The Mississippi Governor’s Mansion’s 2025 Christmas decorations celebrate Mississippi’s K-12 students and educators with the theme, “A Season of Success.”
“We chose this theme to highlight our state’s historic and nation-leading educational gains that are the envy of America,” a note from the family of Gov. Tate Reeves in a pamphlet explaining the holiday decorations says.
Here is a collection of photos showcasing many of the decorations throughout the mansion.
Two gold nutcrackers stand guard at the entrance to the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree is decorated with the pages of books to represent the importance of literacy in the foyer of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressPages of books adorn a Christmas tree in the foyer of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PresThe sounds of holiday tunes fill the room as a pianist plays a baby grand piano near a staircase in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree features a Santa theme in Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA garland on a doorway at the entrance to the Gold Parlor displays ornaments made by students from schools across the state at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressStockings hang on the chimney in the Gold Parlor at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree stands in the Gold Parlor of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025.. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressThe Rose Parlors feature the only live Christmas tree in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., seen here on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressThe Rose Parlors feature the only live Christmas tree in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., seen here on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressGarlands featuring magnolias and bookcases decorate the main staircase of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA gingerbread house is seen on the second-floor landing of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressNutcrackers stand on a stable on the second-floor landing of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA gingerbread house, cupcakes, a train made of sweets and a Santa Claus doll stand on a table on the second-floor landing of the governor’s mansion. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree on the second-floor landing celebrates Mississippi’s musical heritage, surrounded by art pieces made by students at Choctaw Central Middle School, Neshoba Central art classes and the Winston Academy Elementary art class at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. A vintage band uniform stands nearby. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressArtwork made by students displays Mississippi’s diversity, seen here at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressThe Green Bedroom features decorations celebrating Mississippi’s colleges and universities, seen here at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressThe Green Bedroom features decorations celebrating Mississippi’s colleges and universities, seen here at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree in the Green Bedroom celebrates Mississippi’s colleges and universities, seen here at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressNutcrackers stand on a mantle in the Cream Bedroom, decorated to celebrate Mississippi’s status leading the nation in 4th-grade math gains and achieving a ranking of No. 16 in the nation in education, seen here in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree in the Cream Bedroom features poinsettias and cards with mathematical equations in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressLiterary elements in the Gold Bedroom’s Christmas decorations are a tribute to Mississippi’s historic reading gains, seen here Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressBooks and candles adorn a table in the Gold Bedroom of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressBooks by celebrated Mississippi author William Faulkner sit on a table in the Gold Bedroom of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA Christmas tree is decorated with open books in the Gold Bedroom of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressThe Pumpkin Bedroom’s Christmas decorations celebrate Mississippi’s young learners, seen here in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA glass of milk sits atop a copy of “The Night Before Christmas” on a bed in the Pumpkin Bedroom in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressA nutcracker stands next to pencils and crayons on a bedside table in the Pumpkin Bedroom of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free PressTrees and Christmas lights are visible from the windows of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 4, 2025.. Photo by Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press
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Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit” at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.
Here’s the nominees for Clarion Ledger girls Athlete of the Week for May 4-9
Here’s the five nominees for the Clarion Ledger girls Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for May 4-9.
There were several top performers across the state in girls high school sports, but only one can be voted as the Clarion Ledger athlete of the week for May 4-9.
Fans may vote in the poll BELOW one time per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Friday.
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To nominate a future athlete of the week, email mchavez@gannett.com or message him on X, formerly Twitter, @MikeSChavez.
To submit high school scores, statistics, records, leaders and other items at any time, email mchavez@gannett.com.
Nominations
Kara Applewhite, Sumrall: Applewhite had four hits with a home run and five RBIs in Sumrall’s 10-0 win against East Central.
Caydance Brumfield, West Marion: Brumfield produced four hits and five RBIs in West Marion’s two wins against Pisgah.
Addison Collum, West Union: Collum pitched eight innings and recorded seven strikeouts and only two earned runs in West Union’s wins against Smithville.
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Addison Cornish, West Lauderdale: Cornish recorded five hits and a home run in West Lauderdale’s wins against Choctaw Central.
Addison Davis, George County: Davis pitched nine innings with 20 strikeouts and recorded two home runs and four RBIs in George County’s wins against Pearl River Central.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
‘We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.’
Bobcat stalks and strikes at Wisconsin turkey hunter
Turkey hunter Carson Bender of Wisconsin Rapids recorded a video of a bobcat that stalked and lunged at him as he hunted April 18, 2026 near Nekoosa, Wis.
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Carson Bender
If a proposal made in the April meeting of the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is finalized, nonresident turkey hunters will see big changes in the 2027 spring turkey season.
“We’re doing this in a way to impact how hunting pressure occurs and how the harvest happens in the early season,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.”
Turkey hunters enjoy a three-bird bag limit and a little more than six weeks of hunting in spring, which is similar to some other states. What is at issue is when it opens. March 15 is the typical opening date for the regular season, making it one of the earliest in the nation.
That early opening date combined with a growing trend among turkey hunters is where the problem lies.
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Mississippi is a destination for early season, nonresident hunters
Possibly more than any other group of hunters, turkey hunters like to travel. For some, it may be a matter of seeing a different landscape and hunting birds under condions they don’t encounter in their home state. For others it may be a quest to harvest each of the subspecies in North America.
For yet another group, it’s the challenge of harvesting a gobbler in each of the 49 states that have turkeys.
“It seems to be getting more and more popular every year,” Hinton said.
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Regardless of why a turkey hunter chooses to travel, it puts a target on Mississippi’s back because for the first few weeks of the season, it’s almost the only game in town, so hunters flock to the state.
In an effort to curb the amount of hunting pressure in those first weeks of turkey season, MDWFP proposed limiting nonresident hunters to two legal gobblers per season and only one of those can be harvested before April 1.
“Hopefully, it will help curb the massive influx of pressure we get the first week or two of the season,” Hinton said.
When will turkey season changes for nonresidents be voted on?
The proposed changes aren’t the first that have been geared toward alleviating pressure on turkeys in the early part of the season by nonresidents. In 2022, the commission passed a rule requiring nonresident hunters to enter a drawing for a hunt on public land during the first two weeks of turkey season. Currently, the number of hunters drawn is limited to 800.
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Like that change, the current proposal will pass or fail by a vote of the wildlife commission. In the April commission meeting, the proposal passed an initial vote. It is now in a 30-day public comment period and a final vote will be taken in the May meeting.
Public comments may be submitted at https://www.mdwfp.com/proposed-rules-regulations.
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.
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi high school has made a statement after a social media post involving a student surfaced.
Northeast Lauderdale High School officials say they’re reviewing a social media post involving a student.
In a statement, the school said administrators are aware of the post and are “reviewing the situation.”
The school said it is committed to maintaining a safe, orderly and respectful environment for students and staff.
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“Neither our district nor our school accept or condone racism, discrimination, harassment, or behavior that is inconsistent with the expectations of our school community,” the statement said.
Officials said they are working with the appropriate parties and will address the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures.
The school added that it cannot share additional details because of student privacy laws.
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