Mississippi
Miss Mississippi delegates prepare for first night of preliminary competition
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Miss Mississippi delegates have been in Vicksburg since Sunday.
Monday night, all 39 rolled through downtown Vicksburg along with Miss Mississippi Vivian O’Neal for the annual parade. Beginning Wednesday night they will take the stage for the first night of preliminary competition.
We talked with three more delegates about Service Initiatives and why they participate in Miss Mississippi.
This is the sixth year Miss Hattiesburg, Katelyn Perry, will compete at Miss Mississippi. Perry says she has grown personally, and each year, she comes back to give it another try.
“I have a very successful 501c3 that I wouldn’t have started if it wasn’t for the confidence that I gained through this organization,” Perry said. “I am getting a Masters’s Degree right now, completely debt-free. I started accumulating scholarship dollars when I was just 12 years old because of this organization.”
Perry has formed a non-profit, Crowns for a Cause, to help raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals her Service Initiative.
“We have 150 ambassadors from more than 20 states, and I’m able to teach them about why service is so important, and while we do that we advocate for CMN hospitals”, Perry said.
Miss Key to the South Karsyn Ulmer was a semi-finalist in 2023. This is her third year at Miss Mississippi.
Ulmer said, “I almost didn’t come back. I actually waited and competed in the very last prelim.”
Her Service Initiative is Joyce’s Journey named in honor of her aunt.
“My Aunt Joyce, she had Cerebral Palsy, among other disabilities, and I remember being a young girl and going into places with her in public and just seeing people kind of look at her differently, and I hated it because at the end of the day, she was my best friend,” said Ulmer.
Miss Mississippi State University Morgan Nelson is back for a second time. She was also a semi-finalist in 2023.
Nelson said, “It’s truly an opportunity that I want to promote to all girls, young women who look like me and who don’t look like me to be a representative of the state.”
Miss MSU says she wants to help eliminate health disparities and chronic conditions through her Service Initiative.
“Don’t Sugarcoat It encourages Mississippians to just try to eat healthy just for a day,” Nelson said.
Miss Hattiesburg and Miss Key to the South compete in Talent Thursday night. They will be singing. Miss Mississippi State competes in Talent Friday night. She will be dancing.
Each of the six semi-finalists from 2023 received $2,000 scholarships from the Miss Mississippi Corporation. That includes four of the delegates who are back this year, Miss Hattiesburg Katelyn Perry, Miss USM Kat Adcox, Miss Key to the South Karsyn Ulmer, and Miss MSU Morgan Nelson.
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Mississippi
It’s 2,350 miles long, spans 31 US states and is home to a 100kg animal with a tongue that looks like a worm | Discover Wildlife
The Mississippi River flows for around 2,350 miles through the heart of the US. It drains an area of 1.2 million square miles – that’s roughly 40% of the country – and at certain points is 11 miles wide. It is North America’s second longest river, behind the Missouri River.
Rising from Lake Itasca in Minnesota, the Mississippi winds southwards through a range of environments, draining water from 31 US states before reaching its delta at the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
The sheer size of the river and the diversity of habitats it passes through make it a refuge for a huge range of animal species, including more than 260 fish, 326 birds, 50 mammals and at least 145 amphibians and reptiles, according to the National Park Service.
There are many weird and wonderful animals living within the Mississippi’s vast waters, but surely one of the strangest is the alligator snapping turtle.
This prehistoric-looking reptile is massive. It can weigh up to 100kg and males can grow well over half a metre long, making it the largest freshwater turtle in North America.
And as if its size wasn’t enough, the alligator snapper has a host of other characteristics that make it one of the Mississippi’s most striking creatures, including a dark, spiky shell (known as carapace), a brick-like head and a sharp, hooked beak. With such a formidable appearance, it’s easy to see how the turtle got its ‘alligator’ name.
But perhaps the turtle’s most curious feature is a worm-like appendage found on its tongue, which it uses as a lure to catch prey, such as fish, amphibians and invertebrates. Alligator snappers are also quite happy scavenging for food.
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
NIL money comes with a price. More specifically, a tax bill.
The Mississippi legislature is trying to reduce that burden for college athletes who play there.
Via Bea Anhuci of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, the Mississippi House of Representatives has passed a bill that would exempt NIL earnings from state income tax.
It’s a recruiting tool for Ole Miss and Mississippi State, one that would put the Mississippi schools on equal footing with other states that host SEC universities. Florida, Tennessee, and Texas have no state income tax, and Arkansas carved out NIL earnings from the state’s income tax burden in 2025.
Mississippi currently charges a four-percent tax on anyone making more than $10,000 per year.
NIL earnings remain subject to federal income tax.
The bill will have to also pass the Mississippi Senate, and the governor would then be required to sign it into law.
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