Mississippi
Backlog in liquor, wine deliveries frustrates retailers in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Brandi Carter needs her wine.
As the owner of Levure Bottle Shop in Jackson, Mississippi, she sells natural wine delivered to her business by a state agency responsible for distributing alcoholic beverages to liquor stores, bars and restaurants. But delays caused by problems in a state warehouse have led Carter and many other retailers to see their inventory dwindle and their business drop as they wait for new shipments.
Carter, who also handles the beverage program for a restaurant in Jackson, said she has been dealing with delays since February, and she’s feeling helpless as traffic in her store goes down.
“I’ve just reached acceptance that this is our new normal, and it’s awful,” Carter said Wednesday.
The state is the only distributor of liquor in Mississippi
In Mississippi, the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control department — an arm of the Mississippi Department of Revenue — is responsible for distributing wine and liquor to businesses that sell it. That’s different than other states, where individual companies handle alcohol distribution, Carter said.
During the week ending April 12, there were more than 172,000 cases that were pending delivery, and it was taking an average of 17 days for businesses to receive their orders, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
Those numbers are down from the week ending March 1, when the backup appeared to be at its peak for the year. At that time, there were more than 220,000 cases pending delivery, and it was taking an average of 25 days for the process to be completed.
In contrast, the number of cases pending delivery was more than 51,000 and the wait time was three days for the week ending Jan. 11., the department said.
Carter said the backlog has resulted in a wait of four to five weeks, as opposed to a few days to two weeks before the delays began.
Warehouse issues caused the delay
Shipping delays from the state’s 40-year-old warehouse emerged in January as it went away from an “obsolete” conveyor belt system to one where pallets were used to move cases, according to a statement from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. A new warehouse management system experienced technical issues, leading to delays, the department said.
“The computer program that they implemented for the warehouse wasn’t working effectively with the ordering side,” Carter said. “So the first big chunk was the biggest problem, because things were being marked as shipped, but they weren’t shipped.”
The department said technical issues have been resolved and the warehouse is operating at full capacity, with pending orders being shipped as retail orders increase.
“While capacity at the existing facility has been a challenge for well over five years, there is not an alcohol shortage,” the department said. “As retail ordering stabilizes, we anticipate shipments returning to normal volume within the coming weeks.”
Lawmakers thought about changing the system
The Mississippi legislature debated temporarily allowing out-of-state distributors to sell and ship alcohol directly to retailers. The law would have been repealed after two years, but it did not pass. The state’s legislative session has since ended.
A new warehouse set to be completed by the end of this year will be able to store and ship over twice as many cases as the current facility, the revenue department said.
Retailers, customers stymied by the backlog
Josh Sorrell, owner of Spillway Wine and Spirits in Brandon, said he used to order 600 cases in a day, but he is now limited to 100 cases per day. About 30% to 40% of the items he usually orders on a daily basis have been unavailable, he said.
Sorrell believes restoring the conveyor belt system would fix the problem. He has asked Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves to declare a state of emergency.
If delays continue, Sorrell’s concerned that business will suffer into the end of the year, when he makes a lot of his sales.
“As it gets busier, we’re gonna crumble,” he said. “I mean, it’s going to be really hard at 100 cases a day to stock up for a full October, November, December.”
Meanwhile, customers are going to three or four stores looking for their specific bottle, and they sometimes can’t find it, Sorrell said.
“It’s frustrating to lose people at the door who are looking for a specific product that I can’t even get from the state,” he said.
On Thursday, Lauren Roberts went to Sorrell’s store looking for Soda Jerk’s orange cream shots, but he was out, just like the supermarket where she usually buys it. So, she bought another type of drink for an upcoming celebration with her family.
“We’re having a little get-together this weekend because it’s my daughter’s prom and her boyfriend’s family’s coming,” Roberts said. “So everybody has their drink of choice, but me.”
______
Sainz reported from Memphis, Tennessee.
Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball beats Cincinnati 10-5, moves within one win of regional title – SuperTalk Mississippi
Tomas Valincius struck out 10, Ace Reese and Kevin Milewski homered, and Reed Stallman knocked in three runs to lead Mississippi State to a 10-5 victory in the winner’s bracket game of the Starkville Regional on Saturday night.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (42-17) managed early behind another standout performance from Valincius, who allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to earn his 11th win of the season.
Valincius was supported offensively by Reese’s solo home run in the first inning, a run two-seed Cincinnati (38-21) responded to in the second to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs broke open the game with three runs in the fifth inning, then followed with four more in the sixth and two more in the seventh to build a 10-1 lead.
As part of the surge, Stallman knocked in three runs on two doubles, Gehrig Frei hit a two-run single, Bryce Chance drove in one, and Milewski hit a two-run shot. Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ brother, crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
Cincinnati worked to chip away late, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Bearcats scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth before Mississippi State reliever Ben Davis limited the damage by getting the final outs to end the ballgame.
Mississippi State is now just one win away from winning its first regional championship since 2021 – the same year the Bulldogs won the College World Series. Mississippi State will play the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Cincinnati and Louisiana at 7 p.m. If Mississippi State drops the game, a winner-take-all final will be played Monday.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State got a dominant performance from Tomas Valincius and a 13-hit offensive performance to defeat Cincinnati 10-5 on Saturday night at Dudy Noble Field, moving on the the Starkville Regional Championship.
The Bulldogs broke open a tight game with a three-run fifth inning before adding four more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Reese gets it started
Ace Reese started the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the first inning, giving the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. Cincinnati answered in the second when Christian Mitchelle doubled to shallow left, scoring Enzo Infelise to tie the game at 1-1.
Bulldogs score three in the fifth
Mississippi State scored three runs in the fifth inning, beginning with an RBI infield single from Bryce Chance to shortstop that scored Jacob Parker. Gehrig Frei followed with an infield single to second, plating Reed Stallman and Kevin Milewski to push the lead to 4-1.
Four more in the sixth
Mississippi State added four more runs in the sixth. Stallman delivered an RBI double to left to score Parker before Valincius crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Cincinnati’s Alex Gonzalez. Two batters later, Milewski launched a two-run homer to right field, stretching the Bulldogs’ lead to 8-1.
Stallman extends lead in the seventh
The Bulldogs extended the lead in the seventh when Stallman ripped a double to right, scoring Noah Sullivan and Parker for a 10-1 advantage.
Cincinnati added two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, making the final 10-5.
Valincius dominates on the mound
Valincius worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. He threw 112 pitches and recorded his 10th strikeout before exiting in the eighth inning. Maddox Webb took over after that and walked two batter. Ben Davis closed the game for State, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two.
Offensive leaders
Mississippi State finished with 13 hits.
Stallman led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. Chance collected three hits and drove in a run, while Frei finished with two hits and two RBIs. Reese added his first-inning homer, and Milewski’s two-run blast highlighted the sixth-inning surge. Parker scored three runs.
Up next
The Diamond Dawgs now head to the Starkville Regional Championship, where they will face the winner of the Cincinnati and Louisiana elimination game. State will only need one more win to advance to a Super Regional.
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – The Mississippi Miss Hospitality Program announced Saturday that contestants competing for the title in 2026 will be eligible for the organization’s largest scholarship offerings in its 77-year history.
Contestants will be eligible for more than $105,000 in scholarships and prizes, including $32,500 in direct cash scholarships.
The winner of the competition will receive a $10,000 cash scholarship, tuition scholarships, travel opportunities and a total prize package valued at $27,000. The first alternate will receive a cash scholarship of $6,000, the second will receive $3,500, the third will receive $2,500 and the fourth will receive $2,000.
During Saturday’s announcement, the Advisory Board of the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Program also revealed that the winning cash scholarship will be named for Bonnie Warren.
Warren has spent decades supporting tourism, hospitality and economic development efforts across Mississippi. She also helped move the Miss Hospitality Program from Starkville to Hattiesburg in 1998 and has remained one of its strongest advocates.
The theme for this year’s Miss Hospitality will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
The competition will take place July 17-18 in Hattiesburg. Tickets will go on sale in two weeks.
The Miss Hospitality Program was founded in 1949.
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Copyright 2026 WDAM. All rights reserved.
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