Mississippi
Good Housekeeping names 23 best city vacations. See why Jackson made the list
AAA forecast record number of Americans to travel Thanksgiving holiday
AAA’s Thanksgiving travel forecast has plenty of tips for travelers preparing for getaways this holiday. A more local forecast will come Nov. 20.
Looking for new places to go, explore? Jackson, Mississippi, is one of 23 cities that Good Housekeeping named the best city vacations for 2026. Whether you should add the City with Soul to your travel bucket list or live nearby and need to get a different view of local history and attractions, there’s something here for you.
Good Housekeeping pointed out that the city has a range of fun and educational experiences, “the state capital is far from one-note. A vibrant music and culinary scene gives this vacation spot an appealing rhythm.”
To pick the best travel destinations for cities, tours, cruises, resorts and more, Good Housekeeping worked with 125 testers to pick the best of the best. They worked with experts and consumers to evaluate trips, experiences and services around the world.
“Music flows from historic venues and neighborhood stages, and the culinary scene is quickly earning a reputation as one of the most diverse and dynamic in the South. From family-friendly attractions and engaging museums to lively festivals and a thriving arts community, Jackson offers travelers an experience that is authentic, soulful, and entirely its own,” Visit Jackson wrote in a news release.
Each tester shared photos and video from their trip and filled out a detailed survey. The considered things like value, attractions, available lodging and safety.
Jackson checked the right boxes. Here’s what the tester said about their trip and the three placed to visit or stay that Good Housekeeping says you “won’t want to miss.”
What can I do in Jackson? Good Housekeeping has suggestions
Good Housekeeping highlighted three specific places to visit that highlight the City with Soul’s place in Civil Rights history and show how it’s a creative, vibrant community:
Medgar & Myrlie Evers monument highlights Civil Rights icons
At the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, Visit Jackson says you can walk “in the footsteps of legends.”
“The city was — and remains — the beating heart of the American civil rights movement, inviting visitors to engage deeply with this legacy through powerful landmarks,” Visit Jackson wrote.
Medgar and Myrlie Evers worked together in the American Civil Rights Movement. Medgar, the NAACP field secretary for Mississippi, was assassinated at their home on June. 12, 1963. His death, the first slaying of a national leader in the movement, helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Mylie Evers-Williams has also served as chair for the NAACP and published books about Civil Rights. She worked for more than 30 years to get justice for her husband.
Learn about Mississippi, Civil Rights history
Two Mississippi Museums have immersive exhibits that help people understand how the decisions of the past affect the state today, and Good Housekeeping specifically highlighted the Civil Rights museum.
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum shows how leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer and James Meredith continue to influence change. From the struggle for freedom to looking at modern Black empowerment, exhibits inform and ask visitors what comes next for us.
“Visiting the city’s Mississippi Civil Rights Museum was an incredibly moving experience for me,” said the Good Housekeeping tester, a Black mom of two.
She said the best bit of the trip came from the museum. “The gumbo I ordered at the museum’s Nissan Café was by far one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten in my life!”
The Museum of Mississippi History also takes you through 15,000 years, from mound builders to juke joints. Exhibits introduce you to the first people who lived here; walk through eras including the Civil War and Reconstruction; and take a look at the creative soul of the state.
Stay in historic Jackson property
The Good Housekeeping tester stayed at The Orchid Bed & Breakfast. Mississippi’s first Black-owned bed and breakfast is on the National Register of Historic Places. The home was built in 1888 for the founder of Millsaps College. According to the B&B’s website, Webster Millsaps served in the Confederate army, and his family owned enslaved people in Copiah County.
Owners Jason and Katrice Thomson have renovated and restored the home. Ten of the 11 rooms are named after strong women in their families, according to the website. The 11th, Lily, is “dedicated to all of the other Black women—known and unknown—who have made a significant impact on our lives, our communities, and our great state.”
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
Mississippi
What channel is Mississippi State baseball vs Ole Miss on today? Time, TV schedule to watch college baseball game
Mississippi State baseball, coming off a sweep of Vanderbilt, travels to Ole Miss for a three-game series, starting on March 27.
The Bulldogs (21-4, 4-2 SEC) swept Vandy last weekend in Starkville to move above .500 in league play after two weeks.
Ole Miss (19-7, 3-3) took two of three games from Kentucky last weekend in Oxford.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss will also play on April 28 in Pearl.
Here’s how you can watch Mississippi State baseball vs Ole Miss:
Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss on March 27 will be televised via streaming on SEC Network+, which is housed on the ESPN app and can be accessed via a SEC Network subscription. If you are subscribed to SEC Network, you can access SEC Network+ online.
- Game 1 start time: 6:30 p.m on March 27, SEC Network+
- Game 2 start time: 1:30 p.m. on March 28, SEC Network+
- Game 3 start time: 3 p.m on March 29, SEC Network
- Feb. 13: Hofstra, W 6-5
- Feb. 14: Hofstra, W 6-1
- Feb. 14: Hofstra, W 7-5
- Feb. 17: Troy, W 13-7
- Feb. 18: Alcorn State, W 19-0 (7 innings)
- Feb. 20: Delaware, W 9-2
- Feb. 21: Delaware, W 10-0 (8 innings)
- Feb. 22: Delaware, W 7-3
- Feb. 24: Austin Peay, W 16-3 (7 innings)
- Feb. 27: vs. Arizona State in Arlington, Texas, W 8-4
- Feb. 28: vs. Virginia Tech in Arlington, Texas, W 15-8
- March 1: vs. UCLA in Arlington, Texas, L 8-7 (10 innings)
- March 3: at Southern Miss, L 7-6
- March 5: Lipscomb, W 8-3
- March 6: Lipscomb, W 9-4
- March 7: Lipscomb, W 26-0 (7 innings)
- March 10: vs. Tulane in Biloxi, W 11-7
- March 13: at Arkansas, L 5-4
- March 14: at Arkansas, W 7-2
- March 15: at Arkansas, L 7-3
- March 17: Jackson State, W 17-1 (7 innings)
- March 20: Vanderbilt, W 4-2
- March 21: Vanderbilt, W 7-2
- March 22: Vanderbilt, W 17-7 (7)
- March 24: Southern Miss, W 12-0 (7)
- March 27: at Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m on SEC Network+
- March 28: at Ole Miss, 1:30 p.m on SEC Network+
- March 29: at Ole Miss, 3 p.m on SEC Network
- March 31: Grambling
- April 2-4: Georgia
- April 7: UAB
- April 10-12: Tennessee
- April 14: at Samford
- April 17-19: at South Carolina
- April 21: Memphis
- April 24-26: LSU
- April 28: vs. Ole Miss in Pearl, Miss.
- May 1-3: at Texas
- May 5: Nicholls
- May 7-9: Auburn
- May 14-16: at Texas A&M
Mississippi
Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 20 Showdown In Oxford – Mississippi State
OXFORD – No. 6 Mississippi State carries momentum and confidence into one of college baseball’s fiercest rivalries this weekend, traveling to face No. 18 Ole Miss in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Swayze Field.
The Diamond Dawgs arrive in Oxford riding a five-game winning streak and carrying plenty of momentum into one of the league’s premier matchups. MSU sits at 21-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while the Rebels enter at 19-6 and 3-3 in the SEC.
Mississippi State has been one of the most complete teams in the country through the first half of the season. The Bulldogs are hitting .347 as a team with a .452 on-base percentage and 39 home runs, consistently putting pressure on opposing pitching staffs. Ole Miss counters with plenty of power of its own, already launching 46 homers while posting a .500 slugging percentage.
The engine for State’s offense has been graduate outfielder Bryce Chance, who leads the SEC with a .452 batting average and has struck out just three times all season. All-American infielder Ace Reese continues to anchor the middle of the lineup with a team-high seven home runs and 34 RBIs, while Noah Sullivan and Aidan Teel provide consistent production around them to give the Diamond Dawgs one of the deepest lineups in the league.
Mississippi State will lean on its weekend rotation that has begun to separate itself as a strength. Left-hander Charlie Foster is expected to get the ball in Friday’s opener. The Bulldogs will then turn to sophomore standout Tomas Valincius on Saturday. The southpaw has been dominant, going 5-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 47 strikeouts, highlighted by a 14-strikeout performance in his last outing. Right-hander Duke Stone is slated for Sunday and brings a 4-0 record with him into the series.
Ole Miss is expected to counter with left-hander Hunter Elliott in the opener, a veteran arm with a 3-0 record and 44 strikeouts, followed by right-hander Hudson Calhoun on Saturday. The Rebels have yet to announce a starter for the series finale. As a staff, Ole Miss owns a 3.56 ERA with 293 strikeouts, setting up a matchup between two pitching groups capable of missing bats at a high level.
While the Bulldogs have dominated at home — winning 19 straight games at Dudy Noble Field dating back to last season — this weekend presents another opportunity for State to prove itself away from Starkville. MSU is 1-3 in true road games this year but has shown the ability to compete against elite competition throughout the early part of the schedule.
The rivalry history leans in Mississippi State’s favor, with the Bulldogs holding a 268-213-5 advantage in the all-time series. State has also won two straight meetings between the programs, adding another layer of confidence heading into the weekend.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching ‘HailStateBB’ on X, Facebook and Instagram.Top of Form
Mississippi
MS turkey hunter who thought hunt was ruined bags bird of a lifetime
‘I would call him a hybrid between a smoke phase and a red phase. He’s not a true smoke phase because of all the red in him.’
Hilarious video shows turkeys chasing delivery driver
Wild turkeys chased a UPS driver in Branford, Connecticut, as he tried to deliver packages.
A Mississippi turkey hunter’s season wasn’t off to a good start, but with a change in plans, a little scouting, some luck thrown in, he bagged a rare reddish-colored turkey and it’s considered a bird of a lifetime.
“I’d been hunting the same bird since opening day,” said Barrett Clark of Strong, which is located near West Point. “He finally frustrated me enough to where I just needed to go look for another bird.”
Clark wasn’t able to connect with the gobbler he was after. So, on Friday, March 20, he decided to check another property. He located a few gobblers that afternoon, but one looked different. It appeared to have a lighter color than normal, but Clark figured it was just the way the sunlight was hitting the bird.
The following morning, Clark and his father, Larry Clark, returned to the area in hopes of getting a shot at one of the birds.
A turkey hunt that was almost ruined
“We met and went in early Saturday morning,” Clark said. “We were probably 300 yards away from him when he started gobbling. It was right at sunrise. He was gobbling off the roost.”
The gobbler flew off the roost and continued to gobble. Clark said he lightly called the bird. Then, a gunshot rang out from a nearby property and the gobbling stopped. To make matters worse, minutes later a coyote appeared and it looked like he was after the turkey that had been gobbling.
“That coyote came within 15 feet of my dad and ran straight to where the turkey had been gobbling,” Clark said. “We thought our hunt was boogered up.”
MS hunter shoots turkey with strange colors
The hunt wasn’t over, though. About 10 or 15 minutes later the gobbling resumed and Clark lightly called back. A little later, Clark saw a turkey through the trees in the neighborhood of 100 yards away.
“I was really just seeing his head move,” Clark said. “I would see his fan occasionally, but it was mostly just his head. I could tell he was lighter, but I really wasn’t focused on that. I was trying to stay still and make a good shot.”
Clark said he was hunting in pines that were maybe 10 years old, and the understory was thick. The bird came within 50 yards of him, but there was no shot. The bird began to walk away but stepped into an opening, and Clark pulled the trigger of his 20-gauge shotgun.
Clark still didn’t understand what he’d shot. He said it was only when he and his father got closer that they realized how unusual it was.
“We could tell it was something that neither of us had ever seen,” Clark said.
What is it, and how rare is this turkey?
The bird is a light rust or cinnamon color and lacks any normal coloration, but putting a label on it isn’t easy.
“I would call him a hybrid between a smoke phase and a red phase,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “He’s not a true smoke phase because of all the red in him.”
Hinton couldn’t put a number on it, but he said a genetic trait like this is very rare.
“Like all the genetic mutations, it’s exceedingly rare in the wild,” Hinton said.
And for a gobbler to express such a genetic trait is even more rare. Hinton said that upwards of 95% of the turkeys that express such traits will be hens, not gobblers.
“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime trophy for the hunter,” Hinton said.
A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
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