Mississippi
25 Years Of Innovate Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The spotlight was on the Magnolia state top up-and-coming innovators at the Innovate MS Accelerate Conference.
Eight finalists were selected to pitch their company’s idea in hopes of landing a deal from investors.
Innovate Mississippi’s CEO said, “This pitch day is really the culmination of something that started with eight regional partners. We had 240 applications that then turned into about 120 pitches. Those pitch competitions awarded up more than $100,000 of prizes at the pitch. But now of that Group, eight of them have been selected. They’ve been working their butts off for the last 12 weeks.”
One of the presenters started his company just this past summer. He is blending medical care with artificial intelligence.
Brandon Newton, founder and CEO of Gen Med Labs, said, “My background is mostly like chemistry and medicine, and I’ve recently started studying computer engineering. I have passion for both medicine and technology, so I wanted to create a company that leverages both of those skill sets in order to basically aid the medical industry as a whole.”
Gen Med Labs is working on a pair of ordinary glasses that function as a portable computer.
So, when the user puts them on, it’s a type of virtual reality. The other presenting all had something different to bring to the table.
“Well, that’s kind of the front of this is we don’t focus in any one industry. So we have, you know, a company that can allow you to do food delivery where you sort by price or time. We have a company that does videos. For homes, we have companies that help with, you know, getting away from that annoying clipboard when you go to the doctor’s office. They’re companies doing all sorts of different things,” Jeff said.
The conference will continue on Wednesday, where interested investors can meet with innovators to discuss how involved they want to be in advancing their companies.
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Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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