About our Mississippi news
Latest news on Mississippi, covering Jackson, the Delta, state politics, the economy, civil rights, education, tourism, the Gulf Coast and more from the Magnolia State.
Mississippi is a Deep South state of about 3 million people, bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Jackson is the capital and largest city, while Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Vicksburg, Natchez and Tupelo are other well-known places. Agriculture, manufacturing, shipbuilding, healthcare and Gulf Coast tourism are central to the economy.
State news is shaped by the Legislature in Jackson, the governor and the courts. Recurring topics include public education and teacher pay, healthcare access, rural hospitals, infrastructure, taxes and the long-running debate over Jackson's water system. Hurricanes and flooding along the coast and the river also bring storm recovery and disaster preparedness into the headlines.
Mississippi's cultural influence reaches far beyond its borders. The Delta is widely seen as the birthplace of the blues, and the Mississippi Blues Trail honours artists such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf. Tupelo is the birthplace of Elvis Presley, while writers William Faulkner and Eudora Welty remain central to its literary heritage. Catfish, Gulf seafood and Southern cooking are part of the state's identity.
Home to the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez peoples long before European settlement, Mississippi joined the Union in 1817. Cotton and slavery shaped its early economy, and the 20th century brought the civil rights movement, including Freedom Summer in 1964 and the work of Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer. Places such as the Emmett Till memorial and the Mississippi Freedom Trail keep that history in view. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reshaped the Gulf Coast and its rebuilding.
The ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Mississippi feed brings together the latest headlines from across the Magnolia State, covering Jackson, the Delta, the Gulf Coast, state politics, the water system, the economy, education, civil rights, culture and the communities that make Mississippi what it is.