Mississippi

He stumbled onto a large tusk in a Mississippi creek. It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind discovery | CNN

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2024

He stumbled onto a large tusk in a Mississippi creek. It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind discovery | CNN

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Amateur fossil hunter Eddie Templeton usually knows when he’s onto something. Having scoured creek banks in Mississippi since he was a kid, Templeton has made several stunning extinct mammal finds, including a mastodon mandible, numerous bones from a giant armadillo-relative, and even a saber-toothed cat’s foot bone. But his latest discovery may be the most unexpected.

Templeton was wading through around 3 feet (almost 1 meter) of water in a creek in Madison County on August 3 when he stumbled across a giant tusk partially exposed from the mud bank. The conditions weren’t great for fossil hunting, he said — the water had been blocked from draining downstream and there were no exposed gravel bars — so he hadn’t anticipated making a find of any particular importance that day. Coming across the 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) tusk, which turned out to be completely intact, and sharing it with George Phillips, the curator of paleontology at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, proved him wrong.

Phillips confirmed the tusk belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a distant relative of the woolly mammoth. Columbian mammoths lived during the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, making the fossil anywhere from about 11,700 to 75,000 years old, Phillips said.

“It was exciting to find a big piece of a tusk, certainly. But it was particularly exciting that it was a mammoth,” Templeton told CNN. “After the geologists got there, and we started uncovering it and realized that it was the entire tusk, from tip to base, it was even more exciting. So things just got better as the day went on.”

Prior to Templeton’s discovery, only isolated teeth of the Columbian mammoth had been unearthed in Mississippi, making it a first-of-its-kind find for the region and offering a “rare window” into the giant ice age mammals that once roamed the area, according to a statement from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

While the massive Columbian mammoth — which weighed over 22,000 pounds (10 tons) and could grow to be over 13 feet (4 meters) tall — lived across North America alongside the mastodon, its diet largely consisted of grasses found in grassland biomes, which were rare on what’s now the East Coast of the United States during that period, Phillips said. As a result, its fossils are much harder to come by in the area.

“For every, say, 25 fragments or whole teeth of American mastodon, we find maybe one mammoth tooth at best. So, mammoths are proportionally rare, not just with respect to mastodons, but to everything else,” Phillips said.

When Templeton first came across the giant tusk, he assumed it was from a mastodon, having found several remnants of the creature on his prior hunts. It was after the local museum and state office of geology helped him unearth the massive remains that Templeton began to have second thoughts — mostly due to the fossil’s telltale curve.

The Columbian mammoth’s tusks are so curved that two could almost make a complete circle, whereas common mastodons’ tusks do not curve nearly as much, Phillips said. The museum has numerous tooth fragments and even several complete teeth from the mammoth — there may even be some fragments of tusks from the giant mammal that cannot be distinguished from the mastodon without having the rest of the tusk — but a complete, intact tusk like the one discovered is especially rare, he added.

“I was kind of open mouthed when I saw the picture,” Phillips said. “I thought, ‘OK, well, cool, a tusk. Wait a second … it’s so curved. Holy cow, this is a mammoth tusk.’”

While unearthing the fossil, the field scientists simultaneously covered the exposed bits with plaster to keep the fossil protected during extraction. The tusks grew in rings, similar to how trees grow, Templeton said, which causes the fossils to be more likely to fragment once they dry up after being taken from the moist deposits where they are found.

The tusk — which weighed 600 pounds (272 kilograms) with the plaster jacket — is currently at the museum, where experts will closely monitor it while it dries out and then treat it with a cohesive for preservation. Scientists will also need to reassemble the fragile fossil, which broke into two pieces during transportation. Phillips said he hopes to have the tusk on display in time for the museum’s annual Fossil Road Show during the first week of March next year.

“I think most people are curious about the past, and these megafauna that existed during the ice age fascinate people,” Templeton said. “I’m sure there have been pieces of mammoth tusk found in Mississippi, but probably not positively identified as mammoths just because they’re fragments. But this is the first complete mammoth tusk found in Mississippi. And so that’s pretty cool.”

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Mississippi

IRS extends tax deadline for Mississippi after winter storm

Published

2 hours ago

April 15, 2026

Press Room

IRS extends tax deadline for Mississippi after winter storm

Need extra time to file your taxes this year? The Internal Revenue Service is moving the deadline for all Mississippi residents to file.

The decision follows a disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the severe winter ice storm that knocked out power to thousands in January. As of late February, the storm was estimated to have caused about $107 million in damages.

Rodney Foushee handles IRS media relations for North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. He said the relief applies to all 82 Mississippi counties.

The new June 8, 2026 deadline includes filing individual and business tax returns and making tax payments.

It also covers all other IRS deadlines that fall between Jan. 23, when the winter storm started, and June 8. That includes “affected quarterly payroll and certain excise tax returns normally due on Feb. 2, 2026, and April 30, 2026.”

Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Jan. 23 and before Feb. 9 will be abated if the tax deposits were made by Feb. 9, the IRS wrote.

Mississippi state tax deadline stays the same

This change does not affect the state of Mississippi filing date.

The deadline to file and pay state taxes is April 15, 2026.

How do I get my federal tax return fast?

If you file electronically and choose to receive your refund by direct deposit, your refund will probably be issued within 21 days, the IRS says.

If you mail a paper return, the wait could be six weeks or longer. About 11 million Americans still file on paper, and the IRS is outsourcing the handling of those returns as part of its “Zero Paper Initiative.”

Can I get my tax refund as a paper check?

No. The IRS has phased out paper checks this year. (The IRS has said limited exceptions will be available.)

Plan to get it via direct deposit. People without bank accounts can use prepaid debit cards or digital wallets.

How do I track my 2026 income tax refund?

You can track the status of your refund check online at Where’s My Refund?

Some banks or financial institutions can take extra time to process checks. Weekends or holidays could delay processing, and the IRS says to check with your bank if you think it’s been processed but don’t see the funds in your account.

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

14-year-old girl arrested for shooting 8-year-old in Mississippi

Published

14 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

14-year-old girl arrested for shooting 8-year-old in Mississippi

WARREN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Deputies in Warren County, Mississippi, arrested a 14-year-old girl for allegedly shooting an 8-year-old.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the shooting happened on Abraham Drive just before 4:00 p.m. on April 13, 2026.

According to the sheriff, the female victim was transported to a Jackson hospital for treatment. He said deputies recovered a handgun at the scene.

There’s no motive for the shooting, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Mississippi

A potential opportunity to lower car tag costs across Mississippi

Published

1 day ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

A potential opportunity to lower car tag costs across Mississippi

A follow-up on high car tag costs in Mississippi shows major differences in what drivers pay depending on where they live, even across the street, according to new data from the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office.The data highlights large price gaps across the metro area, with some residents paying hundreds of dollars more based solely on location and county lines.The State Auditor’s Office data shows that at Ridgeland Ranch Apartments, a car tag costs $571.64. At Trails at Northpointe Apartments directly across the street, the same tag rises to $1,490.48.The highest cost in the region is $1,676.30 at Yazoo Estates, while the lowest is $343.30 in the Oakfield neighborhood.Resident Keith Bush said he has experienced the difference firsthand.“When I lived in Hinds County, my car tag started at $1,500,” Bush said. Now living at Ridgeland Ranch Apartments, Bush said his cost is significantly lower.Bush said, “I don’t want to tell you the exact price, but it is under $200.”State Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. of District 71 says the high costs in Hinds County are an ongoing issue tied to local financial obligations, including school infrastructure.Crudup said, “We all know that we got the highest tags. I think even in Hans County, and uh, you know, a lot of that is due to, I guess, our, our, our population in, in our school building.”He added that part of the cost comes from maintaining unused school buildings in the Jackson Public Schools system.Crudup said, “You know, some of the schools are closed. The schools are still on their books right now, because they’re still responsible for the buildings and the maintenance and all that type of thing. I think as they come off their books. I think there’s a chance then that we’ll be able to reduce the price of the car tags.”Bush said, “That would be great. I think a lot of people will have some ideas of where they want to move.”Lawmakers are considering House Bill 1395, which has already passed both chambers. The bill would speed up the sale of unused school buildings, which supporters say could reduce costs, limit delays, and open the door for redevelopment.In a statement, Jackson Public Schools said, “Jackson Public Schools is committed to the strategic repurposing of surplus properties to strengthen communities and improve the district’s financial position, guided by thoughtful planning, stakeholder engagement, and a focus on long-term impact for our scholars and families.We are also grateful to the Mississippi Legislature, and especially the Hinds County Delegation, for their advocacy and support of this legislative change, which provides school districts with greater flexibility to better serve our scholars and community.”Officials said if the bill is signed into law, it could help reduce long-term costs. For now, the data shows that where you live still plays a major role in how much you pay for a car tag.

The data highlights large price gaps across the metro area, with some residents paying hundreds of dollars more based solely on location and county lines.

The State Auditor’s Office data shows that at Ridgeland Ranch Apartments, a car tag costs $571.64. At Trails at Northpointe Apartments directly across the street, the same tag rises to $1,490.48.

The highest cost in the region is $1,676.30 at Yazoo Estates, while the lowest is $343.30 in the Oakfield neighborhood.

Resident Keith Bush said he has experienced the difference firsthand.

“When I lived in Hinds County, my car tag started at $1,500,” Bush said.

Now living at Ridgeland Ranch Apartments, Bush said his cost is significantly lower.

Bush said, “I don’t want to tell you the exact price, but it is under $200.”

State Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. of District 71 says the high costs in Hinds County are an ongoing issue tied to local financial obligations, including school infrastructure.

Crudup said, “We all know that we got the highest tags. I think even in Hans County, and uh, you know, a lot of that is due to, I guess, our, our, our population in, in our school building.”

He added that part of the cost comes from maintaining unused school buildings in the Jackson Public Schools system.

Crudup said, “You know, some of the schools are closed. The schools are still on their books right now, because they’re still responsible for the buildings and the maintenance and all that type of thing. I think as they come off their books. I think there’s a chance then that we’ll be able to reduce the price of the car tags.”

Bush said, “That would be great. I think a lot of people will have some ideas of where they want to move.”

Lawmakers are considering House Bill 1395, which has already passed both chambers. The bill would speed up the sale of unused school buildings, which supporters say could reduce costs, limit delays, and open the door for redevelopment.

In a statement, Jackson Public Schools said, “Jackson Public Schools is committed to the strategic repurposing of surplus properties to strengthen communities and improve the district’s financial position, guided by thoughtful planning, stakeholder engagement, and a focus on long-term impact for our scholars and families.

We are also grateful to the Mississippi Legislature, and especially the Hinds County Delegation, for their advocacy and support of this legislative change, which provides school districts with greater flexibility to better serve our scholars and community.”

Officials said if the bill is signed into law, it could help reduce long-term costs. For now, the data shows that where you live still plays a major role in how much you pay for a car tag.

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