JACKSON, Mississippi (WJTV) – The Mississippi Match 5 jackpot has grown to an estimated $720,000 ahead of Thursday, February 2nd’s drawing.

The previous high for Mississippi Match 5 was $665,000 in July 2021. The jackpot will be the 23rd drawing since the jackpot was last won on December 10, 2022 for $55,000.

Why have there been so many massive Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots lately?

The jackpot grows until at least one ticket matches all five numbers.

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday February 4th has grown to an estimated $700 million with an estimated cash value of $375.7 million. The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday February 3rd has grown to an estimated $20 million with an estimated cash value of $10.6 million.

PORT GIBSON, Miss. — 

The bugs aren’t nearly as bad as you’d think. There are sweat flies, which are like little half-bees, half-mosquitoes without the sting or bite.

Woolly spiders drop down from the trees onto your neck and into your kayak when your head brushes against the leaves, so you quickly learn to avoid low-hanging branches. But when you’re moving at a clip in the open channel of the Mississippi River, they’re nowhere to be found.

A water moccasin may glide silently past, and a few times we’ve seen iridescent alligator eyes peering out at us before they sank back down into the depths. During dry spells, thousands of tiny frogs rush over the undulating caked-mud ripples that stretch across where the water has receded, and weird worms and winged roaches find the wetter highlands when the river’s swollen.

Once, we saw wandering trails of what we’re pretty sure were bobcat tracks between our tents when we woke up late and hungover, the mist already rising warm off the river’s shimmering surface.

But it’s never as scary as it sounds once you’re out there on the water, even one Friday night when four of us dropped two kayaks and a canoe into the blue, almost phosphorescent mini-waves after 10 p.m. and set up camp by moonlight five miles down.

Charlie Montuori paddles along the banks of the Mississippi River near Waterproof, La., in July 2020.

(Connor Sheets / Los Angeles Times)

Over four humid summers, these Mississippi jaunts became an annual ritual for our crew of longtime, 30-something friends. Life, jobs and circumstance had scattered us, but we all saved a week of vacation to reunite for what we came to simply call the river trip.

Each summer we floated a different segment of the river. In 2020, we made the 40-mile push from Port Gibson — a Mississippi hamlet Union military leaders deemed “too beautiful to burn,” according to an old wooden sign on the edge of town — to Natchez.

Under a threatening sky, we had set out in a canoe and kayak down this largely overlooked stretch the evening of July 6, 2020. The launching point was a cracked-cement boat ramp next to the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, a towering power plant commissioned in July 1985, two months before I was born.

We were setting off yet again into wilderness and interstate shipping lanes on the smallest of craft. What we didn’t realize was that it would be the last consecutive annual trek we’d make.

These past two years grew too complicated to pull another trip together; we’ve moved across the country, had kids, spent hundreds of hours on Zoom. The COVID-19 pandemic dragged on.

We’ve had time to consider all that the trip had come to represent for us, a reminder of the simple power of friendship. What was once a lark had become a cherished rite, and in text messages and sporadic late-night calls, we’re dreaming of staging Act 5 this summer.

The river will be there, flowing ever southward.

Brian Sheets paddles down the Mississippi River near Port Gibson, Miss., in July 2020.

(Charlie Montuori / For The Times)

::

After 30 minutes of paddling, your arms are burning, and you wonder how you got roped into this madness again. You’re way too out of shape to be out here, you tell yourself. What happens if at some point you simply can’t continue?

But after an hour or two the ache starts to subside, and then you’re cruising crisply through the air, which always feels magnitudes cooler when you’re paddling confidently through the calm, football fields away from land.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to cross the river, which at swell points can be a treacherous journey of more than a mile across whirlpools, eddies and rushing currents. But mostly the slipstream and your paddle carry you on.

One of the other guys always describes the stopping point as being a bend or two away, but five miles can look like a few hundred yards when you’re out on a straightaway and there’s nothing but rows of trees and beige-sand beaches for landmarks.

There are no pleasure boats on our stretches of the Mississippi — no party pontoons or families pulling wakeboarders behind rented powerboats. This is true social-distancing, along the ever-flowing jugular of American history, commerce and lore.

Andrew Cummings, left to right, Thomas Tarver and Christopher Harress stand on the banks of the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg, Miss., in July 2018.

(Connor Sheets / Los Angeles Times)

One time we helped dislodge a middle-aged couple after they crashed their little skiff into a line of rocks near our sandbar campsite. But aside from that ill-fated bateau and the occasional river patrol raft or fishing boat, the only vessels we’ve seen on these quiet, unappreciated miles from Vicksburg down past the tiny, ironically named town of Waterproof, La., and continuing south to Natchez, were tugboat-powered barges — one every hour or two, all day and night.

We continue riding for as long as we like, or the weather allows. In these near-tropic environs, the sky can darken or turn green and twist itself in an instant, then open up and dump cold rain down in ceaseless deluges. Sometimes storms seem to linger directly overhead, impervious to the wind’s whims, exploding every few seconds in thunderclaps and piercing, neon bolts.

Other times, like when Charlie — my friend from middle school who served three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq before moving to Texas to repair and ride motorcycles — kept needlessly pulling off to shore on the 2020 trek, the storms appeared to be headed straight for us, then whipped quickly by, leaving us dry in our hastily donned ponchos.

If a storm comes when we’re out on the water, we beach as quickly as we can and shelter under the dense leaf cover, which slows the rain at first, but eventually relents and lets it pour through. When we’ve already got camp set up, we huddle in our tents hoping we don’t get hit by lightning, and bask in the chilled air these tempests leave behind through dusk and into the night, a welcome reprieve from the punishing heat.

::

Before my now-wife and I moved from our tiny apartment in lower Manhattan to a two-bedroom Craftsman house in Birmingham in January 2015, I had never been to Alabama or Mississippi or any part of Louisiana north of Lake Pontchartrain.

I imagined needing a pickup to handle dirt roads and haul lumber, getting a big hound dog and taking up fly-fishing. Instead, I found a largely familiar modern existence, not so different in its daily rhythms from the one I had growing up in an old Maryland town.

Connor Sheets tries to avoid getting wet in a beached canoe on the banks of the Mississippi River as a storm approaches north of Natchez, Miss., in July 2020.

(Charlie Montuori / For The Times)

Yet of course it was different in so many ways. And a couple of years later, I found in the remotest, deepest South a quintessentially American experience that changed all of our lives, but has in some respects changed very little since hand-carved wooden canoes and lashed-log rafts were among the most common vessels on the Mississippi.

On the river, the quiet can be deafening, and we can’t hear one another for hours at a time, as even a couple of hundred yards of distance on the river can stifle our loudest shouts. That visceral sense of departure, not just from the shore but from the daily toil, is what draws us back year after year.

It’s a feat of endurance, a treacherous tour of the wild South’s many dangers and nuisances, and an exhausting, sometimes monotonous gauntlet. But it’s also a spiritual triumph, a self-guided tour of an untrammeled land, and a journey back in time.

Column One

A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times.

Six of us have joined the crew at least once since 2017: Andrew, an earth scientist and paleontologist with a New England brogue who missed the trip for the first time in 2020 after moving from Vicksburg to Massachusetts; Thomas, a one-time professional riverman and Delta native who sticks to the canoe; Chris, a Scottish veteran of the Royal Navy-turned-journalist whom I met in a New York newsroom and now works as a reporter in Mobile.

Then there’s my younger brother, Brian, a longtime New Yorker who braved his first Mississippi trip in 2020 and moved to L.A. a couple of months before I did in 2021; Charlie, the hardy, curly-haired Texan; and me.

The wives and kids stay home, as they have no interest in joining us. The stink of our waterlogged river clothes, tales of lurking gators, snakes and spiders, and the 2-inch gash in my palm that I brought home in 2019 further solidified their conviction that they want no part of our adventures.

We load the boats up on the roof rack and tie them down with winching straps, stopping half a mile down the road to make sure they’re holding before heading on to the drop-off point. We leave one car there, pile into the truck, and drive upriver to where we’ll be putting in.

We manage the boats down to the water’s edge, weigh them down with our gear and supplies, slather ourselves in bug spray — and a fresh coat of sunscreen if it’s still light out — tuck a couple of Budweisers or bottles of water into the wells, and push off from shore.

Like when a highway clears and you get up to speed and immediately forget what it was like to be stuck in traffic, we’re quickly out on the water, the land shrinking away and the current carrying us ever farther toward New Orleans and beyond that, the sea.

::

In 1876, Andrew told us at camp one night, the Mississippi jumped. Sediment had slowly filled the river’s main channel off the meander that had long flowed along Vicksburg’s downtown port, causing the water level to rise. One fateful day that late-Reconstruction spring, the differential between the main channel and the meander reached its apex, and the river suddenly shifted to its current route, leaving Vicksburg and its industry stranded next to a lake with no direct access to the vital artery.

It had been barely a dozen years since Vicksburg had come out of its months-long siege by Union troops, a period during which some of the town’s residents moved into hillside caves to avoid being shelled, and yet some still died from the concussive force of mortar explosions near their earthen tombs.

As of that fated day a century after America’s founding, Vicksburg was no longer situated along the banks of the country’s great waterway, which had for generations brought goods, people and wealth.

For 25 years after the Mississippi changed course, the Army Corps of Engineers worked to bring the Yazoo River to Vicksburg, which partially revived the town. But by that time rail was king, and the city never truly recovered.

A view of the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Miss., as the sun goes down during the group’s inaugural river trip in 2017.

(Christopher Harress / For The Times)

Today, Vicksburg is a destination for faux steamboats and tour buses half-filled with aging Civil War buffs and gamblers drawn to its storied battleground and mildewed casinos.

Gunshots and sirens are commonplace as the sun goes down and well into the night on the crumbling blocks around Andrew’s old house, which served as home base for our river excursions before he moved north.

In a faded former gas station by the river, there’s a bar with brushed-metal shelves of canned goods and toilet paper, and taxidermied animal heads hanging from the walls. People still smoke in the dim light, and they serve beer by the bottle to a handful of regulars most nights. And now there’s a hip little brewery downtown that will make you short rib pozole or a plate of broccolini with cashew cream and a lemon vinaigrette.

::

You have to keep food simple on the river. Black coffee, overboiled eggs and toast charred on a wire contraption each morning; boiled potatoes and baked beans or spaghetti and Prego on the two-burner propane stove for dinner.

While one or two of us cook and finish making camp, the others gather logs and kindling and build the fire, which will sustain us deep into the night and keep animals away. Or so we hope. Thomas always has a loaded handgun in his pack — except in 2020, when Charlie took his place both in the canoe and as gunslinger.

The nights are spent drinking and fighting and laughing and devolving into previous versions of humans who spent their time in the dirt, foraging for wood, something to eat and connection. The only sounds are our own voices, the crackle of the fire, the purl of the river, the dull drone of the barges, and the constant chorus of bullfrogs, birds, bugs and coyotes.

We eventually retire to our tents, where we angle our phones above our heads, trying to get a bar of service to send a quick proof-of-life text home before we drift off.

The year of our last trip, COVID-19 dramatically reminded the world that nature has a way of imposing its will, reshaping life’s contours and forcing us to reconsider our priorities. Like the river when it changed course, we had no choice but to adapt as our lives took an unexpected turn.

It’s uncertain whether we’ll get back to the river this year, but the hope remains and our friendships endure. For now, we can reflect on those mornings on the river.

The dew is cool and damp against the skin when we wake up, and everything, even the air, is bathed periwinkle blue. We grab our soap and wade out into the river’s side channel for a wash-up and dip before breakfast, hoping a gar doesn’t rub up against our legs with its jagged teeth and prehistoric scales.

There’s always sand in the coffee and in the eggs, and there are never enough bowls or spoons or mugs. We pack everything back up in a much more haphazard way than we did at home.

Everything somehow always still fits in the boats and we push away one by one. We’re off again, the beach is the past and the river is the moment.

country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsMinor Outlying Islands of the United StatesCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic of JamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People’s Socialist RepublicAlgeria, People’s Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality of Angola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the area south of the 60 )Antigua and BarbudaubaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmia, Argentina Commonwealth ofÖsterreich, RepublikAserbaidschan,RepublikBahrain,KönigreichBangladesch,VolksrepublikBarbadosWeißrusslandBelgien,KönigreichBelizeBenin,VolksrepublikBermudaBhutan,KönigreichBolivien,RepublikBosnien und HerzegowinaBotswana,RepublikBouvetinsel (Bouvetoya)Brasilien, Bundesrepublik.Republik Territorium im Indischen Ozean (Chagos-Archipel)Britische JungferninselnBrunei DarussalamBulgarien, Volksrepublik Burkina FasoBurundi, Republik Kambodscha, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde , Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People’s Republic of Christmas Island Cocos Islands (Keeling Islands) Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People’s Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Ivory Coast, Ivory Coast, Republic of Cyprus , Republic of Czech Republic of Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti , Dominican Republic, CommonwealthEcuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of EritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of GeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic of GibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic of Guinea, People’s Revolutionary Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald IslandsHoly Se e (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People’s Republic of Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic of Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan , Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyzstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lebanese Republic of Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahirija Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macau, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia, Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Client r Mongolia, Mongolian People’s Republic of Montserrat, Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People’s Republic of Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of the Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands, Kingdom of New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau, Palestinian Territory, occupiedPanama, Republic of Papua New Guinea, Paraguay , Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of Pitcairn Island, Poland, Polish People’s Republic of Portugal, Portuguese Republic of Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion State, Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation, Rwanda, Rwandan Republic of Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaS Olomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic St. HelenaSt. Kitts and Nevis St. LuciaSt. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of Suriname, Republic of Svalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau- islands). )Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Republic of, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Eastern Republic, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela , Bolivarian Republic, Vietnam, Socialist Republic, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe

Mississippians now know who will be running for statewide offices this year, as the deadline to qualify for races passed Wednesday at 5 p.m.

The full list was not released until late Wednesday night though, after delays that Secretary of State Michael Watson attributed to late paperwork submissions by the state Democratic Party.

All statewide offices will be contested in 2023, with some, like Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, facing prominent primary challenges from within their own party.

For Gov. Tate Reeves, the two most prominent Republicans who could have challenged him ultimately chose not to run. Watson announced last week that he would run for reelection, though he remained critical of Reeves, and the governor’s 2019 primary opponent Bill Waller Jr. announced on Monday that he would not run either.

So who is running in Mississippi, and what are they running for? Find out here:

Governor

Tate Reeves

Incumbent Republican Reeves will be seeking reelection for a second term. Reeves won the Republican nomination in a runoff over Waller in 2019, by a margin of 8.2%. He then defeated Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood by about 5%.

Reeves’ first term has coincided with an unprecedented number of declared emergencies, ranging from hurricanes to tornados, and from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Jackson water crisis.

He has been a major proponent of economic development, including calling a special session to secure the largest economic development project in state history last fall. He has also been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden and a number of liberal social policies.

State of the State:MS Gov. Tate Reeves delivers State of the State address. Democrat Brandon Presley responds

Democratic critics have pointed to Reeves’ conflict with city officials during the Jackson water crisis, his handling of a rural healthcare system on the brink of collapse and his unwillingness to expand Medicaid despite polling that shows such a move may have broad support in the state.

Brandon Presley

Northern District Public Service Commissioner, and second cousin to the King of Rock, Brandon Presley seems to be the Democratic Party’s front-runner in its bid to take down Reeves and give the state its first Democrat in the governor’s mansion in two decades.

A self-described populist, Presley has represented a relatively conservative area of the state on the Public Service Commission since 2008. After Hood left office, Presley became one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the state, and despite rumors that he would run for statewide office in the past, this will be the first time he has done so. As mayor of Nettleton, Presley gain a reputation for working across the aisle. In 2004 he even endorsed George W. Bush for president.

On Monday night Presley gave the Democratic response to the State of the State address from a closed hospital in Newton, saying that dozens of other rural hospitals in the state were nearing the same fate. Some critics noted that the hospital closed before Reeves took office, though Presley never claimed Reeves was involved in its closure.

Medicaid expansion is a key component of Presley’s campaign, as he sees it as a way to bring much needed revenue to rural hospitals in the state. Other priorities for Presley include repealing the grocery tax and taking on corruption and lobbyist influence at the capitol.

Other candidates

John Witcher, a physician who leads a group opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates will be running in the Republican primary, as will David Grady Hardigee.

Gregory Wash has filed to challenge Presley in the Democratic primary. Wash ran in 2019 as well, coming in eighth place in that year’s primary with just over 1% of the vote. Joining Wash and Presley in the Democratic primary will be Rob Hickingbottom.

Independent candidate Gwendolyn Gray also filed for the race.

Lieutenant Governor

Delbert Hosemann

Incumbent Republican Hosemann will run for another term as the state’s No. 2 official, which plays an important role in the state legislature overseeing the Senate.

In the three and a half sessions that Hosemann has served, a number of important pieces of legislation have passed, including changing the state flag, a record-setting increase to teacher pay and the disbursement of billions of dollars of federal funds through COVID-19 relief bills, much of which went to infrastructure — another category that saw record investment.

An attorney and former secretary of state, Hosemann has been criticized by politicians of both parties in recent months. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has stood firmly against regionalization of the city’s water system, an idea which Hosemann has floated. Lumumba has also made accusations that Hosemann has meddled with operations of the city’s airport.

From the right, Hosemann has been criticized by state Sen. Chris McDaniel, now a primary opponent, for not being conservative enough, though Hosemann defines his record as strongly conservative.

Chris McDaniel

State Sen. Chris McDaniel is challenging Hosemann from the right in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

McDaniel is not a moderate, and he is proud to take that position. In a news conference immediately prior to qualifying for the race, McDaniel said there is “no honor in compromise,” equating bipartisanship to an act of surrender.

A state senator since 2008, McDaniel has made national headlines for previous attempts to take down Republican incumbents. In 2014, he ran against six-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. That race was embroiled in scandal when a political ally of McDaniel’s was arrested for covertly photographing and videoing Cochran’s ailing wife inside of a nursing home. McDaniel denied any involvement or knowledge.

McDaniel has been openly critical of Hosemann’s record as leader of the chamber. Specifically, McDaniel points to Hosemann’s opposition to full elimination of the state income tax and his committee appointments.

Other candidates

Two other Republicans filed to run for lieutenant governor. Shane Quick, who ran against Hosemann in the 2019 primary receiving about 14% of the vote, will be making another run. Tiffany Longino also filed for the race.

The lone Democrat to file for the lieutenant governor’s race was D. Ryan Grover, a former candidate for the Oxford Board of Aldermen.

Secretary of State

Michael Watson

Incumbent Republican Michael Watson chose to run for another term as secretary of state, rather than challenge Reeves for governor, after months of speculation.

Watson defeated Democratic former Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree to become secretary of state. Prior to running for secretary of state, Watson had been in the state Senate since 2008.

As secretary of state, Watson has prioritized election security and created a program aimed at training Mississippi businesses to spot the signs of human trafficking.

During the 2022 election, Watson’s office experienced a cyberattack that took down its website for large portions of the day.

Shuwaksi Young

Democrat Shuwaski Young is running for his second office in as many election cycles, after failing to defeat U.S. Rep. Michael Guest in November.

Young is a former staffer within the secretary of state’s office, under both Democrat Eric Clark and briefly under Hosemann. He later worked at the federal Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, overseeing the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign.

Young has vowed to make it easier to vote if elected by implementing early voting and simplifying the registration process.

Attorney General

Lynn Fitch

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch is seeking reelection for her second term.

In 2019, Fitch became the state’s first Republican attorney general since 1878.

Fitch is a former state treasurer whose office represented the state in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which saw an end to nationwide protections for abortion access. Shortly following that case, Fitch certified Mississippi’s abortion trigger law, pathing the way for the procedure to be banned in the state for almost all cases.

Her office has also signed onto a number of lawsuits filed by other states’ attorneys general that challenge the administration of President Joe Biden.

Greta Martin

Democrat Greta Kemp Martin is a Jackson-based attorney currently serving as litigation director at Disability Rights Mississippi.

Auditor

Shad White

Republican state Auditor Shad White is seeking his second full term. He was appointed auditor by Gov. Phil Bryant in 2018, and elected for the first time in 2019, facing no opposition.

White’s office was instrumental in uncovering and investigating the largest welfare fraud in state history, which has involved high profile names such as Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre, and Bryant.

He has faced some criticism for the slow pace of the criminal case, and for a lack of indictments against those involved in the fraud but has maintained that such action would lie in the jurisdiction of prosecutors like the attorney general or district attorneys, and not with the auditor’s office. His office conducted an audit of the scheme, which has been used in a separate civil case attempting to recoup lost funds.

Larry Bradford

Democrat Larry Bradford is mayor of Anguilla, a town with a population of less than 500.

Treasurer

David McRae

Incumbent Republican State Treasurer David McRae is seeking his second term as state treasurer.

As treasurer, McRae helps oversee the state’s investment portfolio. During a June speech at the 2022 Neshoba County Fair, McRae said his office has returned about $100 million into the treasury through its investments, along with about $55 million in unclaimed property being addressed since the beginning of that year.

McRae has advocated for college savings plans, rather than federal intervention, in order to address the rising costs of college attendance.

Addie Green

Democrat Addie Green is a former member of the Bolton Board of Aldermen, who also ran against McRae in 2019, receiving 39.2% of the vote.

Commissioner of Agriculture

Andy Gipson

Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson is seeking a second full term.

Gipson, an attorney and former member of the state House of Representatives, was appointed to the job after former-commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith was appointed to the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in 2019 by a margin of about 18%.

Gipson has been a major proponent of Mississippi products through his “Made in Mississippi” campaign.

Robert Bradford

Robert Bradford qualified to run in the Democratic primary. Bradford is currently the Director of Natchez-Adams County Homeland Security Program, Floodplain Management Program, Emergency 9-1-1 Coordinator, and Emergency Management Agency, according to his website.

Bethany Hill

Bethany Hill, who also qualified to run in the Democratic primary, is executive director of the Mississippi Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.

Terry Rogers

Eighteen and a candidate:Hear from young Democrat seeking to challenge Andy Gipson for agriculture commissioner

Democrat Terry Rogers could become the youngest statewide elected official in Mississippi history, if he pulls off an upset over Gipson.

Rogers, an 18-year-old Jones College student, qualified Wednesday afternoon at the state party headquarters in Jackson.

If elected he said his priorities would be to eliminate the grocery tax, increase support for catfish and marijuana farms and institute more youth programs.

Other candidates

Robert Briggs also filed to run in the Democratic primary late Wednesday.

Commissioner of Insurance

Mike Chaney

Republican Mike Chaney is the state’s longest serving statewide official, having first taken office in 2008.

As insurance commissioner, Chaney not only regulates the insurance industry, but is also state fire marshal.

Prior to being elected insurance commissioner, Chaney spent 15 years in the state legislature.

Mitch Young

Republican Mitch Young is an engineer and former naval officer. He ran for governor in a 2015 primary against Phil Bryant, receiving 8.2% of the vote.

Bruce Burton

Democrat Bruce Burton is an attorney from Belzoni, and a former candidate for the Court of Appeals in District Four during the 2022 election.

Arnett hasn’t been shy about his thoughts on the state of Mississippi and the talent that comes from it. As the day ended Wednesday in the second signing period, the Bulldogs had the No. 25 high school or junior college signing class in the country by 247Sports Composite Rankings and 16 of the 27 players were from the state of Mississippi.

Including eight other transfers, 19 of 36 played state high school or junior college football. Although most of the class was signed under the direction of Leach and this staff, it’s in the right direction that Arnett is trying to go.

For more on this story, see our Thursday, February 2nd news issue Click here to subscribe to our e-edition.

The championship will be held at the Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

The PGA of America announced Wednesday that Dancing Rabbit Golf Club at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi, will host the 2023 PGA University Championship November 13-15.

The 36-hole championship, sponsored by Srixon/Cleveland Golf, will feature 90 players on 18 teams from PGA Golf Management University programs across the country. Teams compete for the Jones Cup, whose namesake is rooted in Mississippi.

“The 18-team field of the 2023 PGA University Championship will compete for the Jones Cup, named after Mississippi State PGA Golf Management University’s first program director, Dr. S. Roland Jones, who held that position from 1985 until he took office in 1997,” the PGA said. “The event provides a platform for attendees to demonstrate professionalism, integrity, character and camaraderie – all qualities that Dr. Jones taught PGA Golf Management students.”

Dancing Rabbit Golf Club at Pearl River Resort is home to two award-winning par 72 courses – the Azaleas and the Oaks. The club’s golf pro, Sean Racki, said they are proud to work with the PGA of America.

All participating universities in the PGA University Championship are accredited by the PGA of America to offer the PGA Golf Management University Program to prospective PGA professionals. More than 1,600 students are currently enrolled in the program nationwide.

PGA President John Lindert said they look forward to bringing the event to Mississippi’s Dancing Rabbit Golf Club.

“The PGA University Championship is a premier event that showcases our PGA Golf Management students,” said Lindert. “The PGA is extremely proud of its golf management program and our partnership with the 18 universities to develop the next generation of PGA professionals. The PGA University Championship not only gives these students an opportunity to compete on the court, but also to network with their peers from across the country.”

Adam Scott, program director for Mississippi State University’s PGA Golf Management University, said he was honored to welcome fellow PGA students from across the country to Magnolia State for this year’s PGA University Championship.

“This event is always a highlight in our students’ careers and the Dancing Rabbit Golf Club is the perfect setting to demonstrate their professionalism and ability to play,” said Scott.

— Article credit to Anne Summerhays of the Magnolia Tribune —

Editor’s note: This list will be updated throughout the legislative session. This post was last updated on Feb. 1.

About 3,000 bills have been filed in the Mississippi Legislature to be considered during the 2023 session. The last major deadline was Jan. 31, when lawmakers had to pass general bills out of their original committees.

The deadline, though, did not apply to revenue and appropriations bills, which face a Feb. 22 deadline.

Ballot initiative

Multiple bills in the House and Senate were filed this session to revive the state’s initiative process, which allows voters to bypass the Legislature and place issues on the ballot for the electorate to decide. The state Supreme Court rendered the state’s initiative process unconstitutional in 2021 on a technicality and the legislative leadership has vowed to renew it. But that did not occur in the 2022 session.

Just one bill dealing with the ballot initiative — Senate Bill 2638, authored by Sen. McCaughn, a Republican of Newton — survived the Jan. 31 deadline. But the bill faced criticism in committee before it was kept alive. The proposal, as written, does not appear to allow voters to completely circumvent the legislative process, as is generally the goal of ballot initiatives. It simply lets voters make suggestions to legislators, who can later choose to alter the wishes of voters.

Senators, including McCaughn, vowed to improve the bill as it moves through the legislative process.

READ MORE: Senators keep watered-down ballot initiative bill alive, vow to improve it

Medicaid expansion

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate filed 17 total bills in 2023 dealing with expanding Medicaid as is allowed under federal law to provide health care coverage to primarily the working poor. Under the proposal, the federal government would pay the bulk of the costs.

All 17 bills died in Senate and House committees without a vote or even debate.

Senate Bill 2070, authored by Sen. Angela Turner Ford, D-West Point, and House Bill 108, authored by Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens, were among multiple bills filed to expand Medicaid.

Postpartum coverage

Several bills were filed this year to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers from the current two months to 12 months. Physicians and advocates say the policy, which would cost the state just $7 million per year, would save countless lives of mothers and children who cannot otherwise afford necessary health care.

Senate leaders passed Senate Bill 2212, authored by Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, before the Jan. 31 deadline. Meanwhile, House Bill 426, authored by Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, died without being considered in committee.

These actions mirror what happened last session. Senate leaders passed the bill overwhelmingly before Speaker of the House Philip Gunn killed it.

READ MORE: Pressure grows for lawmakers to pass postpartum Medicaid extension

Health care & hospital crisis

Senate Bill 2371, Senate Bill 2372, Senate Bill 2373 and Senate Bill 2323, authored by Senate leaders with support from Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, are aimed at helping Mississippi’s struggling hospitals and shoring up the health care workforce. The bills would spend a combined $111 million of the state’s federal pandemic relief money. This includes $80 million in grants to hospitals based on their number of beds and type of care, a nursing student loan repayment program, grants to help community colleges beef up their nursing programs. Senate Bill 2323 would eliminate legal barriers to consolidation of or collaboration among hospitals. All of these bills remain alive following the Jan. 31 deadline.

Senate Bill 2793 and House Bill 1081 would create licensure and regulation — by a new board — for midwives in Mississippi. Currently, midwifery is not regulated in Mississippi as it is in 36 other states, meaning anyone here can claim to be a midwife without formal training or certification. More than half of Mississippi counties are considered “maternity care deserts,” with no hospitals practicing obstetric care, no OB-GYNs and no certified nurse midwives. Advocates say midwives could help in these areas. But many physicians groups say child delivery should be overseen by trained physicians. Both these bills died in committee on Jan. 31.

Burn center

House Bill 469, authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn, would provide $12 million for Mississippi Baptist Medical Center to create a burn center or unit at the hospital in 2024.

The state’s only accredited burn center closed last year, but recently the University of Mississippi Medical Center announced it will increase its burn treatment capabilities.

Another bill, Senate Bill 2817, brings forward code sections to allow possible amendment later in the session.

Both these bills remain alive following the Jan. 31 deadline.

READ MORE: Will Baptist and UMMC battle over burn care?

Jackson water crisis

Senate Bill 2889 would create a regional utility authority that would place the long-term control of Jackson water, wastewater and sewer under a nine-member board. Five of the members would be appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor, and four would be appointed by Jackson’s mayor. This bill passed Senate committee on Jan. 24 and remains alive.

Senate Bill 2338 would require that cities charge customers for water based on consumption. Jackson is currently looking at a proposal to instead charge customers based on their property values. This passed Senate committee and was approved by the entire Senate on Jan. 26. It remains alive and now moves to the House for consideration.

Welfare agency reform

House Bill 184 and House Bill 188, authored by Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, would establish a board to oversee Department of Human Services, taking the agency out of the sole oversight of the governor’s office. House Bill 1054, filed by Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, would require legislative watchdog PEER to evaluate TANF subgrants. Senate Bill 2331, filed by Sen. Rod Hickman, D-Macon, would remove the child support cooperation requirement for TANF and SNAP beneficiaries.

All these bills died in committee on the Jan. 31 deadline.

READ MORE: Democrats, not Republicans, seek to reform Mississippi welfare agency in wake of embezzlement scandal

Felony suffrage

Senate Bill 2405, authored by Sen. Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson, and House Bill 1247, authored by Rep. William Tracy Arnold, R-Booneville, are among multiple bills filed to change the state Constitution to allow people convicted of felonies to regain their voting rights at some point after finishing their sentence.

All these bills died in committee on the Jan. 31 deadline.

Elections & voting

Senate Bill 2299, authored by Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, would establish a mechanism for voters to recall state and local officials, including legislators. This bill died in committee on Jan. 31.

House Bill 370, authored by Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, would establish a mechanism for voters to recall municipal officials. This bill passed out of committee on Jan. 11 and is pending before the entire House chamber.

Government accountability

Senate Bill 2667, authored by Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Brookhaven, with multiple co-sponsors, would reiterate that the open meetings law covers the Mississippi Legislature. The bill is a response to a controversial 2022 ruling by the state Ethics Commission saying the Legislature is not covered by the open meetings law. The bill also increases the fine for violations of the open records law from $100 to $500.

This bill died in committee on Jan. 31.

Gender procedures ban

House Bill 1125, the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures Act,” is similar to measures passed or debated in other states and was authored by Rep. Gene Newman, a Republican from Pearl. The bill, passed on a partisan 78-28 vote by the full House early in the session, would ban gender affirming surgery and drugs for Mississippians 18 and under.

It passed out of Senate committee on Jan. 31 and is expected to be taken up in the full Senate chamber in coming days.

Taxes

House Bill 418, authored by Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, and co-sponsored by others, would eliminate the sales tax on most grocery items.

The deadline to file tax bills is not until Feb. 22, so most likely others will be filed.

College financial aid

Legislation that would revamp two state financial aid programs, Senate Bill 2580 and House Bill 771, passed out of both chambers. The House is debating upping the new income cap for eligibility under the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant from $90,000 per family to $150,000, a change the Senate is not currently considering.

The bill is likely headed to conference.

READ MORE: As lawmakers hear proposal to redesign financial aid, education policy experts say it’s a ‘bad idea’

House Bill 730 and Senate Bill 2585 expand eligibility for the Winter Reed Loan Repayment Program for teachers to include alternate route teachers and teachers who are no longer in their first year. Both bills survived the Jan. 31 deadline.

Education

Senate Bill 2811 and House Bill 1365 prohibit local school districts from decreasing their salary supplements for teacher assistants when the state minimum wage is raised. These bills are alive following the Jan. 31 deadline.

Senate Bill 2079 and House Bill 532 create a “School Safety Guardian Program,” which would train teachers with concealed carry permits to respond goal of responding to active shooter situations. The program would be opt-in and teachers would be eligible for liability protections for actions taken in this role. These bills remain alive.

READ MORE: How is Mississippi responding to the threat of school shootings?

House Bill 1070, authored by Rep. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon., would create grants for schools to teach patriotic education. This bill passed House committee on Jan. 31 and remains alive.

Senate Bill 2777 raises the minimum salary of school attendance officers to match the teacher pay raise given last year. It also establishes a 2,000 student limit for each officer’s case load. This bill is alive.

READ MORE: State truancy officers face stagnant pay and ‘unmanageable caseloads’

House Bill 294, authored by Rep. Carolyn Crawford, R-Pass Christian, would prohibit public schools and universities from imposing mask mandates. This bill died in committee on Jan. 31.

House Bill 112, authored by Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens, would create the Mississippi Universal Preschool Act. This bill died in committee on Jan. 31.

House Bill 595, authored by Rep. Bo Brown, D-Jackson, would authorize the Department of Education to create curriculum for African American studies and racial diversity. This bill died in committee on Jan. 31.

Environment

House Bill 1094 would authorize the state Department of Environmental Quality to fine Jackson for improper disposal of wastewater or sewage into the Pearl River, up to $1 million for each instance. This bill passed House committee on Jan. 31.

House Bill 18 would impose a $3.50 tax on cars charged at alternative-fuel stations. Senate Bill 2020 and House Bill 378 would repeal the annual tax imposed on electric (currently $150) and hybrid cars ($75). All of these bills are alive and face a Feb. 22 deadline for floor action.

Law enforcement

House Bill 1020, authored by Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, creates a separate judicial district within the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which is an area around downtown Jackson where many of the state-owned buildings are located. The judges, who would hear civil and criminal cases, would be paid equivalent to chancery and circuit judges, but would be appointed by the Supreme Court chief justice instead of elected like other judges in state. This bill passed House committee on Jan. 25 and remains alive.

House Bill 1222, authored by Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany with other co-sponsors, would make a number of changes to state mental health policies, including requiring law enforcement agencies to offer “first aid mental health training.” It would appoint court liaisons to work with families in counties where more than 20 people are involuntarily committed each year, require chancery clerks to keep more detailed records on civil commitments, and aim to reduce delays in conducting screenings of people being civilly committed. Under the bill, community mental health centers would be required to hire an accountant and conduct regular audits. It would also change the composition of the board of mental health to include more subject matter experts and at least one sheriff and reduce board members’ term lengths. This bill passed House committee on Jan. 26 and remains alive.

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STARKVILLE — A guest speaker, Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis, brought in Thursday, asked the assembled Bulldogs players how many volunteers were part of the group.

Only three players raised their hands.

“So I have three helpers and 17 starters,” Lemonis said on Friday.

With less than three weeks until the Bulldogs’ season opener on Feb. 17, that presents an issue Lemonis has yet to resolve.

The Bulldogs coach said that Mississippi state’s weekend rotation was “to be determined” and that he “couldn’t name you a man right now” who would participate.

That’s not to say there aren’t many contenders for the three spots.

“Every kid wants to start,” Lemonis said. “I just told them whoever we let go out there, they’re going to deserve it.”

Though Lemonis said no one has cemented a spot in the Bulldogs’ rotation, junior right-hander Cade Smith reckons he has an inside lane at one position.
Smith was Mississippi State’s top starter last year, posting a 3.86 ERA in 72 1/3 innings. He was MSU’s Sunday starter for most of the season and was largely effective in some Southeastern Conference starts despite a few struggles. Smith left the team with an injury after one inning in his last start of the season against Tennessee but should be ready for 2023.

Injuries were an issue for the Bulldogs last year as they lost ace Landon Sims as well as relievers Stone Simmons and Brooks Auger in tears from UCL. Sims started the season as a Friday night starter at Mississippi State before going down with an injury in early March and pushing senior Brandon Smith into the rotation.

Smith and Preston Johnson — the SEC’s 2022 strikeout leader — each threw 64 or more innings, but each ended with ERAs over 5 by the time the season was said and ended.

The Bulldogs will need a lot more of their starters for 2023, and they have a pair of returning pitchers from a shaky bullpen that could fill those roles.

Right-hander Parker Stinnett said he got his biggest hit last season when he could spot his fastball and breaking ball anywhere in the zone for strikes, but then that command went away and then “I wasn’t throwing any strikes.”

A nagging injury he sustained against Texas Tech in March forced Stinnett out of action in April after exacerbating it against Auburn, and he finished the season with a 6.12 ERA — along with 49 strikeouts and 26 walks — in 32 1/3 innings.

Stinnett said he feels “perfect” now and said he worked at Starter, Middle Reliever and Closer over the fall and feels comfortable in every role.

“Whatever they tell me, I’m willing to do it,” he said.

Senior righty KC Hunt took a similar line of thinking, saying that as a starter or from the back of the bullpen if needed, he “will be ready”.

Hunt spurned the major leagues after being drafted in the 12th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates this summer but refused to sign.

“That was pretty cool,” Hunt said. “It was surreal. But I’m ready to come back here and try to make us successful again.”

Behind Smith, Stinnett and Hunt, returning left-handers Pico Kohn and Cole Cheatham impressed during their freshman season, mostly from the bullpen.

The state of Mississippi also has several newcomers vying for rotation spots, including 6-foot-6 right-hander Colby Holcombe of Northeast Mississippi Community College.

Memphis transfer Landon Gartman, Ball State import Nate Dohm and freshman left-hander Bradley Loftin will also be there.

So did two-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who showcased his unique talent during Monday’s scrimmage at Dudy Noble Field.

Lemonis dispelled some rumors about the use of Cijntje, who shows better speed from the right but has quite an arsenal of shots with both hands.

“Some people think maybe one day we can just throw him with our left hand and then lead him back out with our right hand,” Lemonis said. “It doesn’t really work that way. But it’s special. It’s not a circus act. He’s really good with both. For a small child, he will play a big part in what we do on the hill.”

Whoever ends up in the weekend rotation – which will almost certainly change as the season progresses based on health and performance – has to hold its own.

Mississippi State’s 6.07-team ERA in 2022 was last in the SEC by a wide margin, and the Bulldogs can’t afford a similar performance this year to get where they need to be.

“We need guys who can give us good starts,” said Lemonis. “We need a couple of guys to take over the ball and give us a chance to win the game. I think that’s a big piece and we’re just trying to figure it out.”

Theo DeRosa covers Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.

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MEMPHIS, Tennessee — DeSoto County roads were slippery and muddy Tuesday as residents grabbed last-minute essentials before another round of ice storms hit the MidSouth.

At one point there was a lot of freezing rain, which not only made the roads dangerous but also led to power outages. We’ve seen accidents around the county, but fortunately nothing major.

Second round of ice storm expected Tuesday afternoon

The Mississippi Department of Transportation said its crews have been working around the clock gritting and gritting the roads since Monday night.

With the third round of winter weather, they’re expecting twice as much ice, so they’re urging people to stay indoors.

Ice causes dangerous driving and traffic problems in the Mid-South

We spoke to MDOT and people who grabbed last-minute essentials to weather the winter storm.

“We saw a few people slide off the road in DeSoto County. I saw them on cameras and State Troops tow trucks pulling them out of the ditch and as soon as they pulled one person out we saw someone else slide into the ditch so it’s very slippery in some places.” said David Kenney of MDOT.

MDOT said to stay indoors if possible, and if you have to get out, take it slow.

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PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Several medical marijuana stakeholders will be in the state capital on Wednesday, February 1st.

The Mississippi Independent Cannabis Association has invited local cannabis business owners and operators from across the state of Mississippi to gather in the state capital.

The Capital Day event gives small business owners in the cannabis industry the opportunity to discuss amendments to Mississippi House Bill 1158. This bill includes important changes to Mississippi’s medical marijuana law enacted last year.

“We’re inundated with applications from out of state, and these guys as soon as they make a win, they’re out of state,” said Pete Stokes, executive director of MICA. “These locals, if their business is successful, you will see it prosper. They’re going to buy cars here, they’re going to buy houses here, they’re going to buy groceries here, so all of that affects our economy.”

“We are very pleased that the legislature is receptive to our message, that they are listening to us, that they are bringing changes to the bill for us, and that local businesses have the opportunity to thrive and we can elevate this market,” added he added Stokes.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8am.

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