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When Mississippi politicians are running for office, they often pledge transparency as if they mean it.

Next time you’re around such politicians, especially if they are legislators or running for the Legislature, you should ask them a few questions.

Ask them why the Mississippi Legislature exempts itself from the open records and open meetings laws it levies on all other divisions of state government, and why legislative leaders have even fought in court to keep proceedings involving a majority of a legislative chamber secret from the public.

Ask them why you cannot get on your phone or computer and easily search for who funds their campaign and by how much. Then ask them why you could go to any surrounding state (and nearly all others across the country) and easily and quickly find such information.

Then, ask the same for why you cannot easily, or sometimes at all, see who buys them expensive dinners, trips or gifts to influence their voting, or why there aren’t any prohibitions or limits on this as there are in other states.

Ask their thoughts on “gift laws,” or prohibition or limits on campaign donors getting massive government contracts from the people to whom they donate.

Ask them if they believe all the folks who lobby lawmakers even bother to register as lobbyists or report what they do to influence them.

Ask them why Mississippi government, state to local, provides so few public records online, or why agencies charge so much when they do cough up records.

Ask them why millions of dollars in out-of-state, secret-sourced “dark money” has been pouring into Mississippi elections in recent years, and what has been done to curb this.

READ MORE: Campaign finance transparency bill faces uphill battle in Mississippi Legislature

Ask them to explain what Mississippi’s so-called “ethics laws” actually prohibit, what penalties they carry and what authority the so-called “Ethics Commission” has. Ask them how we compare here to other states, such as Alabama, where government ethics laws are actually enforced and their ethics agency has some authority.

READ MORE: Does Mississippi have any campaign finance rules?

For that matter, ask them who or what agency in Mississippi enforces campaign finance, ethics or lobbying laws.

Ask them why Mississippi’s attorney general recently decreed Mississippi’s campaign finance laws and limits to be so jacked up, convoluted and contradictory as to be unenforceable or un-prosecutable. Ask why the head of the state’s ethics agency has described Mississippi campaign finance laws as “a jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t fit.”

READ MORE: House Speaker Jason White, staff treated to Super Bowl by gambling giant pushing for legalized betting

Ask them why, whenever even modest reforms such as campaign finance reporting requirements for politicians are proposed, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle act like their hair is on fire and line up to help kill it.

Ask them whether they believe Mississippi government is riddled with cronyism, nepotism or pay-to-play politics.

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves’ top political donors received $1.4 billion in state contracts from his agencies

Then, finally, ask them whether they believe any of this might play a role in the historic and persistent government corruption that has often earned Mississippi the label of most corrupt state in the country.

READ MORE: Want to launder some money? Just use your Mississippi campaign account

President Donald Trump has appointed former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to the FEMA Review Council, which Trump has tasked to “fix a terribly broken system” and shift disaster response and recovery from federal to state government.

The appointment comes as Mississippi awaits a response from the Trump administration on whether it will approve Gov. Tate Reeves’ request for a federal disaster declaration for deadly tornadoes in mid-March. The federal declaration, which Reeves requested April 1, would allow families and local governments devastated by the storms to receive federal assistance. Trump recently denied a similar request for Arkansas.

Trump has said states should shoulder more of the burden for disaster response and recovery, and he and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have threatened to shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency altogether.

“I am proud to announce the formation of the FEMA Review Council, comprised of Top Experts in their fields, who are Highly Respected by their peers,” Trump wrote on social media. “… I know that the new Members will work hard to fix a terribly broken System, and return power to State Emergency Managers, who will help, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”

Trump listed other members of the council, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

Bryant, a longtime political ally of Trump, on social media wrote he is, “Honored to receive this appointment …” and that “Unfortunately, we’ve earned a lot of experience with natural disasters and recovery in Mississippi. Let’s Make America Safe Again.”

Mississippi saw seven deaths and an estimated $18 million in destruction from multiple tornadoes on March 14-15, the same storm system that caused damage in Arkansas. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported that 233 homes were destroyed across 14 counties, and hundreds more were damaged.

During the initial aftermath, Reeves told reporters he believed there was a “high likelihood” the state’s damages from the March tornadoes would meet the threshold for FEMA’s Individual Assistance, which provides direct payments to disaster victims.

The Trump administration’s FEMA has denied federal assistance for flooding in West Virginia, tornadoes in Arkansas and a storm in Washington state, and refused North Carolina’s request for extending relief after Hurricane Helene.

After Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005, Mississippi received nearly $25 billion in federal relief spending, which state leaders have credited with saving the state from ruin and allowing communities and families to rebuild.

Not quite four years after guiding Mississippi State to a baseball national championship, head coach Chis Lemonis has been fired, effective immediately.

Assistant coach Justin Parker will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Mississippi State made the announcement in a press release Monday afternoon. 

“A change in leadership is what is best for the future of Mississippi State baseball,” State athletic director Zac Selmon said. “We have not consistently met the standard of success that our university, fans and student-athletes expect and deserve. I want to thank Coach Lemonis for his work and the time he gave to our program, including a national championship in 2021. We appreciate his efforts and wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

A national search is underway to identify the program’s next head coach, Selmon said.

“In a team meeting moments ago, I expressed to our student-athletes the confidence we have in their abilities and the potential they have for the remainder of the season,” Selmon said. “I encouraged them to compete with pride, resilience, and intensity. With the hard work, preparation, and talent already within this group, we are committed to putting them in the best position to finish the season competing at the highest level.

“Mississippi State is the premier job in college baseball. The tradition, the facilities, the NIL offerings and the fan base are all second to none. Dudy Noble Field is the best environment in the sport, period.”

The current Bulldogs have a 25-19 record and are 7-14 in the SEC. Most recently, the Bulldogs lost two of three weekend games to Auburn, the nation’s 11th-ranked team. State has lost its last two SEC series and five of seven this season. The Bulldogs are currently No. 45 in the nation in ratings percentage index (RPI) and are in danger of not making the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.

Lemonis’ MSU teams won 232 games and lost 135 in his six-plus seasons. Hired by former MSU baseball coach and athletic director John Cohen from Indiana, Lemonis has an overall coaching record of 373-226-2.

“This program is built for success,” Selmon said. “Our history proves it, and our future demands it. We are one of only four programs in NCAA history to reach the College World Series in six consecutive decades. With 40 NCAA Tournament appearances, 12 trips to Omaha, 11 SEC regular season titles, and a national championship, our program has always been a national contender. That is the bar. We’re going to find a leader who will embrace that, elevate our program and compete for championships.”

Rep. Keith Jackson, a Democratic lawmaker from Kemper County, can remain in office despite a felony indictment by participating in a pre-trial intervention program, according to court documents. 

A grand jury last year indicted Jackson, a first-term House member, on charges of receiving stolen property – specifically, a 2006 Magnolia timber trailer worth about $15,000. The grand jury also indicted two other people, Fredwrick (sic) Young and William Tate, in connection with the criminal charges. 

Jackson did not respond to a request for comment, and his attorney, Christopher Collins, declined to comment. 

Cassie Colman, the district attorney in the 10th circuit district, told Mississippi Today that the state agreed to let Jackson participate in pretrial intervention because he had no prior criminal record. If Jackson completes the terms of the pre-trial agreement, then the criminal charges will be expunged from his record. 

Going to trial would likely be risky for the lawmaker because, if convicted of the offense, he could lose the right to hold elected office. 

Receiving stolen property is a disenfranchising crime in Mississippi, and if someone is convicted of a disenfranchising crime, they lose their right to vote. To run for office in Mississippi, someone must be a registered voter. 

But Coleman, who prosecuted the case against Jackson, said the legislator’s agreement to enter the program is neither a guilty plea nor a conviction. Instead, he will enroll in the intervention program for at least a year and pay around $3,350 in fees, according to court documents. 

If he fails to meet the terms of the agreement, the district attorney could remove him from the program and prosecute him for the original crime.

Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share fact-based ideas about our state’s past, present and future. You can read more about the section here.

Each year, in a handful of states, public offices close, flags are lowered and official ceremonies commemorate “Confederate Memorial Day.”

Mississippi is among those handful of states that on Monday will celebrate the holiday intended to honor the soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

But let me be clear: celebrating Confederate Memorial Day is not only racist but is bad policy, bad governance and a deep stain on the values we claim to uphold today.

First, there is no separating the Confederacy from the defense of slavery and white supremacy. The Confederacy was not about “states’ rights” in the abstract; it was about the right to own human beings. Confederate leaders themselves made that clear.

Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens declared in his infamous “Cornerstone Speech” that the Confederacy was founded upon “the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man.” No amount of revisionist history can erase the fact that the Confederacy’s cause was fundamentally rooted in preserving racial subjugation.

To honor that cause with a state holiday is to glorify a rebellion against the United States fought to defend the indefensible. It is an insult to every citizen who believes in equality and freedom, and it is a cruel slap in the face to Black Americans, whose ancestors endured the horrors of slavery and generations of systemic discrimination that followed.

Beyond its moral bankruptcy, Confederate Memorial Day is simply bad public policy. Holidays are public statements of our values. They are moments when a state, through official sanction, tells its citizens: “This is what we believe is worthy of honor.” Keeping Confederate Memorial Day on the calendar sends a message that a government once committed to denying basic human rights should be celebrated.

That message is not just outdated — it is dangerous. It nurtures the roots of racism, fuels division and legitimizes extremist ideologies that threaten our democracy today.

Moreover, there are real economic and administrative costs to shutting down government offices for this purpose. In a time when states face budget constraints, workforce shortages and urgent civic challenges, it is absurd to prioritize paid time off to commemorate a failed and racist insurrection. Our taxpayer dollars should be used to advance justice, education, infrastructure and economic development — not to prop up a lost cause of hate.

If we truly believe in moving forward together as one people, we must stop clinging to symbols that represent treason, brutality and white supremacy. There is a legislative record that supports this move in a veto-proof majority changing the state Confederate flag in 2020. Taking Confederate Memorial Day off our official state holiday calendar is another necessary step toward a more inclusive and just society.

Mississippi had the largest population of enslaved individuals in 1865 and today has the highest percentage of Black residents in the United States. We should not honor the Confederacy or Confederate Memorial Day. We should replace it.

Replacing a racist holiday with one that celebrates emancipation underscores the state’s rich African American history and promotes a more inclusive understanding of its past. It would also align the state’s observances with national efforts to commemorate the end of slavery and the ongoing pursuit of equality.

I will continue my legislative efforts to replace Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday with Juneteenth, which commemorates the freedom for America’s enslaved people.

It’s time to end Confederate Memorial Day once and for all.

Derrick T. Simmons, D-Greensville, serves as the minority leader in the state Senate. He represents Bolivar, Coahoma and Washington counties in the Mississippi Senate.

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

A federal three-judge panel will rule in coming days on how political power in northwest Mississippi will be allocated in the state Senate and whether any incumbents in the DeSoto County area might have to campaign against each other in November special elections.  

The panel, comprised of all George W. Bush-appointed judges, ordered state officials last week to, again, craft a new Senate map for the area in the suburbs of Memphis. The panel has held that none of the state’s prior maps gave Black voters a realistic chance to elect candidates of their choice. 

The latest map proposed by the all-Republican State Board of Election Commissioners tweaked only four Senate districts in northwest Mississippi and does not pit any incumbent senators against each other. 

The state’s proposal would keep the Senate districts currently held by Sen. Michael McLendon, a Republican from Hernando and Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, in majority-white districts. 

But it makes Sen. David Parker’s district a slightly majority-Black district. Parker, a white Republican from Olive Branch, would run in a district with a 50.1% black voting-age population, according to court documents. 

The proposal also maintains the district held by Sen. Reginald Jackson, a Democrat from Marks, as a majority-Black district, although it reduces the Black voting age population from 61% to 53%.  

Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch comprise the State Board of Election Commissioners. Reeves and Watson voted to approve the plan. But Watson, according to meeting documents, expressed a wish that the state had more time to consider different proposals. 

Fitch did not attend the meeting, but Deputy Attorney General Whitney Lipscomb attended in her place. Lipscomb voted against the map, although it is unclear why. Fitch’s office declined to comment on why she voted against the map because it involves pending litigation. 

The reason for redrawing the districts is that the state chapter of the NAACP and Black voters in the state sued Mississippi officials for drawing legislative districts in a way that dilutes Black voting power. 

The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, are likely to object to the state’s newest proposal, and they have until April 29 to file an objection with the court

The plaintiffs have put forward two alternative proposals for the area in the event the judges rule against the state’s plans. 

The first option would place McLendon and Blackwell in the same district, and the other would place McLendon and Jackson in the same district. 

It is unclear when the panel of judges will issue a ruling on the state’s plan, but they will not issue a ruling until the plaintiffs file their remaining court documents next week. 

While the November election is roughly six months away, changing legislative districts across counties and precincts is technical work, and local election officials need time to prepare for the races. 

The judges have not yet ruled on the full elections calendar, but U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick said at a hearing earlier this month that the panel was committed have the elections in November. 

Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed the legislature’s certificate of need reform bill Thursday, arguing it unlawfully attempted to circumvent an ongoing court case by granting a certificate to a single psychiatric hospital in Jackson. 

The state’s law, which requires medical facilities to apply for a “certificate of need” from the Mississippi State Department of Health before opening or adding new services, aims to lower costs and increase the accessibility and quality of health care by avoiding duplication of services. 

A Senate amendment to the bill would have granted a new certificate of need to Oceans Behavioral Hospital Jackson and put to bed a legal dispute with Merit Health Central over the amount of charity care the hospital must provide. 

For-profit, Texas-based Oceans reopened St. Dominic’s Health’s shuttered mental health unit last year. 

Merit Health, which also operates a psychiatric unit in Jackson, sued Oceans last March, arguing it violated the law by using a workaround to skirt a health department requirement that it provide more free or low-cost care than it planned to in its application for a certificate of need. In the lawsuit, attorneys for Merit argued that Oceans not providing a sufficient level of charity care would have a “significant adverse effect” on Merit by diverting more low-income patients to its beds. 

“The proposed amendment smacks of both imprudent legislative favoritism towards the entity that will receive the CON, as well as bald prejudice to the other market participants,” Gov. Reeves wrote in his veto message. “In either case, awarding a CON by legislative fiat is bad public policy.”

Most of the bill was focused on making it easier for medical facilities to make capital improvements and require the University of Mississippi Medical Center seek state approval before opening educational facilities outside of Jackson. The final version of the bill also mandated that the health department study uncompensated care rates in psychiatric hospitals, such as the beds at the center of the Oceans lawsuit.

The governor said he would sign the bill if the carve-out for Oceans was removed.

In a statement to Mississippi Today, Oceans CEO Stuart Archer said his company remains committed to providing behavioral health care in the state.

“Oceans is fulfilling that commitment to the residents of Jackson and communities across Mississippi, and we will continue to fight for our hospital’s ability to provide care,” he said.

Rep. Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany and chair of the Public Health and Human Services committee and author of the House’s proposal, told Mississippi Today he was disappointed but not surprised by the governor’s veto. While he did not disapprove of the provision granting a certificate of need to Oceans, he suspected it might draw scrutiny from the governor. 

He said he has asked the governor to include certificate of need reform as a topic in his call for a special session to pass a bill this year.

“I think it’s very important for our rural hospitals especially to get this done now,” he said. 

The legal battle over care at the psychiatric unit housed at St. Dominic’s Health has now been ongoing for over a year. 

The state health department, which is tasked with overseeing the certificate of need process, recommended approval of Oceans’ application in December 2023, but said the hospital would have to provide 17% free or low-cost medical care to low-income individuals – more than the two percent it proposed in its application. 

But rather than adhere to the state’s stipulation for charity care, Oceans and St. Dominic’s filed for a change of ownership, bypassing the state’s requirement altogether and instead qualifying to open under St. Dominic’s existing certificate of need. 

Merit Health then sued Oceans, arguing that the change of ownership violated the state’s certificate of need law. St. Dominic’s and the State Department of Health are codefendants in the case. 

Earlier this month, a Hinds Chancery court judge ruled that Oceans’ change of ownership was legal, but that the health department exceeded its authority by not undergoing certificate of need review and ruled that the agency must complete the review within 120 days.

The health department appealed the case to the Supreme Court in March, requesting a stay. The court has yet to rule on the appeal. 

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, chairman of Public Health and Welfare, introduced the Oceans-related amendment and said it, along with the requirement that UMMC seek state approval before opening educational facilities outside of Jackson, sought to develop and improve upon medical services in the capital city.

On the Senate Floor, he also said it aimed to put an end to the legal battle. 

“There’s a lawsuit pending trying to say that the transfer was improper,” he said March 12. “The transfer was proper. What we hope to do with this is moot the lawsuit.”

A spokesperson for Merit Health said charity care provisions should be equitable to ensure hospitals can treat people with the greatest health needs. 

“We will continue to support changes to CON regulations that improve access to healthcare and reduce barriers to healthcare delivery for all providers,” she said.  

St. Dominic’s and the state health department declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. 

Certificate of need legislation shapeshifted over the course of the session. During the process, the Senate removed several key provisions of the bill originally approved by the House of Representatives, including those that would have streamlined the law’s appeals process and freed certain in-demand health care services – including substance use treatment and outpatient hospital dialysis units – from being required to acquire a “certificate of need” from the state to open. 

Mental health reporter Allen Siegler contributed to this story.

Coach Lindy Callahan, who in his 97 years on this planet touched and influenced more lives than could ever by calculated, passed away quietly Wednesday at his home in Gulfport.

In his adopted hometown and far beyond, Callahan was a giant in high school athletics.

Born on Christmas Day, 1927, in Vicksburg, Lindy Gene Thomas Callahan turned out to be a gift to Mississippi sports: an athlete, a coach and finally an administrator who dedicated his professional life to improving the lives of young people.

“Lindy showed the rest of us how to do it,” is the way Mike Justice, a highly successful football coach soon to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, put it. “As a high school coach and athletic director, he was the best of the best.”

“Everything Lindy Callahan did in life, he did with the utmost class,” said Don Hinton, a former coach and executive director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

In 1963, Coach Callahan broke my 11-year-old heart. The undefeated Hattiesburg Tigers, my favorite team, played his undefeated Gulfport Commodores at Milner Stadium in Gulfport on what is now Lindy Callahan Field. When those 1963 HHS Tigers took the field, they really did look like the LSU Tigers, both size-wise and in school colors. More than a dozen of them went on to play Division I football, including Ed Morgan, a future Alabama Crimson Tide halfback and Hattiesburg mayor who scored an early touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Final score: Gulfport 33, Hattiesburg 7. Gulfport, a much smaller team in physical size and numbers, turned Hattiesburg every which way but loose. That was part of a 35-game Gulfport winning streak and another streak of 42 consecutive victories in the old Big Eight Conference. Over Callahan’s last six seasons as Gulfport football coach, his teams won 54 and lost five.

Lindy really was one of those coaches who, as the late Jake Gaither described, could take his’n and beat your’n or take your’n and beat his’n. As an administrator, he hired splendid coaches, including Hall of Famer Bert Jenkins, the remarkably successful Gulfport basketball coach, the best I ever covered at any level in any sport.

That’s why Callahan is a member of nine different halls of fame, five on a national level and four more on a regional level. Put it this way: Any hall of fame he’s eligible for, he is in. In 1995, the MHSAA instituted the Lindy Callahan Student-Athlete Awards, college scholarships that annually are presented to 16 deserving Mississippi high school seniors.

His legacy goes far beyond all that. Callahan spearheaded the creation of the Mississippi-Alabama High School All-Star Game. He created guidelines and policies that athletic directors around the state still use today. For 57 years, he and Coach Leo Jones directed the Gulf Coast Coaching Clinic,an invaluable resource for coaches across the Deep South. Said Justice, “If you wanted to learn how to coach, that’s where you went.”

Although Callahan was born in Vicksburg, the son of a railroad engineer, he grew up in Meridian. There, he lived  across the street from athletic fields that would shape his life. He was a football and baseball star, recruited to Ole Miss by football coach John Vaught and baseball coach Tom Swayze.  He played both sports collegiately and often credited Vaught and Swayze with teaching him the organizational and leadership skills he would use professionally.

Two years ago, a book tour took co-author Neil White to a stop in Gulfport where Callahan showed up along with many of his former players. The bond between the old coach and his former players, now with gray hair themselves, was unmistakeable, an absolute joy to witness. Although his legs were failing him, Lindy’s mind was as sharp as any 20-year-old. Every time a former player referred to him as “Coach,” his eyes brightened and his lips curled into a smile.

All who knew Callahan know that as dedicated as he was to his professional life, he took the most pride in his family. He and his wife of 71 years, the former Ann Fincher, were the parents of three, grandparents of five and great grandparents of 10, all of whom called Coach Callahan “Papa.”

Callahan often referred to himself as “Lucky,” as in “Lucky Lindy,” And his really was a storybook life, even near the end. The ambulance that carried him from hospital to home, where he wanted to live his final days, detoured by Milner Stadium and Lindy Callahan Field for one last glance at a place he dearly loved. As fate had it, the stadium gates were open and the ambulance circled the track – one last victory lap for a champion.