An inspection of the Interstate 55 bridge connecting Tennessee and Arkansas has begun a week after the span became the states’ primary Mississippi River crossing when a cracked steel beam prompted the indefinite closure of the nearby Interstate 40 bridge. Inspectors using drones are looking closely at the I-55 bridge to ensure it is structurally … Read more
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Tuesday announced nine nominations to three boards that govern public education from kindergarten through college. The nominees must be confirmed by the state Senate. Reeves made the nominations after some vacancies had occurred because members’ terms had expired — a situation that meant boards could lack a quorum to conduct … Read more
An inspector who failed to discover a crack in the Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee that prompted the span’s closure has been fired. The Arkansas Department of Transportation on Monday said the inspector was fired after drone video showed the crack on the bridge in May 2019. The department says the crack was … Read more
Parents suing a now-closed north Mississippi child care center where their infant died last year allege that a worker left their child swaddled and face down on a soft surface for about 35 minutes. The Oxford Eagle reports that Joe and Jenna Hastings sued owners and managers of the Mother Goose Daycare in Lafayette County … Read more
Some Mississippi lawmakers say they want Gov. Tate Reeves to call them back to the Capitol for a special session to revive the state’s initiative process. Others want a chance to quickly revive discussion of a medical marijuana program. The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that the medical marijuana initiative is void because Mississippi’s initiative … Read more
Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty is calling on President Joe Biden to take an “urgent, all-hands” approach to the shutdown of a bridge that connects Tennessee and Arkansas. The Republican says in a letter to the president that the shutdown is “affecting the lives and livelihoods of real people right now.” Hagerty says the fix to … Read more
The Man in Black is now being honored on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. A new marker dedicated Friday memorializes a night Johnny Cash spent in the Oktibbeha County Jail. In the early hours of May 11, 1965, Cash was arrested for public drunkenness after he was found picking flowers at a private home after … Read more
Nearly a year after requiring people to wear face masks in many public settings to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the city will stop enforcing the mandate on Saturday. Strickland tweeted on Thursday that people must still wear a face mask if they are inside a city facility and … Read more
A company that’s been making surgical instruments and equipment in Mississippi since 2007 announced plans to close its facility next year. Ecolab, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, will close its facility in Columbus by mid-2022, said spokesman Roman Blahoski, The Commercial Dispatch reported. The facility specializes in manufacturing surgical instruments and equipment. There are currently … Read more
A Mississippi man was arrested Thursday for his alleged role in a scheme to get more than $6 million in federal loans from the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program, federal prosecutors said. Christopher Paul Lick, 45, of Starkville, is accused of using the relief money to buy a variety of luxury items, including a $1 million … Read more