Feature & Special Section Archives

Rolling Fork Tornado Devastation Brings Massive Government and Private Help By Becky Gillette The images of Rolling Fork before and after the EF4 tornado that

Leflore County Farm Still Contaminated Eight Years After Event  By Becky Gillette The February Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, released hundreds of

Oversees Nuclear Operations for Three States By Jack Criss Kimberly Cook-Nelson was named Executive Vice President of Nuclear Operations and Chief Nuclear Officer of Entergy

Keeping Ponds and Waterways Free of Unwanted Debris By Catherine Kirk As the weather warms with the approaching spring and summer months, many people may

Access to High Speed Internet Vital to Rural Communities By Becky Gillette High-speed Internet services including broadband are vital today for personal use, education, healthcare

Delta State Program Provides Resources to Women of Color By Becky Gillette When the Women Minority Business Development Center (WMBDC) was launched at Delta State

Bobby Freeman Named Director By Jack Criss Director Bobby Freeman was selected as director of the Mississippi Cyber Unit within the Mississippi Office of Homeland

Industry Leaders Coming to Cleveland April 11–14 By Robert McFarland, Jr. An event that has been years in the making will finally take place in

By Delbert Hosemann Some politicos say the agenda during an election year is always pared down to bare necessities. Not this year. From transportation to

Providing Compassionate Care and Treatment By Amile Wilson Quietly nestled on sixty-five acres, Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center in Oxford has turned one family’s struggle into

Delta Native Working to Make a Difference in Rural Healthcare  Dodie McElmurray, RN, MSN/ MBA, grew up in rural Belzoni, got a nursing degree from

University Supports Students on Multiple Career Paths  By Becky Gillette The eighth president of Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Dr. Jerryl Briggs, Sr.,

Longtime Company Opens Delta Office By Jack Criss  Cook Coggin Engineers, Inc., a well-respected professional firm with a long, firmly-established base in Northeast Mississippi, has

Making Real Estate Dreams Come True By Mark H. Stowers Ajournalist,  animal rescuer and  real estate specialist all rolled up into one. That’s Gaila Oliver.

Second Generation of Service By mark h. stowers The Mortimer family were once in the agricultural business, farming catfish, cotton, and soybeans. But in the

Interim President is DSU Through and Through By Jack Criss •  Photography by Campbell Saia Dr. E. E. “Butch” Caston began serving as the interim

Legislation Opposed by All Senate Republicans By Becky Gillette Agriculture is taking a huge hit from drought, extreme heat, flooding and other impacts that scientists

Charting A Thriving New Course By Jack Criss •  Photography by Kevin Bain/University of Mississippi Digital Imaging Services Three years into his tenure, University of

A True new business opens in Clarksdale By Jack Criss Dynamic Washing Solutions, started by entrepreneur Ford True, just recently began operations in True’s hometown

40 Years of Electrical Knowledge and Skill By Angela Rogalski For forty years, Indianola Electric Company has been ensuring that customers in the Delta have

Harvest Well Underway and Looks Promising By mark h. stowers Delta row crop farmers have had their usual battles with mother nature, insects and the

Taking the Hospitality Industry to Another Level By Jack Criss • Photography By Holly Tharp Luke Chamblee has become somewhat of a hotel magnate, with

Creating Those Perfect Wedding and Family Memories By Angela Rogalski Since she was a child, Elizabeth Skelton has always loved taking pictures. However, she became

Clarksdale Organization Provides for Those in Need  By Jack Criss • Photos courtesy of The Fuller Center Gramm Phillips, Affiliate/Covenant Partner Coordinator for the Clarksdale

Ashley Manning Finds Tasty Business Niche By Jack Criss Manning’s Munchies, a food truck in Oxford, is the brainchild of twenty-one-year old Ole Miss student,

By Mark H. Stowers  Born, raised and educated in Alabama, Charles Finkley Jr. has made a home in North Mississippi helping bring jobs and opportunity

Small bank making a big difference By Jack Criss Andy Anderson has been with the Bank of Anguilla since 1983. He is now the CEO

EPA Decision Halts Construction of Pumps By Becky Gillette There was light at the end of the tunnel. Now it is dark again. That is

President of BankPlus in Yazoo City What was your first job? I farmed with my father for three years after graduating from Mississippi State University.

By Mark H. Stowers   It’s said that some folks sing the praises of the Delta, but Steve Azar has literally done this his entire

Successful Cotton Marketing Cooperative for a Century By Becky Gillette Only one half of one percent of American companies survive to celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Delta developer takes role in Natchez project By Jack Criss Yazoo City businessman and developer, Hayes Dent, is part of a developing team–one of whom

Lack of Labor Greatest Concern for Catfish Growers By Becky Gillette Some people could be under the impression that cheap imports of fish that might

Martha Scott Poindexter to be U.S. Dairy Council COO By Jack Criss Having just served as Staff Director for U.S. Arkansas Senator John Boozman, Ranking

By Austin Barbour All of us are biased about “our generation” and “our childhood”, and candidly, I’m no different. From the time I was 10

By Aimee Robinette To say Franklin Webster is an interesting transplant/native son would be an understatement.  Born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, Webster, the president and

By Mark H. Stowers Growing up on a family farm in Sunflower County, Katie Tackett Mills never wandered too far from the Delta dirt.  A

Will Bradham is Forging Ahead in Uncertain Times  By Angela Rogalski Creating and operating businesses, both new and established, requires hard work and dedication, not

By Jack Criss Mississippi U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith recently announced a $71.46 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant for the Mississippi

By Charlotte Buchanan   “Take me to Ruleville,” an advertising slogan for North Sunflower Medical Center has become one of the best known and often

By MARK H. STOWERS Steel needs in and around the Greenville area have been met by Nichols Steel for the past two decades. The business

By Angela Rogalski Tradition. Beauty. Style. Lina’s Interiors, located at 109 E. 3rd St. in downtown Leland Miss., offers antiques, home décor and unique gifts

By Angela Rogalski For over thirty years Taylor Power Systems has established a solid reputation as a premier, Mississippi-made, generator manufacturer. Located in Clinton, Mississippi,

By Angela Rogalski A21-acre site that was the former Mississippi School for the Blind in Jackson is now an amenity-rich community destination representing the best

By Mark H. Stowers Trucks need to be moving from point A to point B at the least amount of cost in the shortest period

By Angela Rogalski • Photography by Timothy Ivy It’s quite amazing that a small Delta business could make it 20 years, but 129? Flint and

University of Mississippi alumna Amy Lyles Wilson is working to raise $100,000 to rename the Magazine Innovation Center at the Meek School of Journalism and

Amanda Jones, Director of Family and Youth Opportunities, is coordinating a movement in Clarksdale to renovate the old Myrtle Hall School Library and turn it

By MARK H. STOWERS Farm Bureau has always held farmers and ranchers in high esteem and work to insure their futures in the field and

Part of U.S. 82 in Leflore County is being renamed in honor of the fifteen Marines and one Navy Corpsman who died on July 10,

By Aimee Robinette • Photo by Timothy Ivy For decades, there have been discussions throughout the industry that newspapers are on the verge of extinction.

Congratulations on the Delta Business Journal’s celebration of its 20th anniversary. This milestone represents a lot of hard work by you and your team. Over

By MARK H. STOWERS Though many have been bypassed others have withered to a small portion of their former stature, Delta small towns once thrived

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

By Christina Steube Students from Madison S. Palmer High School in Marks got a hands-on learning experience in a college atmosphere recently when they visited

By MARK H. STOWERS The building of America has waxed and waned under assorted presidents. In 1927, Herbert Hoover—a civil engineer by trade—actually picked up

Future Looks Dim for Delta Plant By Becky Gillette The GreenTech Automotive (GTA) facility that has received about $4.9 million in state incentives has failed

New President, Mississippi Association of Realtors Hales from Cleveland By Becky Gillette T he new president of the Mississippi Association of Realtors® is David Griffith,

Healthcare in the Delta   An overview of 2016     By Angela Rogalski     W  ith the New Year’s arrival and the challenges

Spreading good vibes, one pie at a time     By Amile Wilson     Though not from the Delta, Mississippi restaurateur Chris Sartin spent

Planning for the new year     By Angela Rogalski     The New Year is upon us and with that comes a new dialogue

Plans for growth on the horizon By Greta Sharp Photography by Roy Meeks   “In the next five years, you won’t know this city,” pledges

Slater’s Jigs, same service, but with a new name By Mark H. Stowers For decades, folks around the Delta knew where to buy a jig

Welding together education at the Capps Center By Mark H. Stowers Photography by Roy Meeks   As a farm boy following his father, Todd Donald

Agents work through regulations and technology to keep clients protected and happy By Mark H. Stowers   The need for insurance for business and home

Two new hotel developments will bring luxury and fun to Cleveland By Angela Rogalski Photography by Holly Tharp Two new destination hotels will be opening

University boasts four percent increase Special to Delta Business Journal Photography by Rory Doyle The unofficial numbers, as of Sept. 8, were 2,763 undergraduate students

On a mission to promote blues music and culture By Randall Haley I n 1997, St. Louis native Jeff Konkel walked into a Mississippi juke

Entity is honored with Governor’s Award The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi was recently honored at the state capitol with the Governor’s Award for its

Most producers well-positioned to withstand decline in commodity prices By Becky Gillette •Photography by Greg Campbell A few years ago, ag was seeing glory days

North Mississippi enterprise centers help turn business dreams into success stories By Becky Gillette Just like baby chicks, sometimes entrepreneurs just need a little incubating.

A family owned and operated Clarksdale business By Randall Haley Photography by Randall Haley In 1973, Harold Haley set out to open his own insurance

Clear skies predicted with new carrier approved to serve airport in Greenville By Becky Gillette It has been a rocky road for the Mid-Delta Regional

Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Reimagining High School Leadership with Programs in Mississippi Schools By Angela Rogalski Photography by RJ Fitzpatrick Lance Reed is the owner/operator of