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This week in politics: Legislators honor, reflect on legacy of Robert Clark

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This week in politics: Legislators honor, reflect on legacy of Robert Clark



Updates on what happened on committee deadline last week, what legislative priorities are now dead

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As the past week’s legislative business came and went, several House and Senate lawmakers made speeches and posts on social media on the life and legacy of former House Speaker Pro Tempore Robert Clark.

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Clark, who died on March 4 at the age of 96, was the first Black man elected to the Mississippi Legislature since 1894, and had served as a symbol of progressiveness in the legislature, his colleagues said several times throughout the week.

At first, when Clark was elected in 1967, he was remanded to a one-person desk and put in the corner of the House chamber, not being recognized to speak or make motions on the House floor or even to sit alongside his colleagues.

That, however, did not stop him from inspiring other Black politicians to run for office and serve in the state’s legislature. Nor did it stop him from his significant rise to prominence in the House.

Clark in his time would rise to chair the House Education Committee, a powerful panel of lawmakers overseeing funding, structures of and reforms to Mississippi’s education system.

After that in 1992, he became the House Speaker Pro Tempore, the second-highest position in the House with the responsibility of overseeing the chamber when the speaker was away. He would serve in that position until his retirement in 2004.

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“His leadership paved the way for greater representation of African Americans in Mississippi politics, inspiring generations of public servants to follow in his footsteps,” said Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, Mississippi Democratic Party chairman. “Representative Clark’s legacy is one of courage, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to justice.”

When Clark’s death was announced, both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, who is also from Holmes County, like Clark, honored his memory.

“He was a trailblazer and icon for sure,” White said to the House chamber on Tuesday. “He was always mighty good to me when I was elected to office.”

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Clark served as the only Black lawmaker for nearly a decade. Today, there are more than 50 Black legislators in Mississippi.

What happened in the capitol last week?

As lawmakers considered bills in committee by Tuesday’s legislative deadline, many pieces of legislation were left on the chopping block.

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By the end of the day, both Senate and House lawmakers had killed about 100 bills that previously passed the Senate and House chamber, respectively, according to Mississippi Statewatch, a legislative intelligence service.

Notably, the legislature’s only vehicle to make reforms to the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi was abruptly killed by the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee.

When asked why the committee didn’t take up the legislation that would have established a new retirement benefits package for government employees, Chairman Kevin Ford, R-Vicksburg, said he simply needed more time to consider the legislation.

“The failure to pass SB2439, despite countless hours of work in collaboration with the PERS Board and others, is devastating for Mississippi,” Hosemann told the Clarion Ledger in a written response. “Gov. Barbour warned of this crisis in 2009, and it has only worsened. SB2439 ensures funds for our retirees and state employees, including teachers, while providing an increased competitive benefit for future hires. This is a disaster.”

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The committee had originally been scheduled to take up the bill, but the committee never did, and it was not on the final agenda.

Ford’s House committee was not the only one to do that after Senate committees killed House priorities by not bringing them up, raising questions of whether House and Senate lawmakers were at that point trading blows.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Education Committee let a flurry of House school choice bills die without consideration. Similarly, the Senate Gaming Committee did not bring up a House-approved bill to establish mobile sports betting in Mississippi.

Later that day, several House committees killed Senate bills and changed others. For example, when the House Education Committee met at 1:30 p.m., it quickly recessed so Chairman Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, could meet with House leadership to figure out what to do next.

When the committee re-met hours later, it killed many Senate education bills, passing only one with an amendment inserting a portability bill into the legislation, which would allow students to move between school districts more easily.

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House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, R-Saucier, also inserted his mobile sports betting bill into a Senate bill to reform the Tidelands Act, a law that creates a boundary between private and public land on the coast.

As for Hosemann and White’s legislative priorities for the year, some such as income tax cuts are very much still alive, some hang by a thread, like school choice, and others are at this point dead.

Those that are totally dead are state retirement system benefits reforms, ballot initiative restoration and suffrage restoration for some nonviolent felony holders.

Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.



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Tennessee’s all-time football results versus Mississippi State

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Tennessee’s all-time football results versus Mississippi State


No. 15 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) will play for its first Southeastern Conference win in 2025 during Week 5. Mississippi State (4-0) will host the Vols on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. EDT and SEC Network will televise the contest.

Saturday will mark the 38th game between the Vols and Bulldogs all time, dating to 1907.

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Tennessee leads the football series versus Mississippi State, 30-16-1. The Vols have won the last two meetings, including a, 33-14, victory last season at Neyland Stadium.

Below are all-time football results between the Vols and Bulldogs.

Tennessee’s all-time football results versus Mississippi State

1907: Tennessee 11, Mississippi State 4

1910: Mississippi State 48, Tennessee 0

1915: Mississippi State 10, Tennessee 0

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1919: Mississippi State 6, Tennessee 0

1920: Mississippi State 13 Tennessee 7

1921: Tennessee 14, Mississippi State 7

1922: Tennessee 31, Mississippi State 3

1923: Tennessee 7, Mississippi State 3

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1924: Mississippi State 7, Tennessee 2

1925: Tennessee 14, Mississippi State 9

1926: Tennessee 33, Mississippi State 0

1932: Tennessee 31, Mississippi State 0

1933: Tennessee 20, Mississippi State 0

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1934: Tennessee 14, Mississippi State 0

1948: Mississippi State 21, Tennessee 6

1949: Tennessee 10, Mississippi State 0

1950: Mississippi State 7, Tennessee 0

1951: Tennessee 14, Mississippi State 0

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1952: Tennessee 14, Tennessee 7

1953: Mississippi State 26, Tennessee 0

1954: Tennessee 19, Mississippi State 7

1955: Mississippi State 13, Tennessee 7

1957: Tennessee 14, Mississippi State 9

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1958: Tennessee 13, Mississippi State 8

1959: Tennessee 22, Mississippi State 6

1960: Tennessee 0, Mississippi State 0

1961: Tennessee 17, Mississippi State 3

1962: Mississippi State 7, Tennessee 6

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1963: Mississippi State 7, Tennessee 0

1964: Tennessee 14, Mississippi 13

1971: Tennessee 10, Mississippi State 7

1978: Mississippi State 34, Tennessee 21

1979: Mississippi State 28, Tennessee 9

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1986: Mississippi State 27, Tennessee 23

1987: Tennessee 38, Mississippi State 10

1990: Tennessee 40, Mississippi State 7

1991: Tennessee 26, Mississippi State 24

1994: Mississippi State 24, Tennessee 21

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1995: Tennessee 52, Mississippi State 14

1998: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14 — SEC championship game

2002: Tennessee 35, Mississippi State 17

2003: Tennessee 59, Mississippi State 21

2007: Tennessee 33, Mississippi State 21

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2008: Tennessee 34, Mississippi State 3

2012: Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31

2019: Tennessee 20, Mississippi State 10

2024: Tennessee 33, Tennessee 14

Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

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Mississippi State football doesn’t miss Mario Craver, other overreactions to Alcorn State win

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Mississippi State football doesn’t miss Mario Craver, other overreactions to Alcorn State win


STARKVILLE — It’s difficult to determine what Mississippi State football’s lopsided 63-0 win against Alcorn State in Week 3 means for the outlook of the season, but there was certainly no indication of a potential upset.

The Bulldogs (3-0) scored touchdowns on four straight drives to begin the game and led by 42 points before halftime. The third and fourth quarters at Davis Wade Stadium were reduced from 15 to 10 minutes because of the score. MSU and second-year coach Jeff Lebby are 3-0 for the first time since 2018.

Here are four overreactions to MSU’s win before it hosts Northern Illinois (1-1) on Sept. 20 (3:15 p.m., SEC Network).

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Mississippi State fans will storm the field after another upset win

Mississippi State has qualities of a team than can pull off another upset like it did to then-No. 10 Arizona State in Week 2. When the offense, defense and special teams are playing soundly, MSU is miles better than last season.

The offense, led by quarterback Blake Shapen, can score in bunches and do so quickly. The defense can string together multiple stops in a row and is forcing two turnovers per game. Kyle Ferrie has yet to miss a field goal, while Anthony Evans III is second in the SEC with 128 punt return yards.

Mississippi State’s four SEC home games are all against ranked opponents — Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss — so don’t be surprised if fans storm the field again in one of those games.

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Kamario Taylor is a future Heisman Trophy contender

There have been glimpses of freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor and you can already tell why everyone is so excited about the four-star signee from Noxubee County.

He scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter against Alcorn State, a 42-yard on-the-money throw to Brenen Thompson. Taylor also had a great rush when he read the edge defender, tucked the ball and ran for 19 yards.

Taylor will have to wait for next season to compete for the starting job, but he has the makings to be a special player.

Mississippi State is fine without Mario Craver, Kevin Coleman Jr.

Mario Craver leads college football with 443 receiving yards for Texas A&M. Kevin Coleman Jr. of Missouri is tied for fifth nationally with 24 receptions. Both transferred after last season ended, but Mississippi State is doing just fine without them.

Evans and Thompson have been a terrific duo at wide receiver. Evans, a Georgia transfer, has filled Coleman’s role at MSU as a shorter-yard target with 17 receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Thompson, an Oklahoma transfer, has played Craver’s role as a downfield burner with 15 catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns.

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It’s unlikely that Mississippi State could’ve had all four of them on the same team, but losing two great wide receivers hasn’t hurt this season.

Mississippi State’s pass rush will be a weakness in SEC play

Will Whitson was playing like a premier pass rusher before his season-ending injury in Week 2. The Bulldogs haven’t been great at generating pressure though outside of him.

Whitson has two of MSU’s four sacks. He’s also still the only player for MSU with more than one tackle for loss.

The defensive front looks improved from last season, but will still need to be better for SEC standards.

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Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.



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Bulldog Roundup: Mississippi State cross country sets new mark at Southern Showcase

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Bulldog Roundup: Mississippi State cross country sets new mark at Southern Showcase


Friday was a special day for Mississippi State sports and it was the cross country team that got things started for the university.

The Bulldogs put in a record-breaking performance to finish in second place at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Ala.

“We’re really pleased with how the team raced today,” said assistant coach Erinn Stemnan-Fahey. “Today, they showed the strides the program has made towards improvement. We’re really excited to keep building on the momentum for the rest of the season.”

The team improved its finish from last year by 6 places, with three athletes finishing in the top 20 overall. Nelly Jemeli led the Bulldogs, literally. Jemeli finished fourth overall in 16-minutes, 36.1 seconds.

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Louise Stonham finished 17th in her first cross country race in the maroon and white with a massive personal best of 17:10.0. Gabrielle Boulay and Hunter Anderson rounded out the scorers for state, with the latter running a personal best of 17:31.0.

Women’s Tennis: Mississippi State at Blue Gray Classic
Women’s Tennis: Mississippi State at Debbie Southern Classic
Men’s Tennis: ITF Fayetteville M15 Futures
Cross Country: Southern Showcase, Huntsville, Ala., 2nd Place
Soccer: Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Tennessee 2

Football: Alcorn State at Mississippi State
Women’s Tennis: Mississippi State at Blue Gray Classic
Women’s Tennis: Mississippi State at Debbie Southern Classic
Men’s Tennis: ITF Fayetteville M15 Futures
Volleyball: Mississippi State at Mercer, Noon

“One night, Bilbo got particularly feisty, so my dad and I drove him out to woods. Once we found a good spot, we stopped and I put him on the ground and took his collar off. He kind of ambled about, taking in the new surroundings. I preface this next part by saying I do think humans and animals share an unspoken understanding, to some extent. That’s why it’s so easy to bond with pets. So this is how I remember saying goodbye to Bilbo: He wandered 10 yards away or so from the truck, and then he turned and looked at us and kind of had this expression like, ‘It was nice knowing ya.’ It was this moment where like, both I knew and he knew that we’d had some good times, but this was it.”

– Mike Leach





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