Mississippi
Mississippi River delegation lobbies for conservation funding in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mayors from 10 states along the Mississippi River flew to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to lobby for funding to protect and restore one of the world’s most important working rivers.
The convening was part of the annual capitol meeting of the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI). The initiative, which includes 105 cities, aims to scale up existing investments and policies protecting the river corridor.
Advocates from the Mississippi River Network also were in Washington D.C. to host meetings with senators and house representatives as they discussed the budgets for 2024 and 2025.
The network consists of nearly 70 local organizations and 20,000 individual members dedicated to creating a healthier basin. Members from across the basin flew to the capitol to bring concerns from their communities directly to the decision-makers, said Maisah Khan, policy director of the network.
The Mississippi River Network presented two policy priorities: increasing federal funding for farmer-led conservation and investing in better water infrastructure. This funding would largely come from the second half of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
So far, these two acts have brought $146 billion in new investment to the Mississippi River corridor, according to the 2024 Policy Platform for MRCTI. But climate change has already taken a toll on the shipping industry, which moves 589 million tons of cargo each year.
Over the last two years, intense drought across the basin caused billions in losses along the Mississippi River, said Sarah Kapnick, chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as she spoke to the mayors in the capital.
The mayors agree that middle America needs an ambitious plan to safeguard the Mississippi River basin, which produces 92 percent of U.S. agricultural exports. MRCTI’s 2024 Policy Platform recognizes the importance of ecosystems at the heart of this economic corridor.
Their plan incorporates federal funding over the next two years with policy recommendations designed to emphasize resilience, climate mitigation and ecosystem restoration across the basin.
Demand for farmer-led conservation funding
The Farm Bill reauthorization is a critical part of the policy priorities for both the Mississippi River Network and the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative. The current iteration of the Farm Bill was last passed in 2018.
On March 9, President Joe Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which includes funding for the Department of Agriculture and five other federal departments through Sept. 30. However, the Farm Bill is separate and has been extended through 2024, and could be up for renewal this year.
The Mississippi River Network called on elected officials to protect and increase conservation program funding in both the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. Farmers play a crucial role in conservation because the fertilizers and pesticides sprayed on their fields eventually run off into the Mississippi River and contribute to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Current conservation program funding is not meeting the demands of farmers, according to data collected by the Mississippi River Network. There is huge demand for these programs and they are consistently underfunded. These conservation practices would offer a high return on investment for both farmers and downstream Mississippi River communities in the form of mitigating floods, filtering pollutants, and maintaining habitat for recreation and tourism.
“Funding farmers is the issue that everyone is in support of,” said Mark “River” Peoples, an advocate and guide with the Quapaw Canoe Company who traveled to the capitol with the Mississippi River Network to speak with elected officials. “But where is that money going to come from?”
Mayors along the Mississippi River also are calling on elected officials to increase funding for current conservation practices. MRCTI urges the House Committee on Agriculture to update its proposed Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023 to include the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The act would strengthen nutrient runoff management programs, which can reduce pollutants that contribute to the dead zone.
The mayors of MRCTI also encouraged Congress to increase funding for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, which uses Farm Bill money for agricultural conservation programs, by $50 million. According to MRCTI, since 2005, the corridor spanning the 10 mainstem basin states has sustained over $246 billion in losses from droughts, floods, extreme heat and named storms.
Billion-dollar climate disasters are becoming increasingly common. In 2023 alone, the U.S. experienced 28 weather disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion. Mayors along the Mississippi River have seen the effects of these climate disasters steadily increase.
As droughts increase and last for longer periods, the mayors of MRCTI urge Congress to address gaps in drought policy and resilience.
Water infrastructure to east chronic drought
“Five hundred and fifty-three days of low water had incredible economic implications on this nation,” said Edward Belk, director of civil works for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Southern Louisiana’s historic drought also caused a second year of saltwater intrusion, threatening drinking water. As salt water from the Gulf of Mexico crept up the Mississippi River, the Army Corps barged 153 million gallons of water to communities that had lost access to clean drinking water, said Belk.
The mayors also asked that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency invest $5 billion to find a permanent solution for saltwater intrusion in southern Louisiana. MRCTI said the funding would begin to cover the cost of converting water treatment plants to handle desalination as well as examine and implement the best option to ensure New Orleans has permanent access to fresh water.
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. MRCTI and the Mississippi River Network also receive Walton funding.
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 25, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from June 25 drawing
01-06-09-13-23
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 3-3-8, FB: 5
Evening: 4-0-8, FB: 7
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 2-8-3-2, FB: 5
Evening: 5-0-3-2, FB: 7
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 01
Evening: 07
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
See video of MS Lt. Gov. Hosemann speaking on redistricting
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann speaks on redistricting during the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, MS, on June 24, 2026.
PHILADELPHIA — When asked about his campaign plans for the statewide elections in November 2027, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has avoided giving a straight answer. Usually, he tells the media that his next focus is a long checklist of priorities to tackle next legislative session.
The governor’s race next year, the first this decade without term-limited incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves, is rumored to feature a crowded field. For current officeholders, even those who don’t work directly with the state Legislature, the bills that they can endorse and urge across the finish line are often the feathers in their cap touted on the campaign trail.
During the two days of political speaking at the Neshoba County Fair, Hosemann and other state leaders gave attendees a clearer view of what their goals are for those 60 days of debate.
Redistricting
One of the priorities common to most speakers was legislative and congressional redistricting in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited drawing voting districts on the basis of race. Reeves initially called a special session on redistricting, specifically regarding the state Supreme Court districts, but he later canceled it.
The governor opted to cancel the session, he said, because Mississippi had already had its primary. Instead, he charged Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, the leaders of each chamber, with navigating the process during the next legislative session.
Through their redistricting committees, both said at the Neshoba County Fair, they are preparing to do exactly that.
“The Democrats used [prior Supreme Court rulings] to make sure they elected Democrats and not the people that you wanted. Now the Supreme Court has changed that, and we’re back to ground one where we should be,” Hosemann said. “We’ve appointed a committee, they’ll be out in Mississippi … looking at who do you want to represent you and how is your district to be set up? It’s coming back to the people where it was before, where it should be today.”
Mississippi Rep. Scott Bounds and Sen. Lane Taylor, both of whom represent the Neshoba County area, are on their respective redistricting committees. Both promised that redistricting is among the first issues that the Legislature plans to take up in January, with Bounds adding that the focus is on redrawing the state legislative districts.
“I believe the best way to enact common sense, conservative policies is by electing Republicans to office,” Jason White said. “The Mississippi House of Representatives stands for that, and we will examine redistricting and elect more Republicans to local, state and federal offices.”
Reeves confirmed that he “would not be surprised” if there is a special session before the next legislative session begins in January, but that even without it, the Legislature “would definitely have redistricting done” before the statewide elections in November 2027. Reeves has the power to call a special session at any point.
K-12 and higher education
Hosemann and White took, if not opposite perspectives, then at least different approaches to improving the state’s public and higher education systems.
White’s primary focus, he said in his speech, lays again with school choice. He told the crowd that, while lawmakers were still drafting legislation, Mississippians could expect to see a similar attempt this upcoming year as representatives put forward in January.
“I think you’ll see most statewide candidates for governor fully endorsing the idea of school choice and pushing it forward. I think the reason they will do that is because they’re smart, they’ve been polling, they’re spending their money to see what issues are important to people,” White said after giving his speech. “They’re finding out that when you get outside of the room and have a real conversation with parents, they want those choices.”
The 500-page, sweeping bill from last year primarily proposed using state money to fund vouchers for students to attend private and charter schools. It passed the House, where it originated, in a narrow vote before getting a resounding “no” vote in the Senate education committee.
“I wish the Senate would come forward and say, ‘Look, we don’t want to go through all that again. Here’s what we would do,’” White said. “I wish there would be a way to find a win-win, but to this point, they’ve been unwilling to have a conversation. That makes it tough politics for me when they’re unwilling to even have a conversation.”
Hosemann has loudly opposed state-funded vouchers, and he took the dais to advocate for more funding in public schools. One of his education priorities for the next year, he told the crowd, was opening more special-purpose schools for children with disabilities and developmental disorders such as autism.
Where Hosemann and White have agreed is that Mississippi’s education systems are bloated. Hosemann spoke specifically about higher education, telling reporters after his speech that some institutions graduate fewer than 25% of their enrollment. He touted the benefits of performance-based funding in ensuring that schools are motivated to educate high-performing students, and Mississippians could likely see changes to the funding formula in 2027.
White has largely focused, for the moment, on K-12 public schools. He formed a committee on school consolidation that has zeroed in on small schools and districts, and top officials with the state education department have asked for the Legislature to draft a framework for closing schools in the coming years.
How big should the government be?
Maybe the only thing that every Republican speaker agreed on was that Mississippi’s government needs to be smaller, but they phrased reform in different ways.
Reeves promoted artificial intelligence that makes workflows more efficient and decreases the number of state employees needed to do a certain job. White urged the government to decrease property taxes, because the burden makes property owners “feel like they rent the property that they own.”
Hosemann pointed to a Senate committee on efficiency and transparency that has moved to eliminate 17 government committees and boards he described as useless. White formed a similar special committee on government efficiency that has met over the summer to weigh cost-cutting measures.
While details on which departments could be downsized and precise estimates of potential savings have not been publicly outlined, nearly every state official, member of the Legislature and candidate who spoke at the Neshoba County Fair promised significant reform next session.
Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.
Celebrate the Fourth of July at these free events with fireworks displays in the Jackson area.
How to help your dog deal with July 4 fireworks
The loud bang of fireworks causes anxiety for dogs. Here’s how to help your pet on July 4.
Independence Day is always an exciting holiday in Mississippi with burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill and the dazzling displays of fireworks.
This year is even more special as America celebrates its 250th birthday. It is a celebration of a milestone not to be missed and the fireworks displays will be spectacular.
If you live in the Jackson area there are plenty of events to choose from and not all of them are on Saturday, July 4, so you can go and enjoy more than one. To make them even better, the events are free.
So, here are some of the area events that include fireworks where you can celebrate America 250.
Jackson Fireworks Extravaganza
- When: 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 1
- Where: Smith Wills Stadium, 1200 Lakeland Drive, Jackson
- Admission: Free
The City of Jackson is hosting its Fireworks Extravaganza starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, at Smith Wills Stadium.
Before the fireworks, guests can enjoy local food vendors and live entertainment. The event also will include a kid zone with water slides, bounce houses, face painting and games.
Independence Celebration at The Rez
- When: Saturday, June 27, 5-9 p.m.
- Where: Bobby Cleveland Park at Lakeshore and Old Trace Park
- Admission: Free
Celebrate Independence Day Rez-style at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The event takes place the Saturday before the Fourth of July at Bobby Cleveland Park at Lakeshore and Old Trace Park.
Live music, kid zones, food vendors and beer will be on hand. Fireworks begin at 9 p.m. No outside coolers are allowed.
Freedom Fest
- When: 6 to 10 p.m., Friday, July 3
- Where: Brandon Amphitheater, 8190 Rock Way, Brandon
- Admission: Free
Brandon’s complimentary Freedom Fest will be a kick-off to the holiday weekend celebrations. The event will include inflatables for the kids, a Cornhole tournament, face painting, food trucks and will close with a patriotic concert and fireworks display.
Red, White and Blue Fest
- When: 4 p.m., Saturday, July 4
- Where: Soccer Row, Traceway Park, Clinton
- Admission: Free
The 36th annual Red, White and Blue Fest in Clinton starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
Local live music, food and games lead up to the fireworks finale at 9 p.m. Live music performances include blues prodigy John Clayton White at 5:30 p.m. and The Fountain City Players at 7:15 p.m.
Brian Broom has been reporting on and photographing Mississippi for more than 35 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
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