Mississippi’s Wednesday morning news for Oct. 28, 2026 leads with a statewide briefing on behavioral-health grants, I-55 plans and Halloween rain, a U.S. Senate push in Mississippi, and exhibition basketball wins for Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Here is the morning roundup from across the Mississippi News Group network.
Top Stories
Statewide briefing: $14.6M behavioral-health grants, I-55 plans and Halloween rain. Mississippi News Group’s Tuesday evening briefing covers Mississippi State’s approximately $14.6 million in behavioral-health grants, MDOT’s Oct. 27 bidding list including I-55 work, and a rising Halloween rain chance alongside continued fire danger. It also notes a Macon sawmill expansion, flu-vaccination clinic limits, a Starkville student reading program, and upcoming symphony and stargazing events. Read the statewide briefing.
Buttigieg calls for Mississippi to elect Scott Colom to the U.S. Senate. At a Biloxi rally, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged Mississippi voters to elect Democratic Senate nominee Scott Colom, arguing a Mississippi win would send national shockwaves. Colom emphasized health care, a higher federal minimum wage, and Gulf Coast transit, while criticizing incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Read the report.
Starkville’s district consolidation called the state’s most successful — county residents feel differently. A Wednesday morning report contrasts state leaders’ praise for the 2015 Starkville–Oktibbeha school consolidation with county residents’ sense of loss after county schools closed and were put to other uses. It also describes educational gains such as the Partnership Middle School, and concludes future consolidations should be led by local people and parents. Read the report.
Around the State
Lafayette County: Highway 7 reopens, Halloween traffic tips issued. The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office reported Highway 7 south at Highway 328 shut down early Wednesday with southbound traffic diverted to Highway 328, then said the roadway was back open. In a separate Traffic Tip Tuesday post, the office urged drivers to slow down between 5 and 9 p.m. while children trick-or-treat, watch for children darting from between parked cars, and put phones down. Read the reopening report and the Halloween safety tips.
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics major talks drug dangers with Germantown High students. Major Clay McCombs spoke with students at Germantown High School about narcotics, decision-making, and the effects of drugs on individuals and communities, according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Read the report.
Sports
Ole Miss pulls away from UAB, 92-78, in its final exhibition. Six Rebels scored in double figures, led by Budd Clark’s 18 points and seven assists, as Ole Miss erased a halftime deficit and pulled away in the second half. Ole Miss opens the regular season against Alcorn State at SJB Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Central. Read the Ole Miss report.
Southern Miss women cruise past East Texas Baptist, 89-45. Kennedy Langham scored 16 points and made all four of her 3-point attempts as the Golden Eagles built a 29-16 first-quarter lead and held East Texas Baptist scoreless for the first seven and a half minutes of the second quarter. Southern Miss hosts Mississippi Christian at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at Reed Green Coliseum for Education Day. Read the Southern Miss report.
Gold takes a 2-1 Fall World Series lead; Southern Miss plans $25 million Pete Taylor Park renovation. Drey Barrett’s three-run homer fueled a four-run first inning as Gold beat Black 7-6 in Game 3 at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field, with Game 4 listed for Friday at 5 p.m. and free admission. Separately, Southern Miss plans to raise about $25 million in private and corporate funding to renovate and expand the 42-year-old Pete Taylor baseball park, including all chairback seating, eight additional luxury suites, and an indoor pitching laboratory and hitting facility, while aiming to preserve the ballpark’s traditional character. Read the Fall World Series report and the ballpark renovation plan.
This morning edition covers stories published across the Mississippi News Group network since the evening edition of Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026.
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
