April 2009

Students who dropout of school in Mississippi cost the state about $458 million dollars annually, according to the State Department of Education. That includes healthcare costs, lost taxes and lost wages. In part two of our dropout awareness series, MPB's Lawayne Childrey reveals a few of the economic challenges facing the town of Belzoni in Humphreys County.

A federal law suit has been filed against Harrison County after multiple allegations of abuse at that county’s juvenile detention center. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

A new memorial at the University of Mississippi honors the sole reporter killed during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s. MPB’s Cari Gervin reports.

Suicide is the third leading killer of Americans ages 10 to 24. Those are the latest statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But as MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports the numbers in Mississippi are even more shocking.

She was beloved by many, respected by all. Jackson born writer Eudora Welty would have turned 100-years-old this week.
As MPB’s arts reporter Ron Brown tells us, fans and friends from all over the world are in Mississippi to mark the occasion.

More than 2 billion dollars is in the pipeline for Mississippi as part of the federal stimulus package. State department heads gathered in Jackson yesterday at a public meeting to discuss some of the ways that money will be spent. MPB’s Stephen Koranda reports.

Lawmakers are looking for ways to balance the state’s budget during an almost impossible economic year. MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports.

Two of Oxford’s leading entrepreneurs aren’t letting the down economy depress them. MPB’s Cari Gervin explains.

State and federal officials are investigating what could be one of the largest contraband cigarette cases in the country. MPB’s Stephen Koranda reports.