On Jan. 15, Adam Ganucheau, then the editor-in-chief of Mississippi Today, announced the inception of Mississippi Today Ideas. On that same day, Mississippi Today Ideas’ inaugural guest essay, written by Civil Rights icon Myrlie Evers, was published.

The calendar is close enough to the anniversary of the announcement and Evers’ inaugural essay to proclaim that Mississippi Today Ideas has been in existence for a year.

And while in many ways we are just getting started, what a first year it has been for MT Ideas. We have heard from famous Mississippians, such as former governors, Mississippi-born music legend Marty Stuart and from everyday Mississippians who we believed had important information to share.

Just in the month of December as Mississippi Today Ideas closed out its first year in existence, we published essays from acclaimed Mississippi-born movie director Tate Taylor about the rededication of a historically significant church in southwest Mississippi and from central Mississippi middle school teacher Brandy Richardson who is toiling to improve the educational outcome of her students.

The Ideas section publishes opinion pieces from both Mississippi Today staff and from guest writers. We look for essays that inform the readers about our state and about the communities where we live and hopefully the writers on occasion suggest solutions to the issues facing our state and communities.

“Mississippi Today Ideas will serve as a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share fact-based ideas about our state’s past, present and future,” Ganucheau wrote in announcing the inception of Mississippi Today Ideas on Jan. 15. “Rather than following a traditional newspaper opinion section format, the section will strive to focus on creative, constructive solutions that address Mississippi’s unique challenges and inspire progress.”

We also strive to publish quality writing. People who read the MT Ideas section will be impressed with the quality of many of the essays.

In a very real sense, Myrlie Evers had to write the first essay for Mississippi Today Ideas. She, better than any person, bridges the state’s bad and good. No one has more reason to despise her native state than her, who lost her husband, Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, to a racist assassin who for decades Mississippians refused to punish despite overwhelming evidence. The assassin was finally convicted in 1994. Myrlie Evers wrote about her native state and proclaimed in the essay in 2025, “I still believe in Mississippi.”

How powerful.

Mississippi Today has published 94 guest essays – an average of nearly two per week. We also have published 70 staff written pieces for MT Ideas.

The most read Mississippi Today Ideas offering for the past year was an essay by Ole Miss quarterback legend Archie Manning.

Manning, who has spent his adult life living in nearby New Orleans where for most of his professional football career played for the Saints, wrote about how he has throughout his life maintained his love for Mississippi and remains involved in various entrepreneurial endeavors in his native state.

The realization that Manning’s guest essay was the most read Mississippi Today Ideas’ submission resuscitated a memory of watching a first college football game, the nationally televised Ole Miss-Alabama game in 1969. Manning set multiple Southeastern Conference records in that epic contest, producing legions of long-time Manning fans.

Manning in many ways bridges the state’s past and present.

Read the most read essays of the past year below and sign up for the MT Ideas newsletter to get essays in your inbox on the last day of each month.

Archie Manning: Despite New Orleans roots and broader legacy, Mississippi is still home

Archie Manning writes: “As I go from place to place in Mississippi both in my travels and in my mind’s eye, I realize what I love most about my home state. It’s the people. There’s no place like Mississippi and no people like the folks in Mississippi.”

How Jim Barksdale’s $100 million gift to the state 25 years ago led to ‘The Mississippi Miracle’

Twenty-five years ago, Jim Barksdale and his late wife Sally gifted the state of Mississippi $100 million to create a program aimed at boosting public school reading. Here’s the behind-the-scenes story on the return on investment, since dubbed “The Mississippi Miracle.”

Attorney questions state Auditor White using his post to attack private citizens

Attorney: Auditor Shad White – the first millennial to serve in statewide office in Mississippi – chose to weaponize his platform and power against two women for expressing their views on their personal social media accounts.

Ex Madison resident ran from Mississippi but is now pulling for Lane Kiffin and the state

Despite a bad Mississippi childhood, writer says, “I find myself rooting for Lane Kiffin to stay, and in a strange way, rooting for the people of Mississippi.”

Marty Stuart: Showcasing my love for country music with a new hometown museum

Marty Stuart: “The Congress of Country Music, an endeavor born out of passion, dedication and an abiding respect and admiration for the roots of country music, is now under construction in my hometown.”

Policy analyst: Income tax elimination risks significant harm to Mississippi’s future

If the income tax is fully eliminated, the state’s wealthiest residents would receive a $41,000 tax break, close to the state’s average annual salary. 

Derrick Simmons: Monday’s Confederate Memorial Day recognition is awful for Mississippians

State Sen. Derrick Simmons writes that Mississippi officially celebrating Confederate Memorial Day is bad policy, bad governance and a deep stain on the values we uphold today.

Mississippi still officially celebrates Robert E. Lee on MLK Day. It’s beyond time to stop.

Column: On Jan. 20, Mississippi officially commemorates both Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King Jr. It’s beyond time the state stops celebrating Lee, a Confederate who chose treason and human bondage over country.

My grandfather’s law firm just bowed to Trump. It goes against his and America’s values.

Essay: My grandfather’s New York law firm just bowed to the Trump administration. That decision goes against what my grandfather — and our nation’s founders — stood for.

Attorney: 1970s Air Force DEI training ‘changed my life,’ but is now illegal in Mississippi

Professor says, “Important lessons the Air Force taught my father would be illegal today, 55 years later, if presented in any Mississippi school or university.”