Magnolia Mornings: January 22, 2025

• Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.

In Mississippi

1. Historic snow fall across Mississippi Coast

The heaviest snowfall in over 100 years in some areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast was seen on Tuesday, January 21, as the white snow covered homes, roads and bridges, and even the beaches throughout the day.

Reports of 7-9 inches of snow could be seen on social media all along the Coast, from Long Beach to Pascagoula. But the Coast wasn’t alone – the Pine Belt saw 2-4 inches of snow in the areas of Purvis, Hattiesburg and along southern I-59 and across Highway 98.

Families could be seen out enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime event making snowmen, snow angels, sledding on pool floats, and having snowball fights.

The fun-filled snow day in South Mississippi was followed by extremely cold temperatures across the state, ranging in the single digits in north Mississippi to mid-teens in the southern part of the state.

Early morning power outages were being reported Wednesday as utility crews worked to restore power as quickly as possible.

2. MDA overseeing nearly $135 million in disaster recovery funding

The Mississippi Development Authority announced Tuesday that the state will be administering $134,953,000 of $12 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding to assist communities most impacted and affected by disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Per a Federal Register Allocation Notice, the nearly $135 million will be used to address ongoing disaster-related needs in Hinds County, Belzoni and Silver City in Humphreys County, Moss Point in Jackson County, Amory in Monroe County, Scott County and Sharkey County.

CDBG-DR funds may be used to:

• Replace damaged affordable housing and rebuild it to be more resilient
• Strengthen infrastructure through repairs, upgrades and activities to increase the resilience of public facilities and infrastructure, including roadways, water systems and utilities
• Support economic revitalization, including support for small businesses, creation of jobs and assistance for residents
• Implement disaster mitigation measures to reduce risk of damage from future extreme weather and disaster events

Mississippi Development Authority, which will oversee the CDBG-DR funds, will submit an action plan to U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in mid-April. 

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Trump announces major AI infrastructure venture

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced a joint venture called Stargate that is investing up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure. OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank have partnered in the venture.

“The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum,” the Associated Press reported.

The AP reported that Larry Ellison of Oracle “noted that the data centers are already under construction with 10 being built so far. The chairman of Oracle suggested that the project was also tied to digital health records and would make it easier to treat diseases such as cancer by possibly developing a customized vaccine.”

2. Democrat-led state, cities challenge Trump’s restriction on birthright citizenship

Twenty-two Democrat-led states and two cities have challenged President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, reports The Hill.

“The two separate lawsuits, filed in Massachusetts and Washington state, ask federal judges to rule the order contradicts the Constitution, which under the 14th Amendment bestows citizenship on anyone born in the United States,” The Hill reported. “Trump’s order, signed as part of a flurry of executive actions during his first day in office, seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawfully present. But it also applies to some parents in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas, a broader category that blocks citizenship to children born to those with authorization to work in the U.S.”

Sports & Entertainment

1. Mississippi Valley State names Buckley new head football coach

Pascagoula-native Terrell Buckley has been named the new Head Football Coach at Mississippi Valley State University. He is a College Football Hall of Famer, Super Bowl champion, and accomplished coach.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Buckley as the new head coach of the Mississippi Valley State University football team,” Interim Athletic Director George Ivory stated. “He brings a winning mindset, a deep commitment to developing our student-athletes both on and off the field, and a vision that aligns perfectly with our program’s values.”

After a stellar high school career at Pascagoula High, Buckley became a standout at Florida State University. He won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back and earned a Super Bowl XXXVI title with the New England Patriots. As a coach, Buckley has been instrumental in developing talent at both the collegiate and professional levels, most recently serving as head coach of the Orlando Guardians in the XFL.

“We’re going to build a culture of accountability, hard work, and belief – because winning starts with the standards we set and the mindset we bring every single day,” said Coach Buckley.

2. No. 14 Miss. State falls to No. 6 Tennessee

The No. 14 Mississippi State men’s basketball team dropped a 68-56 road decision at No. 6 Tennessee on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs are now 3-3 in SEC play and 15-4 overall.

Mississippi States continues its road matchups this week, traveling to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks this Saturday, January 25, at noon. 

Markets & Business

1. C Spire expanding rural internet access in Mississippi

C Spire announced Tuesday that its 5G Home Internet is expanding rural internet access for thousands of underserved Mississippians. 

The company said their Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) will leverage the extra capacity and speed of its 5G wireless network to deliver a reliable high-speed home internet experience to areas in Mississippi where traditional fiber broadband or cable infrastructure does not exist.

C Spire is expanding rural broadband access across Mississippi through a strategic partnership with Inseego. The Inseego 5G Wavemaker FX3110 indoor cellular router delivers reliable, high-speed internet to homes, and supports up to 64 connected devices.

2. Looser appointed to National Defense Industrial Association Board

The Cirlot Agency’s founder and CEO, Liza Cirlot Looser, has been appointed to the National Defense Industrial Association’s (NDIA) Washington, D.C. Chapter Board of Directors for 2025. 

According to the announcement, the NDIA, a non-partisan, non-profit association, serves as the premier platform for dialogue among government, military, industry, and academia to address critical national security issues. Founded through the merger of the American Defense Preparedness Association and the National Security Industrial Association, NDIA boasts over a century of history in fostering collaboration and solutions to support the defense needs of the nation.

NDIA represents 1,800 corporate and 66,700 individual members, uniting diverse expertise to address national security challenges.