Kenzie Claire Burchfield was always going to attend Mississippi State University.

The daughter of current and retired MSU employees, Burchfield did not need much convincing to become a Bulldog. However, when she heard her friends at Starkville High School discuss a three-week summer theater camp “that sounded amazing” on the university’s campus, she knew she had to be there.

There is no place like home, and those words come from a person who literally has seen the whole world but has chosen to return to his childhood home in Mississippi for his retirement.

The University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Nursing and Health Professions is partnering with Forrest Health, allowing nursing students to gain work experience at Forrest General while earning their degrees. 

The Heirloom Hotel in downtown Laurel, Mississippi, is a boutique hotel created by HGTV’s Home Town stars Erin and Ben Napier, along with their business partners. The massive restoration transformed the historic 1930s Kress department store into a 29-bedroom hotel. Unfortunately, a devastating accidental electrical fire in August 2025 heavily damaged the property, leaving the insurance claim and rebuilding process ongoing. The entire restoration and ultimate demise of the building were featured on the HGTV series Home Town: Inn This Together, starring the Napirs and the vested families, Joshua and Emily Nowell, and Jim and Mallorie Rasberry.

There are certain sounds that define a Mississippi summer.

The hum of cicadas on a hot afternoon. The squeak of the back door opening and closing a hundred times a day. A basketball bouncing in the driveway. The mixer running because someone decided it was the perfect day to make brownies. The laughter coming from a backyard adventure—or the inevitable, “Mama, come look at this frog!”

If you know where to look, there are secret Ole Miss spirit messages written over north Mississippi, all thanks to University of Mississippi alumnus and pilot Joshua Gregory.

 Lynn Meadows Discovery Center is hosting Sensory Sundays beginning June 21, aiming to provide individuals with autism and other sensory needs a comfortable and inclusive museum experience. 

Just west of Oxford, a giant American flag waves above Highway 6, welcoming travelers to one of Mississippi’s most unique destinations. With palm trees lining the entrance and families arriving from across the region, Roundabout Oxford has quickly become much more than an RV park. It’s a full-scale resort designed for making memories.

For nearly 25 years, the Luckyday Scholars Program at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has served as a model for student development, pairing financial support with an intentional experience that prepares students to lead lives of purpose. With a renewed commitment of $7.6 million, the Luckyday Foundation continues to expand opportunities for students who demonstrate both promise and a commitment to service.

School is out for the summer. What to do with those kids that have nothing to do but stare at a glowing screen all day. Try to entice them outside with hands-on activities that keep their interest. Here is one of a couple I will share in the coming weeks.

Yeah, the class slogan for my Pascagoula High School Class of 1966 was “We’re as great as great can be, the Seniors of ’66 are we.” Pretty corny I’ll admit, but it did—and still does—kind of speak to the feeling my classmates and I had/have about each other. That sentiment continued to be evident as we gathered in Pascagoula last week for our 60th class reunion.

Rice cookers are among the most versatile appliances in a home kitchen. While they’re best known for cooking rice, they can be used for much more. Commercial models can hold more than 10 pounds of rice, while most home units are designed to cook five cups or less. The electric rice cooker was first developed by Toshiba engineers in Japan in 1955.

If you’ve ever lived in Mississippi, chances are you’ve heard one long before you’ve seen one.

Perched on a telephone wire, hidden in a crepe myrtle, or proudly standing atop a fence post, the Northern Mockingbird has a way of making itself known. With its gray feathers, white wing flashes, and seemingly endless repertoire of songs, it’s one of the most recognizable birds in the South—and it’s been Mississippi’s official state bird since 1944.

Breanna O’Leary, an Alcorn State University graduate, is a professional NASCAR pit crew member who made sports history by breaking gender barriers in a heavily male-dominated motorsport. O’Leary’s trajectory connects her collegiate background at Alcorn State University to a trailblazing career on NASCAR’s pit road.

The University of Southern Mississippi is partnering in a new national effort to grow and strengthen America’s seafood supply through aquaculture research as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Markets (CIFARM), led by the University of New Hampshire (UNH).

As I pulled into First Fruits Farm, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful it was. Wildflowers were blooming along the drive, and row after row of blueberry bushes stretched across the property. It felt like stepping into another world. Standing there, looking across the neatly kept rows, I found myself thinking of the vineyards you see in photos from places like Italy rather than a farm tucked away in rural Mississippi.