Good evening, Mississippi. A nearly $13 million expansion is now underway at the Yellow Creek Port near Iuka, promising bigger barges and heavier freight for Tishomingo County — while drought tightens its grip across northeast Mississippi. Plus: a Sunday soccer setback for Ole Miss in Oxford, a SWAC volleyball win for Jackson State, and road closures to know about in Lafayette County and downtown Tupelo. Here is your Sunday evening roundup.
Top Stories
$13 Million Yellow Creek Port Expansion Underway in Tishomingo County
Construction is now underway on the nearly $13 million Yellow Creek Port expansion near Iuka, adding a longer dock, four new mooring cells, rail upgrades and a 700-ton material handling crane. Most of the money comes from the Appalachian Regional Commission — $9 million from its ARISE program — with $2.5 million from the Mississippi State Multimodal Infrastructure Fund and $1,357,143 from the Yellow Creek State Port Authority. Gov. Tate Reeves marked the groundbreaking earlier this month, calling the project a vital step in keeping Mississippi competitive in the global marketplace. A completion date has not been announced. Read the full story at Alcorn News MS.
Alcorn County Drought Turns Severe as Burn Bans Ring the Area
Dry weather has pushed the Alcorn County drought into the severe category for the first time this season, with about 86 percent of the county in severe drought on the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. As of the Mississippi Forestry Commission’s latest list, 16 Mississippi counties are under burn bans, including Tippah, Itawamba, Lee, Benton and Monroe. No rain is mentioned in the Corinth forecast through Tuesday, and residents are urged to use extra caution with any outdoor fire. Read the full story at Alcorn News MS.
Regional
Highway 328 Closed at CR 387 for Medical Helicopter Landing
Highway 328 at County Road 387 was temporarily closed for a medical helicopter landing, according to a notice from the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, which advised motorists to use an alternate route while the closure was in place. Read the full story at Oxford MS News.
Downtown Tupelo: Commerce Street Closed Monday for Demolition
Commerce Street in downtown Tupelo will be closed to through traffic between East Main and East Jefferson streets starting at approximately 6:30 a.m. Monday, September 28, for a building demolition project, the City of Tupelo Public Works Department announced. Motorists should avoid the area and seek alternate routes until the work is complete. Read the full story at Tupelo News.
Booneville Native Sorrell-Howard Enters MSU M-Club Hall of Fame
Booneville native Kunshinge Sorrell-Howard was inducted into the Mississippi State M-Club Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 25, at the annual gala in Starkville. She starred at Booneville High School and Northeast Mississippi Community College before two record-setting seasons with the Bulldogs, averaging 20.8 points per game — still the second-best career scoring average in program history. She now works with students at Northeast on the college’s Success Coaching team. Read the full story at Alcorn News MS.
Sports
Texas Women’s Soccer Beats Ole Miss 2-0 in Oxford
Texas women’s soccer defeated Ole Miss 2-0 Sunday at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. The Longhorns opened the scoring just 70 seconds in through Ashlyn Anderson and doubled the lead at the 61:34 mark via Ava McDonald. The Rebels (7-5-0, 0-4-0 SEC) return to the road Friday to face Alabama at 7 p.m. CT. Read the full story at Mississippi Sports Group.
Jackson State Volleyball Beats Texas Southern 3-1 in SWAC Play
Jackson State University volleyball defeated Texas Southern 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, improving to 6-9 overall and 2-0 in SWAC play. Hope Briggs led the Tigers with 14 kills, and Giannelle Asomani recorded a match-high 26 digs. The Tigers travel to Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match. Read the full story at Mississippi Sports Group.
That’s your Mississippi News Report for Sunday, September 27. Catch the morning edition tomorrow at 7 a.m.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
