Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in his State of the State speech Tuesday that cutting taxes, giving pay raises to teachers, investing in infrastructure and expanding the state police presence in the capital city of Jackson are among his priorities this year. State of the State speeches traditionally are held in the Mississippi House chamber, … Read more
Tennessee officials are launching their push to recruit poll workers for this year’s elections. Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office says poll workers must be at least 16 or a registered voter if 18 or older. They cannot be a candidate or close relative of one, or work for a municipal or county supervisor on … Read more
Mississippi senators are taking the first steps toward spending some of the $1.8 billion the state is receiving from the federal government for pandemic relief. Senators passed bills Monday to put $104.6 million into the state Department of Mental Health, $59.1 million into the Department of Child Protection Services, $10.4 million into the Mississippi National … Read more
Security officers at Tennessee’s major airports found more than 280 guns in passengers’ carry-on luggage in 2021, a significant increase from prior years, officials said. The 283 guns found last year at security checkpoints in airports in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities area surpassed the 162 weapons discovered in 2020 and exceeded the … Read more
More jobs are coming to north Mississippi where Walmart has plans to build a new fulfillment center. The company on Thursday said it is spending about $90 million to build a 1,000,000 square foot warehouse in Olive Branch that’s set to open in the spring. The new facility will store merchandise that is picked, packed … Read more
An on-duty police officer was killed in a crash with another vehicle whose driver also died in Memphis, authorities said. Officials said the collision happened at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday while the officer was responding to a call in southeast Memphis, news outlets reported. The officer died at a hospital, and the other motorist died … Read more
The Republican-led Tennessee Senate’s ethics committee on Thursday recommended removing a Democratic senator from office because of her recent wire fraud conviction, pressing ahead over her objections that she had short notice of the hearing and is still awaiting sentencing. The panel voted to move Sen. Katrina Robinson’s case in front of the full Senate … Read more
Mississippi is moving closer to joining most other states in allowing people to use marijuana to relieve medical conditions. The state House voted 104-14 Wednesday to pass a bill that would create a medical marijuana program. The bill passed the Senate 46-5 last week, but the House made some changes. In coming days, the Senate … Read more
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee plans to give his annual State of the State speech on Jan. 31. The Republican will deliver the address to state lawmakers for his fourth time since taking office in 2019. Lee is seeking reelection to a second term this year. The speech will air on Lee’s Facebook and YouTube pages. … Read more
A Mississippi middle school has canceled a program designed to educate students about body image after parents became angry over a form that offered students shapewear. The form, sent by school counselors at Southaven Middle School, was meant to introduce a program to address societal stress on young girls to have “ideal” bodies, WMC-TV reported. … Read more