Business News for the Mississippi Delta

New Book Celebrates First 100 Years of UM Business School

By Stella Connell The University of Mississippi School of Business Administration concludes its series of events celebrating the school’s centennial with a book launch Friday (Nov. 10) at Oxford’s Off Square Books. The 5 p.m. event will feature signings and a video commemorating “100 Years of Ole Miss Business.” It is free and open to […]

Billions of dollars to be passed down

Wealth transfer will be significant in the Delta over the next fifty year By Susan Montgomery Within then next 10 to 50 years, wealth from the baby boomer generation will be inherited by their children or other beneficiaries. How much will that be? Nationwide, about $30 trillion, researchers say. In Mississippi, the amount is expected […]

Catfish Industry – A Rise in Delta Aquaculture

By Mark Stowers The catfish are biting. The industry that began in 1959 in Yazoo County has seen its share of peaks and valleys in its economic pond. In its heyday of the 1970s there were more than 100,000 acres of catfish ponds scattered across three states. But with the high cost of feed and […]

Grenada: Right on the Verge of Greatness

Grenada has the best of both worlds. It’s firmly invested in its historic downtown and natural resources. But the city also welcomes new opportunities: a local television station, strong economic development and improvements to transportation infrastructure. Grenada makes it all work together, with impressive results. A $7.54 million grant made possible by Senators Thad Cochran […]

Steve Azar, the Delta Man

Singer\songwriter Steve Azar promotes stars as Music & Culture Ambassador of Mississippi by Becky Gillette Steve Azar grew up the Mississippi Delta, and some of his earliest musical experiences were listening to musicians playing behind Azar’s dad’s liquor store in Greenville which, by the way, was the first legal liquor store in the state. Azar […]

Kitchings Named Vice President of Member Involvement at MEC

The Mississippi Economic Council recently named Beth Kitchings as Vice President of Member Involvement. As Vice President of Member Involvement, Kitchings leads a team responsible for growing, engaging and retaining the membership base of the state’s chamber of commerce. She comes to MEC with more than 25 years of sales, marketing, and communications experience with […]

Cannon Has Built A Car Empire

By Becky Gillette   Michael Joe Cannon started working at the age of eight bagging up peanuts and selling them on Saturdays. Then he ran a snowball stand and later a pool hall. At the age of 14, he started helping his father at a Calhoun City used car lot housed in a 12’ x […]

Yazoo City

Full of mystery, beauty and economic growth By Angela Rogalski Photos by Dawn Rosenberg Davis From the home county of Bentonia bluesman, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and his Blue Front Café, which is the oldest surviving juke joint in Mississippi, to American writer, Willie Morris, whose memoir “My Dog Skip,” a story about a boy and […]

Southern Bancorp Helping People Climb Economic Security Ladder

Unique banking operation plays large role in the Delta By Becky Gillette Southern Bancorp is a different kind of bank. It’s a bank on a mission. That mission is to help people in some of the most economically depressed areas of the country not only have access to financing, but educational opportunities to learn how […]

Transportation Industry Challenges

Driver Shortage, Infrastructure Shortcomings and Regulations By Mark H. Stowers Products, commodities, raw and finished goods have to get from one place to another whether by highway, the river or sometimes train. Across the Delta trucking companies and other transportation providers are feeling the challenge of finding qualified and capable drivers, finding their way through […]