Black-owned hotel razed; was safe haven during segregation
April 25, 2023 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi hotel that gave Black travelers safe lodging during segregation and once welcomed such notables as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been torn down after falling into disrepair after years of sitting vacant.
‘Traumatic day’: School shooting hoaxes sweep Michigan
February 8, 2023 GMTMERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Schools in a Lansing-area district will be closed Wednesday as staff, students and families recover from a phony report of a shooting, a chilling alert that had police scrambling quickly to respond and caused the evacuation of hundreds of teens.
Heavy rain causing flooding, evacuations in Mississippi
August 24, 2022 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Heavy rain and flash floods drenched Mississippi, prompting rescue operations, closures and evacuations Wednesday including dozens of residents at a nursing home in the central part of the state.
Hospital system serving MS, AL merges with Louisiana system
August 2, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A hospital system with properties in Mississippi and Alabama has merged with a health system based in Louisiana.
On Monday, Rush Health Systems became Ochsner Rush Health, the Meridian Star reported.
Mississippi, Alabama mourners praise officer killed on duty
June 21, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A police officer killed on duty in Mississippi earlier this month is being remembered there and in his Alabama hometown as a person willing to serve any community where he worked.
Services set in Alabama, Mississippi for slain officer
June 13, 2022 GMTTUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Memorial events are being planned in both Mississippi and Alabama for a police officer who was shot to death last week in the line of duty, officials said Monday.
A memorial service will be held Thursday in Meridian, Mississippi, for Meridian Police Officer Kennis Croom, who was killed while answering a call about domestic violence at a home in the city last Thursday.
Man sought in shooting death of Mississippi officer arrested
June 10, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A former police officer suspected of killing a Mississippi police officer who was responding to a call about domestic violence has been arrested, authorities said Friday.
Dante Marquez Bender, 31, was taken into custody the day after Meridian Police Officer Kennis Croom was fatally shot while answering a call, authorities said.
Authorities: Mississippi officer, 1 other dead in shooting
June 10, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A police officer has died along with one other person after an officer-involved shooting Thursday in an eastern Mississippi city, authorities said, adding a suspect was being sought.
All in the family: Dad, son, daughter earn master’s degrees
May 13, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A father and his two children have graduated together from a branch of Mississippi State University, each earning a master's degree in education.
Commondre Cole, son Ja’Coby Cole and daughter Iesha Gully were among the 153 graduates Thursday at MSU-Meridian's spring commencement.
2 men charged with murder in Mississippi triple killing
March 21, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Two Mississippi men have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting deaths of three men in October.
The Meridian Police Department announced Thursday that officers had arrested 20-year-old Jyquan Radcliff and 24-year-old Tavion Radcliff.
SkyWest to end service to Meridian
March 11, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Meridian Regional Airport is looking for a new airline to fly passengers in and out of its facility after SkyWest Airlines announced it intended to end service.
SkyWest Airlines, in a statement Wednesday, said it planned to end service at 29 regional airports, including Meridian, due to a nationwide pilot shortage.
Meridian history to come alive in storytelling event
January 30, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Veteran storytellers are set to bring the history of the City of Meridian alive through an event being held next month.
Mississippi city sets amnesty day for unpaid court fines
January 29, 2022 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A south Mississippi city is holding an amnesty day next month to work with residents to resolve unpaid fines.
The City of Meridian Municipal Court on Feb. 24 will work with residents who appear in person from 8 a.m.
Mississippi entertainment museum taps 5 for Hall of Fame
January 18, 2022 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Three musicians and two writers will be inducted into the hall of fame at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience.
Mississippi hires new forensics laboratory director
January 5, 2022 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Forensics Laboratory has hired a new director.
Mary Dukes, who has worked in the private sector and at crime labs in Louisiana, will now join Mississippi's crime lab.
Griffis beginning 8-year term on Mississippi Supreme Court
January 1, 2022 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court is holding a ceremony Monday for Justice Kenny Griffis to begin a new term of office.
Griffis served 16 years on the state Court of Appeals.
Lifelong friends work to revitalize Meridian
December 27, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Two lifelong friends from Meridian are doing their part to fuel the revitalization of their hometown.
John Purdy and Mark Davis started Davis and Purdy Architects in 2018 and have been a part of some prominent downtown projects, WTOK reports.
Man arrested, accused of trying to dig up Mississippi grave
December 26, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A man has been arrested for allegedly digging up a grave at a cemetery in Mississippi.
Meridian Police Sgt. Heather Luebbers said officers responded Christmas Eve to a call about two men walking around a cemetery with metal detectors, WLBT-TV reported.
Triplets, multiple twin sets born at Mississippi hospital
December 21, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Triplets were born for the first time in nearly 10 years at an east Mississippi hospital — and the births happened around the same time as multiple sets of twins.
Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian is caring for two different sets of twins and a set of triplets, WTOK-TV reports.
Murder suspect who escaped Mississippi hospital in custody
November 30, 2021 GMTPASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi murder suspect who escaped police custody last week is back behind bars.
Aceon Ja’shun Hopkins, 20, surrendered to a family friend in Neshoba County early Tuesday and was taken into custody, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said.
Man under guard escapes Mississippi hospital, steals clothes
November 28, 2021 GMTPASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi officials are looking for a man who escaped from a hospital bathroom while under police guard and then was recorded on video changing into pilfered clothes.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Department tells local news outlets that Aceon Ja’shun Hopkins got away after telling a deputy he had to go to the bathroom while a patient at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula.
Chief Justice: Intervention courts save taxpayer dollars
November 13, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph says the state should put more money into programs like drug courts. He says the interventions save millions of taxpayer dollars.
Renovated 1920s hotel honors Meridian’s railroad history
November 6, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A historic building in east Mississippi built in the late 1920s has reopened as a hotel.
The Threefoot Hotel in Meridian opened its doors this week after years of renovation and restoration work by Ascent Hospitality, LLC, the company that owns the property.
Hattiesburg mayor swears in city’s 1st female police chief
October 24, 2021 GMTHATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Another Mississippi city has a woman as police chief for the first time.
Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker swore in career police officer Peggy Sealy on Thursday, the Hattiesburg American reported.
Police ID 3 men shot to death; search for suspects continues
October 14, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — As detectives continue to search for suspects, authorities have identified three men shot to death in Meridian. The gunfire on Tuesday also wounded an infant, who is expected to survive.
3 men dead, infant wounded in east Mississippi shooting
October 13, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Three people are dead and an infant wounded after a shooting in the east Mississippi city of Meridian.
The gunfire happened Tuesday afternoon at a home on 17th Street, Meridian police said.
Mississippi How They Fared
October 9, 2021 GMTCommunity center dedicated to 90-year-old Boy Scout mentor
October 2, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A 90-year-old Mississippi man who has spent his life mentoring Boy Scouts now has a community center named in his honor.
Family: Man turned away by dozens of COVID-filled hospitals
September 14, 2021 GMTMONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — As hundreds of mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients filled Alabama intensive care units, hospital staff in north Alabama contacted 43 hospitals in three states to find a specialty cardiac ICU bed for Ray Martin DeMonia, his family wrote in his obituary.
Longtime officer is 1st woman to be Meridian police chief
September 4, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A city in eastern Mississippi has sworn in a longtime officer as its new police chief.
Deborah Naylor-Young is the first woman to lead the Meridian Police Department.
“I’m just Chief,” Naylor-Young told WTOK-TV after she was sworn in Friday.
Jesse Palmer, ex-Mississippi councilman, educator dies at 93
August 28, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A longtime educator in eastern Mississippi who also was a former Meridian City Councilman has died.
A public viewing was held Friday for Jesse Palmer, who died Tuesday, The Meridian Star reported.
Meridian inaugurates its 1st Black municipal judge
July 18, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A city in eastern Mississippi has sworn in its first Black municipal judge.
Dustin Markham took the oath of office Friday in Meridian, WTOK-TV reported.
Runway at Meridian Regional Airport to get facelift
July 4, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — The main runway at Meridian Regional Airport is in line to get a makeover.
The project is needed to keep the runway in top condition because it is the longest public runway in the state and was last refurbished a little more than 20 years ago, Airport President Tom Williams said.
Meridian expands open container ordinance to six days a week
June 20, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — The city of Meridian has passed a new ordinance allowing open containers of alcohol to be carried in the downtown area every day but Sunday. The new rule goes into effect on July 1.
New Orleans health system pushes further into Mississippi
June 17, 2021 GMTNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A large New Orleans-based health system with hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi plans a merger that will deepen its presence in Mississippi.
Ochsner Health and Rush Health Systems said in a news release Thursday that officials expect a proposed merger to become final in mid-2022 pending regulatory approval.
Meridian arts festival returns this month after 2020 hiatus
May 10, 2021 GMTMeridian’s chief administration officer to resign
May 5, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — As Meridian Mayor Percy Bland's last day nears, changes are on the horizon for the outgoing administration.
Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Kelly announced Tuesday he will be resigning before the two-term mayor's last day in office on June 30...
Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian opening March 27
March 14, 2021 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian will open later this month, culminating years of planning and construction...
AP Road Trip: In Mississippi, Black voters face many hurdles
October 22, 2020 GMTMeridian, Miss. (AP) — The old civil rights worker was sure the struggle would be over by now.
He’d fought so hard back in the ’60s. He’d seen the wreckage of burned churches, and the injuries of people who had been beaten.
Long after murders, Black voting is still troubled in Miss.
Mississippi among worst states for dams rated in bad shape
November 10, 2019 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Maybe it's in a subdivision in Olive Branch, on a hill above Interstate 20 in Meridian, or in rural Carroll County...
Mississippi hometown to honor late Temptations singer
October 13, 2019 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — One Mississippi city promises there will be sunshine on Oct. 26, even if it's a cloudy day...
Father of Country Music’s museum to get temporary home
September 9, 2019 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — The home-town museum honoring the father of country music will open in temporary space while renovation of its new permanent home continues.
Officials expect a surge of interest in Jimmie Rodgers, the Mississippi Football How They Fared
September 9, 2018 GMT
The Latest: Baria says Mississippi Dems ‘exuberant’
June 27, 2018 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on Mississippi Democratic Senate primary (all times local):
9:55 p.m.
Mississippi Democratic U.S. Senate nominee David Baria says he believes members of his party are "excited and exuberant" for a change in Washington.
Mississippi holding primary runoffs for US Senate and House
June 23, 2018 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is holding party primary runoffs for two federal offices.
Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, and voters are required to show photo identification.
Candidates have expressed concerns that turnout will be much lower than it was during the first round of voting on June 5.
Navy confirms 2 dead as training plane crashes in Tennessee
October 2, 2017 GMTTELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (AP) — An instructor and a student pilot died in the crash of a military training jet in southeastern Tennessee, U.S. Navy officials confirmed Monday.
The T-45C Goshawk crashed Sunday afternoon in Tellico Plains, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of Knoxville.
9 years after recession began, some states still unrecovered
May 18, 2017 GMTMERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Call them the unrecovered — a handful of states where job markets, nine years later, are still struggling back to where they were before the recession.
That's true in Mississippi, where job numbers and the overall size of the economy remain below 2008 levels.
Feds, Miss. school reach deal over punishment
March 23, 2013 GMTJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that it has reached a deal with a Mississippi school district to end discriminatory disciplinary practices in which black students face harsher punishment than whites for similar misbehavior.