As you’ve seen, Mississippi Today has been celebrating our 6th anniversary by taking a look back through the years at our top stories. Today, I want to share some stories from 2020 that exemplify how Mississippi Today helps get you answers while covering big issues.

I think that year will be ingrained in all of our memories for a long time to come. It was the year that the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many of our lives have changed tremendously since then. One of our top stories at the beginning of the pandemic was about the saddening death of a Mississippi teacher during the first week of school. Many people had various questions during that uncertain time — do we wear masks even around family? Do we sanitize everything? When and how long do we quarantine? When will toilet paper be back in stock?

The great folks at Mississippi Today decided that a small part of helping our readers would be to provide continued coverage of COVID-19, from tracking the data and sending out text alerts to creating a comprehensive vaccine guide in the next year. Our coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic was completely fueled by providing our readers with comprehensive information from a source they could trust.

Another huge story in 2020 was the breaking news of Mississippi’s former welfare agency head being arrested for embezzling millions of dollars intended to help poor Mississippians. Our welfare coverage by our investigative reporter Anna Wolfe continues, breaking down the complicated legal jargon and showing our readers how it affected those MDHS is intended to help.

Many of these stories are still being followed and covered to this day. That’s why our work is so important — the longer we are able to stick around, the longer we are able to continue our coverage of ongoing issues facing the state and holding public officials accountable.

To our current members: Thank you for taking a step towards change in our great state of Mississippi. I’m proud to have you as part of the Mississippi Today member community.

To our readers who are not yet members: Do you also think that a better Mississippi is possible through providing transparency in the media and holding officials accountable? Then, I encourage you to join our member community by creating a recurring donation today. Not only will you help us continue our mission in making our state a better place, but you’ll also help us reach our anniversary celebration goal of welcoming 60 new members.

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