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The date for the special election between David Archie and Anthony “Tony” Smith for the Hinds County District 2 supervisor seat is uncertain after a judge changed a recent ruling.
In an amendment filed Thursday, Special Judge Barry Ford said the election date — which was set for July 14 — was void and that Gov. Tate Reeves would have to set an election date under Mississippi law. The law says that the governor or lieutenant governor shall call a special election for the office or offices involved.
Ford said in the ruling he hopes the governor will keep the same date that had been set by the Hinds County Election Commission.
Archie, the incumbent who lost to Smith by nearly two to one in the 2023 Democratic primary, sued Smith and the Hinds County Democratic Party over allegations of fraud and election tampering. What ensued was a multi-year legal battle over the matter.
The amendment comes one day after Smith filed an appeal with the Mississippi Supreme Court about Ford’s initial ruling. His lawyer, Warren Martin, had said he was excited about the appeal, and believed it would be overturned by the Supreme Court.
In his original ruling on June 3, Ford ordered that a special election be held, stating that the will of Hinds County voters could not be determined due to various missing materials during Archie’s 2023 ballot box review.
Archie said Monday his team is ready for the special election. Smith said he “trusts the system.”
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The Mississippi Board of Mental Health appointed Teresa Mosley and Dr. Sara Gleason as its new chair and vice chair, respectively. They will serve in the posts for the upcoming fiscal year, starting July 1.
Mosley, who was previously vice chair, is the lead psychometrist at the Mississippi College Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center and owns TRM Educational Consulting. She represents Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District on the board.
Teresa Mosley Credit: Mississippi Department of Mental Health
Gleason is a professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and assistant vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is the board’s psychiatrist representative.
They were named to the positions by fellow board members during last week’s meeting. The previous chair was Dr. Alyssa Killebrew.
The nine-member board governs the state Department of Mental Health. The members are appointed by the governor to staggered terms and require state Senate confirmation, The board includes a physician, a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, and a social worker with experience in the field of mental health.
The state Department of Mental Health has more than 4,500 employees working in state hospitals, residential programs in other programs provided by the agency.
“We look forward to working with Ms. Mosley, Dr. Gleason and all of our board members over the coming year,” Wendy Bailey, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s executive director, said in a statement.
Sara Gleason Credit: Mississippi Department of Mental Health
“Their leadership and experience, both personal and professional, continues to make a difference for Mississippians in need of mental health, addiction and disability services throughout our state,” Bailey said.
At the same meeting, the board was also informed that Mississippi was one of 10 states selected for the 2026 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Medicaid Demonstration Program. This federal program changes the reimbursement model, providing these centers more funding and allowing them to provide a wider variety of care options.
Communicare in north-central Mississippi and LifeHelp in the Delta will host pilot programs and receive four years of Medicaid funding.
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Central and northern parts of Mississippi are seeing a continued flood risk Monday, the National Weather Service reported. Meanwhile, state officials’ ongoing assessments have counted 76 homes with damage from Tropical Storm Arthur.
Areas including Greenville, Greenwood, Eupora and Columbus face an elevated risk, including two to three inches of potential flash flooding. Other cities to the south, including Yazoo City and Philadelphia, have a limited risk of flash flooding, which includes one to two inches of rain in a short period.
Arthur inundated south Mississippi late last week. The tropical storm caused one death in Franklin County as of Friday morning, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. Damages from the flooding and severe weather were also reported in Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Lawrence, Pearl River, Rankin, Stone and Walthall counties.
“Our thoughts are with the family (of the deceased) affected by this tragic loss,” said Gov. Tate Reeves, who declared a state of emergency on Friday. “MEMA remains fully engaged with our local emergency management partners to support response operations, assess damages, and ensure resources are available to communities impacted by flooding.”
Seven of the damaged homes were destroyed, and another nine received major damage, Reeves reported Monday. Additional damages included: nine businesses, one farm, 50 roads — including four destroyed — three bridges, two public buildings and three power associations. MEMA reported over 10,000 outages on Thursday, but most were resolved by Friday.
The impacts include “significant flood damage” to a wastewater treatment facility in Harrison County. In addition to flooding, Hancock County saw two confirmed EF-1 tornadoes on Friday, the governor said.
Arthur also threatened to compromise a dam in Pearl River County, emergency officials said, and 30 homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure, emergency officials said Thursday. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said Friday that the structure was operating as designed. As of a 2023 inspection, the dam was in “poor” condition and has a “high” hazard condition for downstream areas if it were to fail, according to the federal government’s inventory
Erosion from the storm also “undermined a portion of” another dam in Harrison County, but state officials said the hazard and downstream impact were low.
MEMA asked impacted residents to self-report damages through the agency’s online portal.
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Deep South Today, a nonprofit network of newsrooms in Louisiana and Mississippi, is pleased to announce it has received a $500,000 grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation to deepen and expand investigative and justice-focused reporting to amplify its impact across the region.
“The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation was among the earliest investors in Mississippi Today and Deep South Today, as it recognized the need and potential for impactful investigative journalism in our region,” said Warwick Sabin, President and CEO of Deep South Today. “We are grateful for the opportunity to build upon that strong foundation and our record of achievement to further scale the reporting on behalf of the communities we serve.”
With this new support, the DST newsroom Mississippi Today will address a critical gap in how courts are covered in the state. Instead of focusing narrowly on proceedings, journalists will cover the broader systems and consequences that shape people’s lives and civic participation.
Building on Mississippi Today’s prior reporting on felony disenfranchisement, the newsroom will develop a justice-oriented reporting beat that examines how court decisions, prosecutorial practices and legal structures impact communities — particularly those historically excluded from the democratic process.
“This work will illuminate where barriers to participation persist, and how systems of justice reinforce or dismantle those barriers,” said Mississippi Today Editor in Chief Emily Wagster Pettus. “By covering the courts through this lens, Mississippi Today will shine light on stories that are too often invisible, while providing the public with a clearer understanding of how power operates within the legal system.”
Resources also will be directed toward increasing impact, which will include dedicating more time and resources to long-term reporting projects, strengthening collaborations across the Deep South Today network and continuing to partner with national outlets to amplify stories that resonate beyond Mississippi. Sustaining and growing the impact of this work requires more than reporting capacity — it requires editorial leadership capable of building systems, guiding strategy and scaling collaboration across multiple newsrooms.
The Deep South remains one of the most consequential and undercovered regions in the country, and Deep South Today is building a network of nonprofit newsrooms designed to meet that challenge by creating infrastructure for investigative reporting and amplifying its reach and influence.
“This kind of reporting doesn’t happen by accident. It takes time, resources and editorial infrastructure built for the long haul,” said Adam Ganucheau, executive editor and chief content officer of Deep South Today. “We’ve already used that infrastructure to expose police torture and the misspending of public dollars, and to dig into how courts shape who gets to participate in our democracy. This grant lets us go further, reaching more communities and strengthening independent journalism in Mississippi and across the Deep South.”
Founded in 2016, Mississippi Today is now the largest newsroom in the state, and in 2023 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Verite News launched in 2022 in New Orleans, where it covers inequities facing communities of color. The Current is a nonprofit news organization founded in 2018 serving Lafayette and southern Louisiana.
With its regional scale and scope, Deep South Today is rebuilding and re-energizing local journalism in communities where it had previously eroded, ensuring its long-term growth and sustainability.
About Jonathan Logan Family Foundation
The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, based in Berkeley, California, supports organizations that advance social justice by empowering world-changing work in investigative journalism, documentary film, arts and culture and democracy.
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When Camryn Johnson first heard Mississippi College would become Mississippi Christian University, she wasn’t sure how the name sounded.
Now, she thinks it could help introduce the state’s oldest higher education institution to a new group of students who have never heard of it.
“The only thing was it didn’t roll off the tongue as quickly as I’d like it,” said Johnson, a 2022 alumna. “But, I think still calling it ‘MC’ works.”
The university’s name change and rebranding coincides with the Baptist institution’s celebration of its bicentennial. For alumni such as Johnson, it’s more than changing placards, signs and banners on the private campus in Clinton. It represents their alma mater’s commitment to preserving the school’s heritage, establishing its academic legacy and strengthening students’ connection to their faith.
MC officials say the change reflects the school’s Christian identity and repositions the institution’s future. Across the country, small private colleges are rethinking everything – from athletics to branding – to survive declining enrollment and rising financial pressures. A new report from the Huron Consulting Group, a research firm based in Chicago, estimates that 442 of the nation’s 1,700 private, nonprofit four-year colleges are at risk of closing or having to merge in the next decade. The firm analyzed federal enrollment data, tuition revenue, assets, debt, cash on hand and other measures for the report.
In November 2024, the Mississippi College board of trustees voted to change the name to Mississippi Christian University. The university also dissolved its intercollegiate football program. In another press statement that same year, the school said “it wasn’t immune to the challenges” small higher education institutions faced, but was working to make changes to push the university forward to the next 200 years.
A wall at the intersection of West College and Madison streets shows Mississippi College is now Mississippi Christian University, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
A wall at the intersection of Clinton Parkway and U.S. 80 West shows Mississippi College is now Mississippi Christian University. A banner celebrates the institution’s 200th anniversary, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
A banner celebrates the 200th anniversary of Mississippi College, now Mississippi Christian University, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
A banner at the former Mississippi College shows the institution’s new name, Mississippi Christian University, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
A banner celebrates the 200th anniversary of Mississippi College, now Mississippi Christian University, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
MC officials said replacing signs on campus will continue throughout the summer. The university currently has a marquee sign at the U.S. Highway 80 and Springridge Road intersection. A banner also stands at the main entrance, “The Gates” on College Street.
“The shift to Mississippi Christian University represents a strategic decision that reinforces our institutional vision – to be known as a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ,” said Jenny Tate, vice president of marketing and communications, in a statement to Mississippi Today. “This change was the result of a multi-year process that included university leadership, faculty, staff, alumni and external stakeholders.”
The change also allows the institution to keep its “MC” logo and branding, Tate said.
MC President Blake Thompson said the name change will not impact the institution’s accreditation or academic programs. The Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson also will adopt the new name, but will remain known as the MC School of Law or MC Law, according to the June 1 press statement.
For Pernell Goodwin, a 2016 MC graduate, removing the “college” from the name and replacing it with “university” can offer more prestige to the institution.
Rather than MC being seen as a “college,” which is often associated with two-year or undergraduate degrees, the university can compete against four-year institutions and attract a more competitive pool of students, he said.
“The change could boost enrollment which in turn can improve the institution’s financial stability,” said Goodwin, who is also vice president of the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez campus.
State Sen. Kamesha Mumford, a Democrat from Jackson, was drawn to MC Law School because of her faith. The university’s rebranding just further ensures it will remain a safe place and community for Christian students, she said.
“I just think that the way things are going right now in this world, we ought to lean more on our faith,” Mumford said. “This change may help draw in students, people and communities to share and celebrate those values and beliefs.”
Founded in 1826 as Hampstead Academy, Mississippi Christian University is the state’s oldest higher education institution and second oldest Baptist college in the nation. MC currently serves roughly 4,250 students. In 2024-25, the university had 340 faculty members, according to the university’s website.
Johnson, who returned to MC in 2024 for her master’s degree in education, said she is feeling more excited about the change. It will be fun to have two diplomas with different names from the same university.
“I’m excited to see (the name change) on my diploma when I graduate again because it looks like I graduated from two different colleges,” Johnson said. “This change gives students like me and the school a new presence in our state and community.”
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A Q&A with Melissa Winston, Chase Home Lending Manager for the Greater South Region
For most Americans, owning a home has long been considered a cornerstone to building and preserving generational wealth. A home purchase often symbolizes more than just securing a place to live – homeownership can help anchor families, support long-term financial stability and fuel local economic growth.
If you currently own a home or if homeownership is one of your financial goals, it’s important to understand how your home can be a foundational pillar in helping you build and maintain generational wealth. A home can be an asset that appreciates over time as you build equity which can serve as a financial resource for you and your family for decades to come.
Melissa Winston, Chase’s Home Lending Manager for the Greater South Region, shares more about the connection between homeownership and building generational wealth, and how you can make sure your home becomes, or remains, your most important financial asset.
Q: How does a home create generational wealth?
A: There are several perks to homeownership, many of which contribute to building wealth. Owning your home may be cheaper than renting in the long term if you have a mortgage with competitive rates; however, it’s important to keep in mind other home expenses, like insurance and taxes, when considering costs. Plus, since you own the home, that means you can build and tap into your equity for future expenses or profit when your home is sold.
Another way to think of homeownership as it relates to your financial picture is that it can influence your overall net worth. When you make monthly payments, you’re slowly owning more of your home and it can become an asset. On the other hand, if you rent, your monthly housing costs are just an expense for a place to live and you don’t own any of it when you leave. Put simply, owning a home may help you grow your money over time.
Q: Explain home equity and how building equity works.
A: The technical definition of home equity is the difference between the fair market value of your home and how much you still owe on your mortgage. Essentially, think of it as the part of your home’s value that you truly own. It’s made up of the amount you’ve already paid off, plus any increase in your home’s value. So, if you’re home’s value goes up, so does your equity and vice versa. Equity grows as you pay down your mortgage and, as I mentioned earlier, the market value of your home increases.
Q: How can this be beneficial financially? A: There are a few ways. You can borrow against your home equity by taking out a loan, using your property as collateral to secure the loan. There are a variety of ways you can do this such as through a home equity loan, home equity line of credit (HELOC) or a cash-out refinance. You may use these funds to cover other expenses, like high-interest credit card debt, make home improvements, invest in another home or in an emergency. Home equity loans also tend to have more favorable terms than credit cards or other personal loans, potentially saving you money in the long run.
Q: What if you sell your home?
A: The more equity you have, the more you can profit from selling your home if you do so in the future. For example, if you’ve paid off your entire mortgage before you sell, you may get to keep all potential profits. If you haven’t paid off your mortgage, any profits will pay off what you owe and you’ll keep the remaining funds– the more home equity you have, the greater your profit could be.
Q: What other benefits come from owning your home? A. Homeownership offers the potential opportunity for tax deductions. The interest you pay on your mortgage, insurance premiums, property taxes and even improvements to your energy efficiency may provide an opportunity for tax deductions. You can consult with your tax advisor if you’re looking to understand how buying a home may impact your taxes.
There’s no place like home
Homeownership has long been a powerful tool for building generational wealth in communities across the U.S. and can help you secure a solid financial future for yourself and your family. Your home is more than just the place where you rest your head—it can be your greatest financial asset.
For informational/educational purposes only: Views and strategies described in this article or provided via links may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any business. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy. The material is not intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice or to indicate the availability or suitability of any JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. product or service. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions and consult the appropriate professional(s). Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates are not responsible for, and do not provide or endorse third party products, services, or other content.
Deposit products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender.
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Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has indicated he could call the Mississippi Legislature into special session later this year to tackle the contentious issue of redistricting.
It is likely that the Legislature would consider redrawing the 52 state Senate and 122 state House districts in addition to the four U.S. House districts in the aftermath of the recent Louisiana v. Callais decision where the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to significantly limit the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act designed to prevent the dilution of Black voter strength.
Based on comments of Mississippi elective leaders, it is likely they will attempt to redraw political districts with the intent to limit the number of majority-Black districts in a state where the African American population is near 40%.
In any special session, it is likely that the redistricting of legislative districts would be done for the 2027 state elections and that the congressional redistricting would be conducted for the 2028 federal election.
Mississippi tried redistricting in a special session a generation ago, and the majority party – the Democrats – could not agree on a plan. Republicans hold the majority now, and they are likely to get the outcome they want.
In the early 2000s, Mississippi lost one of its five congressional seats based on the results of the 2000 U.S. Census.
The most obvious choice for the candidates who would be placed in the same district were Democratic Rep. Ronnie Shows, who represented southwest Mississippi up to parts of metro Jackson, and Republican Rep. Chip Pickering, who represented portions of east Mississippi, extending over to portions of metro Jackson.
Like ongoing redistricting efforts, the 2001 Mississippi redistricting special session drew national attention. After all, in the early 2000s, just as now, the two parties were fighting for control of the U.S. House.
But the special session highlighted what already should have been obvious – Mississippi Democrats held control of the state Legislature but were not in lockstep with national Democrats.
State House leaders, including Speaker Tim Ford, were the most aligned with the national Democrats. But House leaders said what was presented as a pro-Democratic plan did not favor Democrats, but instead would create “a competitive” district where both Shows and Pickering would have a 50-50 chance.
The Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Tuck, who was still a Democrat, offered a plan that most agreed would give the Republican Pickering a distinct competitive advantage over Shows.
A lot of factors went into the rift between the House and Senate. Many officials in Tupelo and northeast Mississippi opposed the House plan – deemed the tornado plan after one funnel-shaped proposed district – because they did not want to be in a district with parts of suburban Jackson. In addition, Tuck had allegedly made a commitment not to split relatively populous Lauderdale County into two districts.
Opposition to the tornado plan and to the splitting of Lauderdale County made it difficult to draw a district where both Pickering and Shows had a fighting chance.
While Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove would have had to sign into law any plan passed by the Legislature, he held little ability to sway either the House or Senate.
So the House and Senate redistricting committees met and exchanged plans, but essentially sat and stared at each other. The hearings evolved into a comedy routine where Senate Redistricting Chair Hob Bryan and House Chair Tommy Reynolds, perhaps the two most literate members of the Legislature, regaled onlookers by quoting Tennessee Williams, the two Williams – Shakespeare and Faulkner – and, of course, the Bible.
Finally, Musgrove had had enough, and he opted to use a little known gubernatorial constitutional power and end the special session.
The issue ended up in court. When Republicans did not get the outcome they wanted in the state court, they turned to the federal judiciary, where they got a favorable ruling.
The next election cycle, Pickering handily defeated Shows. And before winning a second term as lieutenant governor, Tuck switched to the Republican Party.
The special session was perhaps one of the many precursors of the state’s by then ongoing embrace of the national Republican Party.
When the Legislature meets in the next redistricting special session, Republicans will have significant majorities of the House and Senate and a resident of the Governor’s Mansion.
It is unlikely that they will disappoint national Republicans to the extent that Mississippi Democrats did their national counterparts in that 2001 special session.
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Today is Father’s Day, and just as everyone else, I have one. My father, Robert Hayes “Ace” Cleveland, died just over 31 years ago.
And still, not day goes by I don’t think of him. Not a day goes by I don’t want to pick up the phone and call him. Sometimes, I’d like his advice about something important. But most times, I’d just like his company. Maybe I can’t get “44 across” in the New York Times crossword puzzle. Maybe I can’t think of the right word for something I am writing. Or perhaps I want to make sure he saw the home run some Atlanta Brave just slammed on TV.
Rick Cleveland
Trust me, Ace Cleveland was a character. He was great fun to be around. He came from humble beginnings. His father was a dairy farmer who cared little if any about sports, but Dad played everything. He was a four-sport letterman in high school who earned his nickname in football. The Hattiesburg American once referred to him as Hattiesburg High’s “ace kicker.” And from then on, Robert Cleveland was Ace Cleveland. The only people I knew who called him Robert were his parents.
Funny thing: The newspaper that gave his nickname was the paper that years later made him a professional journalist. There’s a story there.
This was years after high school, and a couple years after Ace had served his country in the Navy during World War II. He was still playing semipro baseball and was being interviewed post-game by the newspaper’s executive editor, Leonard Lowrey. Ace asked Mr. Lowrey how come Lowrey was covering the game instead of the sports editor. Lowry said the sports editor had quit.
“I’d be interested in that job. You hiring?” Ace asked
“Can you type?” Lowrey asked back
“Yes,” was the answer
“Can you write?” was the next question.
“At least as well as that other guy,” Ace answered.
The job was his. He had the three other essentials for the job: 1) he could spell, 2) he could breathe, and 3) he was willing to work for next to nothing. (About 25 years later, I got the same job for the same reasons.)
Turns out, Ace could really write. He knew sports inside and out. He was really, really smart, and he was a natural storyteller.
Ace and Rick Cleveland at Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta, circa 1994. Credit: Rick Cleveland
A marriage and two sons later, Ace needed to make more money. The Jackson Daily News called offering a job. He took it. A couple years later, Mississippi Southern College offered a slightly higher paying job that also came with campus housing in his hometown. As much as he loved writing sports, he couldn’t turn it down.
So it was that my formative years – and those of my younger brother, Bobby – were spent on a college campus. In fact, for three years, my parents were proctors of the Southern’s East Stadium dormitory, known as the Old Rock, which housed the jocks. Our backyard was the football field. Directly across the street was the gymnasium. Just to the north was the baseball field. Our playmates and babysitters were the school’s athletes. We learned to love sports. We also learned words we had no business knowing.
Quick story: Once we were sitting down to a dinner of my mama’s fried chicken. I was 6, brother Bobby was 5. We both preferred drumsticks. I got one and Bobby got one. While Ace was telling a story after saying grace, Bobby quickly ate his and snatched mine off my plate.
My reaction was to say what I thought my friends down the hallway might say: “Bobby, you S.O.B., you take a bite of that drumstick, and I’ll kick the shit out your scrawny ass.”
The next thing I knew, Mama was about to cry and Ace was trying, without success, not to chuckle. My memory of that evening is made all the more poignant by the unforgettable taste of Ivory soap that has lingered for nearly seven decades. A couple months later, we moved off campus.
At age 13, I told Ace I wanted to the a sports writer. He told me I was nuts. He said if I was smart enough to do that and do it well, I could make a lot more money doing something else. As usual, he was right. But he also told me to call the newspaper and volunteer to cover games. I did. And he drove me to most of the games I covered before I was old enough drive myself.
Ace gave me the best writing advice I ever received when I couldn’t get started on my very first game story. “If I was you,” he said, “I’d write it the way I’d tell it.”
And so I did. And so I do.
One last story on Dad. This was near his end. He had suffered a series of evilly debilitating strokes. He was in the hospital’s intensive care unit, hanging on.
Bobby and I went for one of the few short visits we were allowed. Ace asked if we had the newspaper. We did. He asked if we had worked the crossword. We had not. This was a Friday, and then, as now, Friday’s New York Times crossword was a bugger.
“Read ‘em out to me,” Ace said, and so we read the clues. He worked the puzzle without opening his eyes. The nurse on duty stopped what she was doing.with all those machines and just listened.
Later, she asked us: “What does he do for a living?”
Bobby, who became Ace made over as he aged, had the perfect answer. “He’s just an old retired sports writer,” Bobby proudly said.
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For decades, various Mississippi and Coast leaders have pushed to deepen the Port of Gulfport. Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a report recommending the project for congressional approval.
The report, which is a result of a three-year study, recommends deepening the port from 36 feet to 46 feet and widening it by 50 feet. The work is estimated to cost $548 million. According to a statement from Gov. Tate Reeves, 75% of the project would be funded by the federal government and 25% by the state.
“We are making a quantum leap forward for the Port of Gulfport,” said U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. “A deeper, wider channel will unlock even more growth for our bustling maritime economy. Mississippians will benefit for years to come.”
Proponents now hope Congress will approve the project in the 2026 Water Resources Development Act, and fund it.
“This milestone reflects years of collaboration, and it positions the Port of Gulfport for long-term competitiveness, stronger supply chain resilience and expanded economic opportunity across Mississippi,” said Port CEO and Executive Director Jon Nass.
The port was established in 1902 and quickly became the world’s largest exporter of yellow pine, harvested in the Mississippi Pine Belt and surrounding states. As this business declined, in the 1970s the Port of Gulfport shifted to importing bananas and other tropical fruit from Central America. It remains the second-largest port in the nation for importing green fruit.
But the port is not deep enough for today’s larger, more efficient ships. Particularly since the Panama Canal was expanded in 2016, international shipping has shifted even more to the use of mega-ships. For years, officials have said that if the Port of Gulfport were deepened, it could attract bigger ships and more container cargo would pass through the port.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Gov. Haley Barbour said he wanted to see the port deepened to 50 feet using federal recovery funds, but he could not secure federal approval. He later recommended BP oil disaster settlement money be used for the dredging, but still failed to get approval for the dredging.
A 2013 report under Gov. Phil Bryant’s administration noted that deepening the channel would ensure the port’s “long-term competitiveness for decades to come.” The port was expanded and modernized using federal disaster recovery funds, but its channel wasn’t fully dredged to 36 feet until 2015.
A 2010 report from Mississippi State University noted that the port has had a “long history of sediment problems.” Even when it has been dredged to approved depths in the past, keeping it to that depth has been problematic, with sediment filling back in.
To maintain the current depth the port needs to routinely be dredged, overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers with money usually coming from the federal government. In 2012, WLOX reported the port had not had a full maintenance dredge since 2009 because of federal budget constraints.
Officials see the port as an important part of Mississippi’s economy. A 2022 report found that the port provided $3.8 billion in economic value to the region, $62.5 million in state and local taxes and 3,600 jobs.
