Even if you were to take Jackson’s water woes out of the equation, drinking water and waste water throughout Mississippi are still in dire need of improvement.

“Jackson is really just the canary in the coal mine,” said Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, chair of the 2024 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure. “The failures that are happening in Jackson are not just simply happening in Jackson. They are happening across the state. So, even if we were to take Jackson out of the equation, we would probably see the same grades (across the state). Maybe a little higher, but not much.”

Water was just one part of the equation as the Mississippi Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released the 2024 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure Thursday in front of the state capitol in Jackson.

It includes 12 categories of infrastructure that received an overall grade of “C-,” which the ASCE said is a one-step increase from the 2020 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure and matches the national average on the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. A “C-” grade means Mississippi’s infrastructure is in fair condition and requires attention to ensure it remains reliable in the future.

Four of the 12 infrastructure categories (Bridges, Dams, Rail and Solid Waste) saw their grades increase compared to the previous 2020 Report Card, while two categories (Drinking Water and Wastewater) saw their grades drop one level compared to the 2020 Report Card.

The individual rankings:

• B: Rail
• B-: Ports
• C+: Solid Waste
• C: Aviation
• C: Energy
• D+: Bridges
• D+: Dams
• D: Inland Waterways
• D: Levees
• D-: Drinking Water
• D-: Roads
• D-: Wastewater

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By comparison, according to the last testing results for neighboring states, Mississippi’s results are similar.

Alabama had an overall score of C- in 2022. Arkansas had a C- in 2021 and Tennessee had a C in 2021. Meanwhile, Louisiana was rated with a D+ in its last grading in 2017.

While the C- may only be an average score, it does represent a significant improvement from the last report card in 2020 when Mississippi scored just a D+.

The uptake is that overall Mississippi could be worse, but still has work to do, particularly in a few areas.

“Mississippians have witnessed the consequences of underinvestment and deferred maintenance in infrastructure systems, especially when it comes to our most valuable, life-sustaining resource, the water we all need to survive,” Ziegler said. “We cannot continue to kick the proverbial can down the road, regardless whether it is water or roads or bridges.”

The only two categories to see grade decreases in the 2024 report card were drinking water and wastewater. Both fell from a “D” in 2020 to a “D-” in 2024.

However, Ziegler expects an improvement in those grades for the next testing period in 2028 because of significant investment from the federal government in the last 18 months.

“We are already seeing signs that would lead us to believe the grades on water will go up,” Ziegler said. “It just will not show up officially for some time.”

Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons said that while there needs to be improvement for roads and bridges, there needs to continue to be more investment from the legislature.

Mississippi’s bridges saw a two-step grade increase to a “D+” according to the 2024 report card, compared to a “D-” in 2020. Over the last four years, the percentage of bridges in poor condition dropped from 9.8% to 6.3%. However, in this same timeframe, the percentage of bridges in good condition fell from 58.4% to 56.1%, and the number of bridges that have limits on the weight they can carry grew by more than 400. The grade for roads in Mississippi is unchanged in the 2024 report card at a “D-.”

Simmons said that while the 18-cent gas tax has not been increased since it was implemented in 1987, the decision in 2018 to add funds through the lottery bill has been helpful in getting more resources into the transportation system.

“These grades are not where we want them to be, but good research, good information and good data is good for us to have,” Simmons said. “Resources are very important. We have been very fortunate to get new money into our system the last few years.”

He went on to say, however, that roads and bridges need a total $650 million in recurring money to maintain what Mississippi already has without talking about improvements and additions.

The report suggested four key areas to focus on so as to improve the state’s score for the next reporting period.

• Ensure that infrastructure investment is strategically focused on efforts that maximize good-paying jobs, promote the state’s economic competitiveness, and enhance usability so that all Mississippians continue to proudly call our state home.
• Increase funding for state agencies to ensure these critical agencies can carry out their mandated missions. Insufficient funding for decades has resulted in a lack of proper staffing, leading to delays in permitting, necessary approvals and project execution, causing delayed or missed economic investments across the state.
• Design, operate, maintain, and expand Mississippi’s infrastructure systems using consensus-based codes, specifications and standards that reduce the potential loss of jobs, economic opportunity and critical natural resources. This includes advancing resiliency and mitigation measures to ensure better long-term use of taxpayer dollars.
• Invest in programs for technical career training — especially in the drinking water and wastewater sectors. Not only can investment help retain Mississippi’s talent and prevent continued “brain drain,” but it can also help mainstream tools for data-driven decision-making, such as the use of asset management software and life-cycle cost analysis to inform affordable rate structuring for the use of our infrastructure systems.

Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.

‘We’ve had good habitat conditions. We had a reduction in harvest. People are being more selective. All those things coupled together and you really see the population get on the increase.’

Mississippi’s deer population may be at an all-time high and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is asking hunters to help get the population under control by harvesting more deer.

“In looking at the numbers, I think we are probably looking at a record level of deer in the state,” said Russ Walsh, Wildlife chief of staff. “We’ve had good habitat conditions.

“We had a reduction in harvest. People are being more selective. All those things coupled together and you really see the population get on the increase.”

Deer numbers in the state are generated from data including Deer Management Assistance Program harvest records from public and private land. Figures are fed into a model which produces a population estimate.

“It is showing the population is increasing,” Walsh said. “We’re also looking at deer harvest over time. We’re not harvesting as many deer as we used to.”

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Annual reports from State Farm Insurance seem to support that. Each year, the company ranks states according to the number of auto claims related to animals. In 2016-2017 Mississippi ranked No. 12 in the nation for the most claims. That translated to one in 95 drivers filing a claim related to animals.

In 2020-2021 Mississippi’s ranking rose to No. 7 with one in 57 drivers filing a claim. In the 2023-2024 report Mississippi was No. 6 in the nation and one in 65 drivers filed a claim and according to State Farm, deer are the No. 1 animal involved in those claims.

For perspective on Mississippi’s latest ranking, the national average for hitting an animal is one in 128.

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Are deer numbers high everywhere in Mississippi?

The current population estimate of deer in Mississippi is 1.6 million. That’s up from the 2012 estimate of 1.5 million and 1.4 million in 2018.

However, the population estimate is statewide, so some areas will be higher than others. Walsh said if hunters aren’t sure about their deer numbers or if the population has exceeded the property’s capacity to maintain a healthy population, MDWFP can help.

“We’ll be glad to visit with them and discuss it and look at the land,” Walsh said. “That’s why we’re here. We’re glad to look at those situations.”

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How you can help reduce the deer population

• Harvest one deer more than you normally do, but don’t exceed the bag limit
• Take a kid hunting
• Target does
• Spend more time hunting
• Report deer harvests
• Have deer tested for CWD

What are the benefits of reducing Mississippi’s deer population?

It would seem that more deer would mean better hunting, but that is not exactly the case. Chronic wasting disease is present in Mississippi and it is always fatal for deer. It is spread by direct and indirect contact between deer. By reducing the density of deer, the spread of the disease can be slowed.

Lower deer density can also produce healthier deer in general and bigger bucks because there is more food available to them. An extreme example of that is the 2019 South Delta flood that killed thousands of deer and other wildlife. However, those deer that survived had more food resources than before the flood and deer weights went up in following years.

“I don’t think I saw a buck harvested under 200 pounds in some of those areas,” Walsh said. “They had lots of resources. Why? There were fewer deer on the landscape.”

Do you have more deer meat than you can use? Donate some

Many hunters tend only to harvest as many deer as they can eat. So, if you harvest more than that this year, consider donating some to Hunter’s Harvest. It’s a program that distributes venison to families in need in Mississippi through churches and other organizations. Here are the processors where meat can be donated.

• Thrasher’s Taxidermy and Deer Processing – Corinth, Alcorn County
• Rut’n & Cut’n Deer Processing – Crystal Springs, Copiah County
• Old River Road Deer Processing – Petal, Forrest County
• Strick’s Deer Processing – Hattiesburg, Forrest County
• D’Wayne’s Deer Processing – Holcolm, Grenada County
• Stacie’s Deer Processing – Utica, Hinds County
• The Meat Hook – Laurel, Hinds County
• Jack’s Seafood – Lamar County
• Sherman Deer Processing – Lena, Leake County
• Boyd Deer Processing – Ruth, Lincoln County
• Diamond J Meat Market & Deer Processing – Brookhaven, Lincoln County
• Knight’s Deer Processing and Meat Market LLC – Brookhaven, Lincoln County
• Buck Shop II – Canton, Madison County
• The Buck Shop – Flora, Madison County
• Sansing Meat Service – Maben, Oktibbeha County
• Buck Shot Custom Processing – Pontotoc, Pontotoc County
• Brister’s Taxidermy & Deer Processing – McComb, Pike County
• MaxMan Deer Processing – Senatobia, Tate County
• Oaks Deer Processing – Coldwater, Tate County
• Backwoods Wild Game Processing – Tylertown, Walthall County
• Dave’s Custom Meats – Vicksburg, Warren County
• Moore’s Deer Processing – Vicksburg, Warren County
• Milner’s Deer Processing – Yazoo City, Yazoo County
• Rack Shack Outdoors – Benton, Yazoo County
• Red Antler Processing – Yazoo City, Yazoo County
• Van’s Deer Processing – Brandon, Rankin County
• The Skinnin Shed – Meadville, Forrest County

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbrom@gannett.com.

Player movement is one of the biggest talking points in college sports, especially football. With the transfer portal wide open and many eligibility restrictions gone, players can move freely. And with NIL opportunities for those players, guys are all the more willing to transfer elsewhere.

One of the topics within the player movement discussion is the issue of tampering, contacting a player at another school not currently in the transfer portal to convince them to transfer elsewhere. The head man of Mississippi State football spoke on that issue Wednesday.

During Wednesday’s SEC Football Coach’s Teleconference, Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby was asked about how big of an issue tampering is in this level of football. Lebby not only was blunt in saying that it’s an issue, he also said that it’s happening right now with players on his team.

“It’s going on. There are guys on our football team that are going through that.”

– Miss State HC Jeff Lebby

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Lebby didn’t specify which Bulldogs are being tampered with, and he didn’t allege which schools have been in contact with them. But he did call for tampering to be addressed going forward.

“Until that is managed and policed at the highest level, then there’s nothing that’s going to stop people from doing it.”

– Jeff Lebby

Jeff Lebby is correct. Until there’s an actual risk to tampering with someone’s roster, teams will continue to do it. We saw that earlier this season when the SEC chose to implement fines for teams that are blatantly faking injuries in game. Suddenly, seemingly fine players aren’t dropping like flies. The same applies with tampering. Unless there’s a consequence, there’s no reason to not tamper.

But until that time comes, if it ever does, Mississippi State is simply going to have to deal with it just like everyone else.

Lebby may not have said which players have been contacted, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who the likely candidates are. Mississippi State is bad and only has a handful of impactful players. You can easily zero in on who Lebby is referring to.

WR Kevin Coleman is the most obvious. He’s been one of the SEC’s best this year. His running mate at wideout, true freshman Mario Craver, has flashed elite explosiveness this year. Both those guys are undoubtedly being contacted by rivals. State doesn’t have much going for it at all on defense, but safety Isaac Smith is a great player who would shine in a better defense. I’m sure people are telling him to jump ship.

There are likely a few others as well. But that’s just the reality everyone is in. Even the best teams are having their players back-channeled to enter the portal. Of course the few great players on a struggling team are going to be targeted. If you’re the rival team, that seems like easy pickings.

That’s why it’s imperative that Mississippi State do everything in it’s power to keep those guys in Starkville. Whatever it takes from a NIL commitment or whatever vision for the program must be sold, State has to hold onto the few key players they have on the roster. Otherwise, they won’t be building out of the hole they’re in.