PEARL, Miss. (WLBT) – Saturday, the Mississippi legislature welcomed the Alabama legislature to Trustmark Park for the inaugural Battle of Tombigbee softball game.

“We got a challenge at the beginning of the year to play the Alabama legislators in a softball game,” said Rep. Troy Smith, who represents Mississippi’s 84th District. “They’ve been doing this for several years; this is our first go around.”

The meeting on the diamond was initiated with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety delivering the game ball to the field via helicopter and kicked off a fun and friendly rivalry between the two states.

“It’s great for the two states to come around and play together, it’s going to be an annual thing,” Smith said.

The state representatives were happy to take a day to have fun with their statesmen and neighbors to the east.

“You can see on the bench, we’re all one team, [we have] camaraderie,” said Mississippi District 1 Representative Lester Carpenter. “We work in the House together, we play ball together, so it’s a wonderful thing.”

“We have a job, we discuss laws, we get a lot of criticism on things we do, a lot of gratitude too,” Smith said. “To come out and mix it with other people who have got the same job, use the same stories, it’s fun.”

While it’s been a minute since some of the state reps took reps on the field, they were able to get back into the swing of things.

“It takes us a while to get used to this,” said Alabama House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen. “We’ve been stretching and trying to run, but we’ve got to knock the dust off us a little bit.”

“We’ve got one in their 20s, one in their 30s, the rest 40 and above. A lot of us ain’t been on a ballfield in 20-30 years, but it feels good,” Smith said.

The best part of the whole event: revenue generated from the game went to benefit the Mississippi Children’s Hospital.

“The kids are the real winners, right?” Stadthagen said. “Hopefully we raise a lot of money for it, and hopefully it benefits a lot of kids.”

Saturday’s game did not disappoint. The showdown at Trustmark Park went into the 10th inning, and Alabama won 7-5.

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If you drink beer—any beer—you’re probably familiar with the craft beer explosion that began in the late 2010s, and you likely fall into one of two camps: IPA warrior or lager loyalist. The great thing about a beer-related revolution is that there is no wrong side. Whatever your preference, cheers to you.

The brewery business is indeed a revolution by many counts. According to the Brewers Association, the number of breweries in the United States grew by 567% from 2003 to 2023—all while beer consumption, on average, was declining. For the first time since 1999, beer shipments fell below 200 million barrels in 2023, making it the lowest amount of beer consumed in the U.S. in a generation.

Like all revolutions, this began as a desire for change—as an overthrow of the old and the monopolistic. When combined, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors (formerly MillerCoors), two of the largest beer companies in the world, comprised roughly 72% of total beer sales in the U.S. around 2013. A decade later, that share dropped to 65.7% in 2023, with smaller brewers claiming a larger share.

With a taste of the innovations and variety coming out of craft breweries, consumers are demanding a higher-quality product—and are willing to pay more for it. Over the last decade, between May 2014 and May 2024, beer prices have risen 21% overall.

But how can you determine the best craft beers in an increasingly crowded market? If you’re curious about the most popular beers in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated beers in Mississippi using ratings from BeerAdvocate. A maximum of five beers per brewery were included.

Read on to plan your next local beer tour!

Note: Photos of each beer are included where available from BeerAdvocate; otherwise, stock images are shown.

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#15. Vanilla Pecan

– Rating: 3.58 (13 ratings)
– Type: English Brown Ale
– ABV: 4.50%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Coffee Shoppe

– Rating: 3.67 (12 ratings)
– Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Gulf Sour Series – Blueberry Crumble

– Rating: 3.74 (11 ratings)
– Type: Berliner Weisse
– ABV: 5.70%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Good Bug

– Rating: 3.79 (11 ratings)
– Type: American Blonde Ale
– ABV: 4.50%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Lil’ Miss Sour

– Rating: 3.82 (27 ratings)
– Type: Wild Ale
– ABV: 5.50%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

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#10. Ole Buddy

– Rating: 3.96 (10 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 6.20%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Timber Beast

– Rating: 3.94 (519 ratings)
– Type: Imperial IPA
– ABV: 9.00%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Gulf Sour Series – Lovebug

– Rating: 3.99 (21 ratings)
– Type: Fruited Kettle Sour
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Gulf Sour Series – Guava Jelly

– Rating: 4.02 (17 ratings)
– Type: Fruited Kettle Sour
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Altered Beast

– Rating: 4.01 (23 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 6.10%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

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#5. Soul Glo

– Rating: 4.05 (32 ratings)
– Type: Saison
– ABV: 8.40%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Cream Stout

– Rating: 4.13 (12 ratings)
– Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
– ABV: 5.40%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Space To Face

– Rating: 4.22 (21 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 5.90%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Crowd Control

– Rating: 4.22 (203 ratings)
– Type: Imperial IPA
– ABV: 8.00%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Paradise Lost

– Rating: 4.27 (74 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 8.10%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states and Washington D.C.

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***Learn about swimming safety in the video above.***

(WJW) – A small group of fishermen are being hailed heroes after making an unexpected catch that day — more than three dozen hunting dogs treading water in a Mississippi lake.

It all started when Bob Gist, a 61-year-old State Farm agent from Arkansas, went on a fishing trip to Lake Grenada with his friend Brad Carlisle, a State Farm agent from Tennessee, as reported by Fox News.

Gist told Fox News they were out on the lake with a fishing guide, Jordan Chrestman, when they suddenly heard dogs barking.

“Pretty soon we saw some dogs on the horizon in the water,” Gist told the news outlet.

The friends noticed the group of dogs, which were part of an annual fox run, were trying to catch a deer in the water, according to reports.

The group went on fishing for another 10 to 15 minutes when the guide said he wanted to check back on the dogs.

“We’re just flabbergasted because it’s dogs everywhere,” Gist told Fox News. “They’re all going in different directions because they can no longer see the bank on either side.”

The fishermen then sprung into action, bringing as many hunting dogs as they could onto their bass fishing boat.

Reports say the rescuers returned about 25 to 27 dogs to shore when their owners came running over, pleading for help.

With help from a man on shore with a GPS tracker, they were able to rescue the remaining dogs that, according to Gist, “were on the verge of drowning,” Fox News reported.

Gist posted photos from the rescue on his professional Facebook page, with the caption reading, “Like a Good Neighbor Bob Gist was there!”

The fishermen have received plenty of praise since the rescue, with one commenter saying, “All of you guys are true HEROES! Love this story!’

“Our family have dogs of our own and I know how much this means to those owners! Thank you!” another said.

Gist said he’s grateful they were in the right place at the right time, but he’s giving the most credit to their fishing guide.

“Jordan realized there might be a problem and said we needed to go check. He was so correct,” Gist said on Facebook. “We all pulled dogs from the water and Jordan managed (the) recovery like he had done it before. He is the hero here for sure.”

He told Fox News that the dog owners tried to pay Chrestman for rescuing the pups, but the fishing guide refused to take the money.