL – LIKE • COMMENT • SHARE

Food Truck Locations for Tuesday 9-8-20

Local Mobile is at TRI Realtors just east of Crosstown.

Gypsy Roadside Mobile is in Baldwyn at South Market.

Taqueria Ferris is on West Main between Computer Universe and Sully’s Pawn.

Magnolia Creamery is in the Old Navy parking lot.

Stay tuned as we update this map if things change through out the day and be sure to share it.

Food Truck Locations for 9-1-20

Taqueria Ferris is on West Main between Computer Universe and Sully’s Pawn

Local Mobile is at a new location today, beside Sippi Sippin coffee shop at 1243 West Main St (see map below)

Gypsy Roadside Mobile is in Baldwyn at South Market

Today’s Food Truck Locations

How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Scenic Route

Do you thrive on the unexpected? Are you waiting for the next fire to crop up?

Have you ever noticed that you can plan something so intricately and you are still going to catch the glitches when life throws you a curve ball? It is one of the beauties of life that we can never prepare for. The unexpected. The only difference is our response to the unexpected. Do we have a knee jerk reaction that finds us swerving to gain back control of our life? Or do we instead just go with the flow and decide to embrace the scenic route life decided to take us on? Our response to life can cause us more stress or we can just enjoy it for what it is in that moment of time. I used to thrive on the unexpected. It was part of my career for many years. The never knowing what “fire” was going to sprout up that day and how I was going to need to put it out. Even this week as we launched our newest book in my publishing company. I thought I had it all planned out only to run into major “hiccups” within 72 hours of the launch. I could either stress out or take it in stride. 

Slow and Steady

As my dad retired I watched him take a different approach to life than I had ever seen him take before. I mean, all you have to do is climb up in the cab of his king ranch Ford pick-up and see he is a changed man. He drives slower than anyone should even be allowed to drive out on the roads these days. He knows how to drive, so don’t go yelling at him next time you are stuck behind him. Trust me, my mom does enough yelling for all of us at him about that! He just takes life these days. His sentiments are that he lived in the fast lane his whole life. Rushing to be on time to work, rushing to come home to his family, the constant busy we get entangled with as adults…now, he doesn’t have to be busy and he is going to enjoy that. Truth is, I can’t even be mad at him for that. Now that I am an adult out here rushing from one thing to the next, I totally could use some driving twenty miles per hour in my life some days. Took me getting to nearly forty to even be able to say that though.

The lesson in his wisdom can be heard by all. Some things we lose it over won’t even amount to anything five years from now, yet we gave them so much energy in the moment. All the things we think are so important that we must do and do now. Most will not really matter years from now, yet we poured our soul into them. What would change if we took the time to just enjoy life? To just flow with things as they happened? When hit with something we didn’t expect, we embraced it instead of fighting it? What would happen? I dare say we might have more peace? I probably would be a lot calmer. I probably wouldn’t lose my temper near as much. I probably wouldn’t have anxiety or stress on the daily. I would probably take time to enjoy life more. I certainly wouldn’t yell at the slow driver in front of me.

What about you? Next time you get behind someone driving slowly…take back the name calling and curse words. Maybe take back all of the assumptions that they don’t know how to drive. Maybe use it as a reminder to take a moment, roll down your window, soak in the sunshine. I can promise you that wherever the heck you are going, you will still get there. Maybe that person figured out life and you can use their wisdom too. If they are driving a blue king ranch Ford truck, I can assure you that he is just enjoying his day and he would want you to enjoy yours too. Matter of fact, I wish I had listened to his wisdom a lot more in my earlier days instead of waiting until now. 

See you on down the road…take it easy my friend.

Looking for the Text from Tupelo’s New Mask Order? Here you go.

Here is a plain, searchable text version (most other versions we found were Images or PDF files) of City Of Tupelo Executive Order 20-018. Effective Monday June 29th at 6:00 PM

The following Local Executive Order further amends and supplements all previous Local Executive Orders and its Emergency Proclamation and Resolution adopted by the City of Tupelo, Mississippi, pertaining to COVID-19. All provisions of previous local orders and proclamations shall remain in full force and effect. 

LOCAL EXECUTIVE ORDER 20-018 

The White House and CDC guidelines state the criteria for reopening up America should be based on data driven conditions within each region or state before proceeding to the next phased opening. Data should be based on symptoms, cases, and hospitals. Based on cases alone, there must be a downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period or a downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period. There has been no such downward trajectory in the documented cases in Lee County since May 18, 2020. 

Hospital numbers are not always readily available to policymakers; however, from information that has been maintained and communicated to the City of Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Medical Center is near or at their capacity for treating COVID-19 inpatients over the past two weeks without reopening additional areas for treating COVID-19 patients. The City of Tupelo is experiencing an increase in the number of cases of COVID-19. The case count 45 days prior to the date of this executive order was 77 cases. That number increased within 15 days to 107, and today, the number is 429 cases. The City of Tupelo is experiencing increases of 11.7 cases a day. This is not in conformity with the guidelines provided of a downward trajectory of positive tests. By any metric available, the City of Tupelo may not continue to the next phase of reopening. 

Governor Tate Reeves in his Executive Order No. 1492(1)(i)(1) authorizes the City of Tupelo to implement more restrictive measures than currently in place for other Mississippians to facilitate preventative measures against COVID-19 thereby creating the downward trajectory necessary for reopening. 

That the Tupelo Economic Recovery Task Force and North Mississippi Medical Center have formally requested that the City of Tupelo adopt a face covering policy. 

In an effort to support the Northeast Mississippi Health System in their response to COVID-19 and to strive to keep the City of Tupelo’s economy remaining open for business, effective at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 29, 2020, all persons who are present within the jurisdiction of the City of Tupelo shall wear a clean face covering any time they are, or will be, in contact with other people in indoor public or business spaces where it is not possible to maintain social distance. While wearing the face covering, it is essential to still maintain social distance being the best defense against the spread of COVID-19. The intent of this executive order is to encourage voluntary compliance with the requirements established herein by the businesses and persons within the jurisdiction of the City of Tupelo. 

It is recommended that all indoor public or business spaces require persons to wear a face covering for entry. Upon entry, social distancing and activities shall follow guidelines of the City of Tupelo and the Governor’s executive orders pertaining to particular businesses and business activity. 

Persons shall properly wear face coverings ensuring the face covering covers the mouth and nose, 

1. Signage should be posted by entrances to businesses stating the face covering requirement for entry.  (Available for download at www.tupeloms.gov).

2. A patron located inside an indoor public or business space without a face covering will be asked to  leave by the business owners if the patron is unwilling to come into compliance with wearing a face covering 

3. Face coverings are not required for: 

a. People whose religious beliefs prevent them from wearing a face covering.
b. Those who cannot wear a face covering due to a medical or behavioral condition.
c. Restaurant patrons while dining.
d. Private, individual offices or offices with fewer than ten (10) employees.
e. Other settings where it is not practical or feasible to wear a face covering, including when obtaining or rendering goods or services, such as receipt of dental services or swimming.
f. Banks, gyms, or spaces with physical barrier partitions which prohibit contact between the customer(s) and employee.
g. Small offices where the public does not interact with the employer. h. Children under twelve (12).
i. That upon the formulation of an articulable safety plan which meets the goals of this 

Executive Order businesses may seek an exemption by email at covid@tupeloms.gov 

FACE COVERINGS DO NOT HAVE TO BE MEDICAL MASKS OR N95 MASKS. A BANDANA, SCARF, TSHIRT, HOMEMADE MASKS, ETC. MAY BE USED. THEY MUST PROPERLY COVER BOTH A PERSONS MOUTH AND NOSE

Those businesses that are subject to regulatory oversight of a separate state or federal agency shall follow the guidelines of said agency or regulating body if there is a conflict with this Executive Order. 

Additional information can be found at www.tupeloms.gov COVID-19 information landing page. 

Pursuant to Miss. Code Anno. 833-15-17(d)(1972 as amended), this Local Executive Order shall remain in full effect under these terms until reviewed, approved or disapproved at the first regular meeting following such Local Executive Order or at a special meeting legally called for such a review. 

The City of Tupelo reserves its authority to respond to local conditions as necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. 

So ordered, this the 26th day of June, 2020. 

Jason L. Shelton, Mayor 

ATTEST: 

Kim Hanna, CFO/City Clerk 

Restaurants in Tupelo – Covid 19 Updates

Thanks to the folks at Tupelo.net (#MYTUPELO) for the list. We will be adding to it and updating it as well.

Restaurants
Business NameBusiness#Operating Status
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant662.260.5278To-go orders
Amsterdam Deli662.260.4423Curbside
Bar-B-Q by Jim662.840.8800Curbside
Brew-Ha’s Restaurant662.841.9989Curbside
Big Bad Wolf Food Truck662.401.9338Curbside
Bishops BBQ McCullough662.690.4077Curbside and Delivery
Blue Canoe662.269.2642Curbside and Carry Out Only
Brick & Spoon662.346.4922To-go orders
Buffalo Wild Wings662.840.0468Curbside and Tupelo2Go Delivery
Bulldog Burger662.844.8800Curbside, Online Ordering, Tupelo2Go
Butterbean662.510.7550Curbside and Pick-up Window
Café 212662.844.6323Temporarily Closed
Caramel Corn Shop662.844.1660Pick-up
Chick-fil-A Thompson Square662.844.1270Drive-thru or Curbside Only
Clay’s House of Pig662.840.7980Pick-up Window and Tupelo2Go Delivery
Connie’s Fried Chicken662.842.7260Drive-thru Only
Crave662.260.5024Curbside and Delivery
Creative Cakes662.844.3080Curbside
D’Cracked Egg662.346.2611Curbside and Tupelo2Go
Dairy Kream662.842.7838Pick Up Window
Danver’s662.842.3774Drive-thru and Call-in Orders
Downunder662.871.6881Curbside
Endville Bakery662.680.3332Curbside
Fairpark Grill662.680.3201Curbside, Online Ordering, Tupelo2Go
Forklift662.510.7001Curbside and Pick-up Window
Fox’s Pizza Den662.891.3697Curbside and Tupelo2Go
Gypsy Food Truck662.820.9940Curbside
Harvey’s662.842.6763Curbside, Online Ordering, Tupelo2Go
Hey Mama What’s For Supper662.346.4858Temporarily Closed
Holland’s Country Buffet662.690.1188
HOLLYPOPS662.844.3280Curbside
Homer’s Steaks and More662.260.5072Temporarily Closed
Honeybaked Ham of Tupelo662.844.4888Pick-up
Jimmy’s Seaside Burgers & Wings662.690.6600Regular Hours, Drive-thru, and Carry-out
Jimmy John’s662.269.3234Delivery & Drive Thru
Johnnie’s Drive-in662.842.6748Temporarily Closed
Kermits Outlaw Kitchen662.620.6622Take-out
King Chicken Fillin’ Station662.260.4417Curbside
Little Popper662.610.6744Temporarily Closed
Lone Star Schooner Bar & Grill662.269.2815
Local Mobile Food TruckCurbside
Lost Pizza Company662.841.7887Curbside and Delivery Only
McAlister’s Deli662.680.3354Curbside

Mi Michocana662.260.5244
Mike’s BBQ House662.269.3303Pick-up window only
Mugshots662.269.2907Closed until further notice
Nautical Whimsey662.842.7171Curbside
Neon Pig662.269.2533Curbside and Tupelo2Go
Noodle House662.205.4822Curbside or delivery
Old Venice Pizza Co.662.840.6872Temporarily Closed
Old West Fish & Steakhouse662.844.1994To-go
Outback Steakhouse662.842.1734Curbside
Papa V’s662.205.4060Pick-up Only
Park Heights662.842.5665Temporarily Closed
Pizza vs Tacos662.432.4918Curbside and Delivery Only
Pyro’s Pizza662.269.2073Delivery via GrubHub, Tupelo2go, DoorDash
PoPsy662.321.9394Temporarily Closed
Rita’s Grill & Bar662.841.2202Takeout
Romie’s Grocery662.842.8986Curbside, Delivery, and Grab and Go
Sao Thai662.840.1771Temporarily Closed
Sim’s Soul Cookin662.690.9189Curbside and Delivery
Southern Craft Stove + Tap662.584.2950Temporarily Closed
Stables662.840.1100Temporarily Closed
Steele’s Dive662.205.4345Curbside
Strange Brew Coffeehouse662.350.0215Drive-thru, To-go orders
Sugar Daddy Bake Shop662.269.3357Pick-up, and Tupelo2Go Delivery

Sweet Pepper’s Deli

662.840.4475
Pick-up Window, Online Ordering, and Tupelo2Go Delivery
Sweet Tea & Biscuits Farmhouse662.322.4053Curbside, Supper Boxes for Order
Sweet Tea & Biscuits McCullough662.322.7322Curbside, Supper Boxes for Order
Sweet Treats Bakery662.620.7918Curbside, Pick-up and Delivery
Taqueria Food TruckCurbside
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café662.553.4200Curbside
Thirsty DevilTemporarily closed due to new ownership
Tupelo River Co. at Indigo Cowork662.346.8800Temporarily Closed
Vanelli’s Bistro662.844.4410Temporarily Closed
Weezie’s Deli & Gift Shop662.841.5155
Woody’s662.840.0460Modified Hours and Curbside
SaltilloPhone NumberWhat’s Available
Skybox Sports Grill & Pizzeria (662) 269-2460Take Out
Restaurant & CityPhone NumberType of Service
Pyros Pizza 662.842.7171curbside and has delivery
Kent’s Catfish in Saltillo662.869.0703 curbside
Sydnei’s Grill & Catering in Pontotoc MS662-488-9442curbside
 Old Town Steakhouse & Eatery662.260.5111curbside
BBQ ON WHEELS  Crossover RD Tupelo662-369-5237curbside
Crossroad Ribshack662.840.1700drive thru Delivery 
 O’Charley’s662-840-4730Curbside and delivery
Chicken salad chick662-265-8130open for drive
Finney’s Sandwiches842-1746curbside pickup
Rock n Roll Sushi662-346-4266carry out and curbside
Don Tequilas Mexican Grill in Corinth(662)872-3105 drive thru pick up
Homer’s Steaks 662.260.5072curbside or delivery with tupelo to go
Adams Family Restaurant Smithville,Ms662.651.4477
Don Julio’s on S. Gloster 662.269.2640curbside and delivery
Tupelo River 662.346.8800walk up window
 El Veracruz662.844.3690 curbside
Pizza Dr.662.844.2600
Connie’s662.842.7260drive Thu only
Driskills fish and steak Plantersville662.840.0040curb side pick up

Honeyboy & Boots – Artist Spotlight

Band Name : Honeyboy and Boots

Genre: Americana

Honeyboy and Boots are a husband and wife, guitar and cello, duo with a unique style that is all their own. Their sound embodies Americana, traditional folk, alt country, and blues with harmonies and a hint of classical notes.

Drew Blackwell, a true Southerner raised in the heart of the black prairie in Mississippi. First picked up the guitar at fourteen, he was greatly influenced by his Uncle Doug who taught him old country standards and folk classics. Later on in high school, he was mentored and inspired to write (and feel) the blues by Alabama blues artist Willie King. (Willie King is credited for bringing together the band The Old Memphis Kings.)

Drew has placed 3rd in the 2019 Mississippi Songwriter of the Year contest with his song “Waiting on A Friend” and made it to the semi finalist round on the 2019 International Songwriting Competition with his song “Accidental Hipster.”

Honeyboy (Drew) can also be found belting out those blues notes as the lead vocalist for the Old Memphis Kings and begins everyday with a hot cup of black coffee!

Courtney Blackwell (Kinzer) grew up in Washington State and comes from a talented musical family. She began playing cello at the age of three taking lessons from the cello bass professor Bill Wharton at the University of Idaho. Her mother was most influential in her progression of technique, tone quality, and ear training. Since traveling around much of the South, she has enjoyed focusing on the variety of ways the cello is used in ensembles. When she plays, you will feel those groovy bass lines making way to soaring leads create an emotional and magical connection between you and her music.

Courtney enjoys working in the studio, collaborating with artists and continuing to challenge the way cello is expressed.

They have opened for such acts as Verlon Thompson, The Josh Abbott Band, Cary Hudson (of Blue Mountain), and Rising Appalachia. 

Honeyboy And Boots have performed at a variety of venues and festivals throughout the southeast, including the 2015 Pilgrimage Fest in Franklin, TN; Musicians Corner in Nashville; the Mississippi Songwriters Festival (2015-2018); and the Black Warrior Songwriting Fest in Tuscaloosa, AL (2018-2019). They also came in 2nd place at the 2015 Gulf Coast Songwriters Shootout in Orange Beach, FL.

They have two albums, Mississippi Duo and Waiting On a Song, which are available on their website, iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.

The duo also just released their fourth recording: a seven-song EP called Picture On The Wall, which was recorded with Anthony Crawford (Williesugar Capps, Sugarcane Jane, Neil Young). It is now available on Spotify, Itunes, Google Music, and CD Baby.

Who or what would you say has been the greatest influence on your music?

My Uncle Doug, because he began to teach me guitar and introduced me to a lot of great older country music.

Favorite song you’ve composed or performed and why?

“We Played On” because it’s about our family reunions, where we would sit around and play guitar and share songs.

If you could meet any artist, living or dead, which would you choose and why?

Probably Willie Nelson. He’s my all time favorite.

Most embarrassing thing ever to happen at a gig?

A guy fell on top of me while I was performing. I was sitting down. He busted a big hole in my guitar.

What was the most significant thing to happen to you in the course of your music?

Getting to perform at Musicians Corner in downtown Nashville. Probably the biggest crowd we’ve ever been in front of.

If music were not part of your life, what else would you prefer to be doing?

I don’t know, maybe fishing or golf.

Is there another band or artist(s) you’d like to recommend to our readers who you feel deserves attention?

Our friends, Sugarcane Jane. They are a husband/wife duo from the Gulf Shores area. Great people and great artist.


Interested in seeing your own artist profile highlighted here on Our Tupelo?

Simply click HERE and fill out our form!

All eyes on Mississippi’s Rep. Guest as his committee considers releasing Gaetz report

0

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement to nominate former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general has, again, thrust Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, into the national spotlight. 

Guest’s committee will potentially vote at its Wednesday meeting whether to release an ethics report on Gaetz. The committee, which was investigating Florida’s Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, was set to release the report before Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress.

Guest is a Republican who represents Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District and has chaired the bipartisan House committee that investigates whether House members have committed ethics violations since January 2023. 

Gaetz resigned last week shortly after Trump announced he planned to nominate him to lead the Department of Justice, despite having been previously investigated by the department for alleged sex trafficking crimes. The department declined to pursue criminal charges against Gaetz. 

After the resignation, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he does not want the House to make the committee’s report public because Gaetz is no longer in office. 

Guest declined to comment to Mississippi Today about recent developments with the committee’s investigation into Gaetz. But the Mississippi Republican told Politico that the panel will make its own decision about releasing the report, regardless of Johnson’s opinion that it should be kept under wraps. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for the report to be provided to senators before a confirmation vote on Gaetz and-or to the public.

Guest is the former district attorney of Rankin and Madison counties. He also gained national attention when he introduced a resolution last year to expel New York Congressman George Santos from the House. 

Some U.S. senators such as Republican John Cornyn of Texas have publicly called for the Ethics Committee to hand over its report of the Gaetz investigation. Neither of Mississippi’s two U.S. senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but they will get to vote on the nomination if it reaches the full Senate. 

Wicker, a Republican from Tupelo, told Mississippi Today that the Senate has the constitutional obligation to “provide the president with advice and consent on executive and judicial branch nominations” and he takes that responsibility seriously. He did not comment on Gaetz.

“I think that we are in a position to give President-elect Trump good advice on what is likely to work,” Wicker said.  We are going to fulfill our constitutional role, and we are going to do so as friends of the president-elect and as members of a team who want him to be as successful as possible.”

Hyde-Smith, a Republican from Brookhaven, did not respond to a request for comment. 

The post All eyes on Mississippi’s Rep. Guest as his committee considers releasing Gaetz report appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Exploring all the many facets of Mississippi College’s decision to end football

0
Fred McAfee runs for yardage in the snow in Mississippi College’s 3-0 victory over Jacksonville State in the 1989 Division II National Championship game at Florence, Ala. The championship was later vacated because the Choctaws far exceeded NCAA Division II scholarship limitations. (Photo courtesy Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame)

Monday’s news that Mississippi College – soon to be Mississippi Christian University – will no longer field a football team seemed to come out of nowhere. “Shocking” is the word many have used to describe the news.

Rick Cleveland

“I feel like I just lost a family member,” said Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer Fred “Fast Freddie” McAfee, one of the two most famous football players in Mississippi College history. “I remember playing my last regular season game against Delta State before an overflow crowd. I remember winning a national championship. I just can’t believe it has come to this.”

Many readers might wonder who the other most famous Mississippi College player was. That would have been the remarkable Edwin “Goat” Hale, a College Football Hall of Famer who in 1916 led the Choctaws to a 74-6 victory over Ole Miss. You read that correctly. Mississippi College 74, Ole Miss 6. MC also defeated Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tulane and many other southern football powers early in the 20th century.

Mississippi College competed in football for 117 years. There’s a lot of history there, both good and bad, including that 1989 NCAA Division II National Championship, later vacated for scholarship violations. McAfee, a star player on that team, says he never was on more than a half scholarship in his four years at MC.

Fred McAfee was a special teams ace.

And McAfee, who later made All-Pro in the NFL, surely didn’t receive any NIL (name, image and likeness) money, which is one stated reason why Mississippi College made its decision to drop the sport. We will get to that.

First, this: There are many losers with this decision: the coaches, who no longer have a job; long-time Mississippi College football fans who no longer have a favorite team; and even Delta State, which loses its arch-rival. Delta State football coach Todd Cooley, whose Statesman defeated MC 20-14 on Nov. 16 in what apparently is the last football game MC will ever play, called the MC decision “very disappointing” and added, “I just hate it for the players and the coaches.”

But make no mistake: The biggest losers are the MC football players, who really do play for the love of the game. They must decide if they love it enough to play it somewhere else and, if so, then find a school that will take them.

Dr. Blake Thompson, the Mississippi College president in his seventh year at the helm, says he hurts for those players but at the same time strongly believes that the decision to drop football – along with the name change – are in the best, long-term interest of the school. One primary reason is economics.

“I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but we’re looking at close to $2 million that we can save to put into our other sports programs, upgrade our facilities, and also put into other areas, including, of course, academics,” Thompson said. “We have a long standing tradition of academic excellence. We have among the highest incoming ACT scores of any school in the state. We’re proud of that.”

Dr. Blake Thompson

Thompson continued, “We also have bold aspirations for the future. I like the model of schools like Belmont University (Nashville), which doesn’t play football but has become quite competitive at the Division I level in baseball and basketball and other sports. Dallas Baptist, like us a faith-based school, has become a Division I baseball power.”

Thompson, who formerly worked at Ohio State, is in the middle of a seven-year term on the powerful NCAA Division II Presidents Council, and, consequently, is familiar with all aspects of of college athletics. “We’ve tried to look at the overall landscape of college athletics and determine where we stand and where we want to stand in that landscape,” he said. “We want to excel in everything we do. Sometimes, that requires tough decisions.”

One firm decision, Thompson says, “We are not in a place where we are going to be paying players. We are not going to play in that space.”

Over its last 10 full seasons, MC has won just 28 games, lost 74. Since the 1989 “championship” season MC has won 144, lost 200 and tied four. Those numbers will never be confused with Thompson’s goal of “excellence” in all MC does. None of that changes the fact, Thompson says, that this has been a gut-wrenching, quite emotional decision.

“My commitment since I got here seven years ago has been to care for these students,” he said. “All scholarship arrangements will be the same through the end of this school year. For those players who want to remain in school here, we will work with them, find scholarship money where we can from other sources. For those who want to continue playing football, we will help them every way we can with the transfer portal.”

The rest of the Gulf South Conference, including Delta State, faces a different and difficult situation. MC’s decision now leaves the league with only four football playing members: Delta State, No. 1 ranked Valdosta State, West Alabama and West Florida. The GSC was once known as the SEC of Division II football conferences. And, indeed, the four remaining football members all play the sport at a high level and all have won at least one national championship. But can four teams really be called a conference?

The post Exploring all the many facets of Mississippi College’s decision to end football appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Bill to provide prenatal care to low-income women still inaccessible as 2025 legislative session looms

0

Nearly five months after a new law to make prenatal care more accessible to low-income women was supposed to go into effect, its fate remains unclear. 

The state is still in negotiations with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – the federal agency responsible for approving the state plan – according to Matt Westerfield, spokesperson for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. CMS is supposed to take no more than 90 days to approve or reject a plan, but that 90-day clock has been suspended indefinitely since issues have been raised with legislation Mississippi lawmakers wrote last session. 

Presumptive eligibility for pregnant women allows temporary and immediate Medicaid coverage for low-income expectant mothers while they wait for their official Medicaid application to be approved – a process that can take months. 

Strict Medicaid eligibility requirements in Mississippi mean that a majority of low-income women are only eligible for Medicaid once they become pregnant. If a woman applies when she finds out she’s pregnant, that means a lengthy application process could cut well into her pregnancy and delay her seeking prenatal care, which is proven to lead to poor outcomes such as preterm birth – in which Mississippi leads the nation

Senators Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, takes notes during a presentation by Mississippi Department of Child Services Commissioner Andrea Sanders, during a study group on women, children and family, held at the State Capitol, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024 in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, who leads the Senate Study Group for Women, Children and Families, has been checking in weekly with Medicaid about the status of the policy. In a committee hearing Monday, Boyd followed up twice with newly appointed Medicaid Executive Director Cindy Bradshaw at the beginning and end of the meeting to try to gain clarity on the status of the policy. 

Boyd asked Bradshaw whether the 2024 legislation could be salvaged or whether lawmakers would need to redo legislation to enact the policy in 2025. Bradshaw said both that she hopes the state and federal agencies can come to an agreement, and also that she’d feel better with new legislation. 

“Well, I think we can come to a reasonable place that we will be able to get it,” Bradshaw said. “Am I 100% comfortable with that? No. I would prefer that we have legislation to shore up the concessions that we’ve had to make.”

It’s not clear what concessions the Mississippi Division of Medicaid has had to make, but it’s likely that CMS is requiring Medicaid to take out a proof of income and proof of pregnancy requirement lawmakers included in the original bill. 

Federal guidelines state that while the agency may require proof of citizenship or residency, it should not “require verification of the conditions for presumptive eligibility.”

CMS will not comment on ongoing negotiations with individual states.

If 2024 legislation can’t be salvaged, lawmakers would have two options for rewriting the law next session. They could take out the requirements with which CMS has an issue, or they could take their chances hoping a Trump administration would grant a waiver allowing them to keep requirements at odds with federal guidelines – something lawmakers will likely bank on with a Medicaid expansion bill next session, as well. 

Insisting on the proof of pregnancy requirement doesn’t serve much of a purpose, since it wouldn’t be possible for a woman to fake a pregnancy and receive prenatal care, such as ultrasounds. As for the proof of income requirement, it can be cumbersome on low-income women already facing socioeconomic hurdles, explained Tricia Brooks, a research professor at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University and the lead author on the KFF Annual Survey on Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment and Renewal Policies.

“I remember when I first got pregnant, I thought I had the flu because I was nauseous for days on end,” Brooks said. “If I go to the doctor and find out that lo and behold maybe I am pregnant, and you want me to get enrolled, but now you’re asking me for paystubs … So now I have to come back in or somehow communicate or transmit proof of income to the provider. That just gives everybody pause of, ‘Oh my god, is this even worth it?’”

In the meantime, the Division of Medicaid is continuing to accept providers who wish to participate in the program and conduct eligibility determination trainings, according to Westerfield. Until CMS approves the state plan, none of the providers that have been approved will be able to provide care under the policy to eligible women.

Below is a list of the 13 providers that have been approved to participate as of Nov. 18: 

  • Physicians & Surgeons Clinic – Amory
  • Mississippi Department of Health, Dr. Renia Dotson – County Health Department (Family Planning Clinic)
  • Family Health Center – Laurel
  • Delta Health Center Inc (Dr. H. Jack Geiger Medical Center) – Mound Bayou
  • G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center Providers – Belzoni, Canton, Yazoo City
  • Coastal Family Health Center Inc. – Biloxi 
  • Delta Health System – Greenville
  • Delta Medical Group – Women’s Specialty Clinic – Greenville
  • Southeast MS Rural Health Initiative Inc. – Women’s Health Center – Hattiesburg
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center – Jackson
  • Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center – Jackson
  • Central MS Health Service – Jackson
  • Northwest MS Regional Medical Center – Clarksdale

An expectant mother would need to fall under the following income levels to qualify for presumptive eligibility:

The post Bill to provide prenatal care to low-income women still inaccessible as 2025 legislative session looms appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Jackson hosts the National Folk Festival Kickoff

0

The National Folk Festival kicked off in downtown Jackson on Saturday. The festival is the longest running arts event comprised of a free, outdoor, three-day celebration of music, art and dance. 

Eddie Cotton Jr. ignites the crowd at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

The National Council for the Traditional Arts chose Jackson out of 42 cities from across the country.

Local bluesman Eddie Cotton Jr. wows 1 1/2-year-old Zemen and his mother Harya Tarekegn, at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Yamini Kalluri performs a Kuchipudi dance, a classical Indian dance style, at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
The BeauSoleil Trio performs at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Michael Doucet with the BeauSoleil Trio entertains the crowd at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
David Doucet with the BeauSoleil Trio perfoms at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Chad Huval with the BeauSoleil Trio perfoms at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Jake Davis of Herriday, La., enjoying the Cajun sounds of the BeauSoleil Trio, during the kickoff of the National Folk Festival held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Eddie Cotton Jr. and his Mississippi Cotton Club Band perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Yamini Kalluri and the Kritya Music Ensemble perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Having a good time dancing to the music of the BeauSoleil Trio at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Local bluesman Eddie Cotton Jr. and his Mississippi Cotton Club Band perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

The post Jackson hosts the National Folk Festival Kickoff appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi College will change its name and drop its football program

0

Mississippi College will change its name and drop its football program after the current season, the board of the private institution announced Monday.

The college, in the Jackson suburb of Clinton, will become Mississippi Christian University beginning with its bicentennial in 2026. It said in an announcement that the new name emphasizes the school’s status as a comprehensive university while keeping the MC logo and identity.

“These transformational and necessary changes are extremely important to the future of this institution,” Mississippi College President Blake Thompson said. “As we look ahead to the institution’s bicentennial in 2026, we want to ensure that MC will be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ for another 200 years.”

Mississippi College sports teams compete in NCAA Division II. The college will have 17 sports after football is discontinued.

“As we consider the changing landscape of college football, the increasing influence of the NIL and transfer portal, as well as increasing costs to operate and travel, we felt it was necessary to focus our efforts on building first-class programs that can compete for championships,” MC Athletic Director Kenny Bizot said.

The post Mississippi College will change its name and drop its football program appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Doctors group asks state Supreme Court to clarify that abortions are illegal in Mississippi

0

A group of anti-abortion doctors is asking the state Supreme Court to reverse its earlier ruling stating that the right to an abortion is guaranteed by the Mississippi Constitution.

The original 1998 Supreme Court ruling that provides the right to an abortion for Mississippians conflicts with state law that bans most abortions in Mississippi.

The appeal to the Supreme Court comes after an earlier ruling by Hinds County Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin, who found the group of conservative physicians did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.

Mississippi members of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists argued that they could be punished for not helping a patient find access to an abortion since the earlier state Supreme Court ruling said Mississippians had a right to abortion under the state Constitution. But the Hinds County chancellor said they did not have standing because they could not prove any harm to them because of their anti abortion stance.

Attorney Aaron Rice, representing the doctors, said after the October ruling by Wise Martin that he intended to ask the state Supreme Court to rule on the case.

It was a Mississippi case that led to the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed since the early 1970s a national right to an abortion.

Mississippi had laws in place to ban most abortions once Roe v. Wade was overturned, But there also was the 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that provided the right to an abortion.

Despite that ruling, there are currently no abortion clinics in Mississippi. But in the lawsuit, the conservative physicians group pointed out the ambiguity of the issue since in normal legal proceedings a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of an issue would trump state law.

But in her ruling, Wise Martin pointed out that the state Supreme Court in multiple recent high-profile rulings has limited standing or who has the ability to file a lawsuit. Wise Martin said testimony on the issue revealed that physicians had not been punished in Mississippi for refusing to perform abortions.

Both the state and a pro abortion rights group argued that the physicians did not have standing to pursue the lawsuit. The state also contends that existing law makes it clear that most abortions are banned in Mississippi.

The post Doctors group asks state Supreme Court to clarify that abortions are illegal in Mississippi appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Gloster residents protest Drax’s new permit request

0

GLOSTER — Drax, the United Kingdom-based wood pellet producer that’s violated air pollution limits in Mississippi multiple times, is asking the state to raise the amount of emissions it’s allowed to release from its facility in Gloster.

In September, the state fined Drax $225,000 for releasing 50% over the permitted limit of HAPs, or Hazardous Air Pollutants, from its facility Amite BioEnergy. In a pending permit application that it submitted to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in 2022, the company is seeking to transition from a “minor source” of HAPs to a “major source.”

A “major source” permit would remove the limit over the facility’s total HAP emissions, but it would apply a new limit over the rate at which Drax could release the pollutants.

This year’s fine was its second penalty for violating Mississippi law around air pollution limits. In 2020, the state fined the company $2.5 million for releasing over three times the legal threshold of Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, one of the largest such fines in state history. Drax underestimated its VOC releases since the facility opened in 2016, but didn’t realize it until 2018. The facility didn’t come into compliance until 2021.

The Environmental Protection Agency lists a variety of potential health impacts from exposure to HAPs, including damage to the immune system and respiratory issues. VOCs can also cause breathing problems, as well as eye, nose and throat irritation, according to the American Lung Association.

About sixty people packed into a Gloster public library for MDEQ’s public hearing over Drax’s permit application on Nov. 14, 2024.

For years since Drax’s violations became public, nearby residents have attributed health issues to living near the facility. During a public hearing on Drax’s permit request Thursday in Gloster, attendees reiterated those concerns.

“We all experience headaches every day,” resident Christie Harvey said about her and her grandchildren. Harvey said she has asthma too, and her doctor was “baffled” by her symptoms. “Each week I have to take (my grandchildren) to the clinic for upper respiratory issues … It’s not fair that we have to go through this. Drax needs to lower the pollution as much as possible.”

Part of the public outcry is the proximity of people’s homes to the plant, which is within a mile of Gloster’s downtown.

A screenshot of Google Maps showing the location of Drax’s Amite BioEnergy facility relative to the rest of Gloster. The facility is within a mile of the downtown area.

“The wood pellet plant in Lucedale is situated in an industrial park outside of town,” Andrew Whitehurst of Healthy Gulf, an environmental group dedicated to protecting the Gulf of Mexico’s natural resources, said at the meeting. “The wood pellet plant that (Enviva is) trying to put in Bond will be situated north and west of the downtown area. Not like this when it’s right smack in the middle (of the city). It’s totally inappropriate. People can’t take it, they don’t deserve it.”

In a statement to Mississippi Today, Drax said it prioritizes the public health and environment in Gloster, adding that the permit modification is a part of standard business practice.

“When we first began operations, some of our original permits were not fit for purpose,” spokesperson Michelli Martin said via e-mail. “We are now working to acquire the appropriate permits for our operating output and to improve our compliance. Within these permits the requirements may change based on engineering data and industry standards. This permit modification is part of our ongoing plan to provide MDEQ with the most accurate data. Drax fully supports the resolution of our permitting request and looks forward to working with MDEQ to finalize the details.”

While researchers, including from Brown University, are studying the health symptoms of residents near the wood pellet plant, there is no proven connection between the facility’s emissions and those symptoms.

Erica Walker, a Jackson native who teaches epidemiology at Brown and who’s leading the study, spoke to Mississippi Today earlier this year. Regardless of the cause and effect, she said, the decision to put the plant near disadvantaged communities with poor health outcomes is concerning.

“We want to make sure we aren’t additionally burdening already burdened communities,” Walker said.

Operations resume at Drax in Gloster, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Some Gloster residents are concerned with the industrial pollution caused by the company that produces wood pellets in the town. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

About 1,300 people live in the city, according to Census data, and 39% live below the poverty line.

Moreover, Gloster residents often have to travel hours, to cities such as McComb and Baton Rouge, to find the nearest medical specialist. Amite County, where Gloster is, has a higher rate of uninsured residents than the rest of the state, according to County Health Rankings, and the ratio of residents to primary care physicians is over three times greater in the county than Mississippi as a whole.

As part of its application, Drax is seeking a Title V permit under the Clean Air Act, which the EPA requires for major sources of air pollutants. This gives the EPA the opportunity to review Drax’s application and public comments submitted with it. The public can submit comments on the application until Nov. 26, and can do so through MDEQ’s website.

The Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board, which is made up of officials from several state agencies, will then decide whether or not to grant the new permits. A full overview of the process and Drax’s application is available online.

The post Gloster residents protest Drax’s new permit request appeared first on Mississippi Today.