Moving from Winona Christian to Madison Ridgeland Academy in the ninth grade, John White’s continued dream to be a quarterback has risen to the next level – Division I competition at the University of Southern Mississippi. Now in his first semester in Hattiesburg the record-setting senior MRA quarterback is learning a new campus, making new friends and tackling a new playbook. more

Adrianne Penny paints houses. The Hazlehurst native has moved a bit with her Presbyterian Minister husband, Robert, and she’s taken her paintbrush and watercolor tools with her on each stop. With a lifelong love of art, she’s made a lifetime of putting her artistic paintbrush to work and enjoying every stroke.  more

Gregg Popovich has 1,399 (and counting) NBA wins, Mike Krzyzewski retired with 1,202 NCAA Division 1 wins. Retired Arkansas High School Coach John Hutchcraft hung up his coaching whistle with 2,016 total wins. But Madison Ridgeland Academy’s Richard Duease isn’t far behind at 1,819 wins (12/26/23) – 592 of those coming as a girls Head Coach. MRA’s Coach Duease just keep winning and adding to a total they may never be attained by another coach. But “Rat” just keeps producing solid teams, great players and more notches in that Hall of Fame Coaching belt that includes the MRA Hall of Fame and the MAIS Hall of Fame. This coming August, Duease will join the 2024 Class for the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame that includes Eli Manning and the late famed broadcaster Red Barber.  more

Dance and cheer teams are nothing new. The crisp, in sync performances to mashed up top hit music with pom poms and flashy outfits have energized schools and fan bases for decades. But there’s one dance team that actually has a mission – the Mississippi Angels. The dozen plus girls and coaches came together when on a whim, Carissa Gardner had a humorous “what if” conversation with Madison Alderwoman Sandra Strain earlier this year.  more

Madison County is without question one of the most desirable places to work and live in Central Mississippi. With that growing popularity has come an overwhelming amount of suburban sprawl. The rural serenity once a hallmark of Madison County is rapidly disappearing. That said, an increasing number of people are gravitating to the last small town in Madison County, the picturesque historic town of Flora.  more

The Appalachian Trail is a winding, mountainous, continual wild path that stretches from Georgia to Maine and is comprised of 2,200 miles. Well, 2,198.4 miles to be exact. On February 24, 2023, Madison resident, Tommy Lister began this Bucket List journey. On Saturday, July 16 he finished the grueling task. For a normal, healthy, able bodied soul, the journey is a dream that only 20,000 plus have hiked the entire trail since its creation in the 1930s. Lister wasn’t even supposed to be on the trail, much less hiking it, per his doctor.  more

The Switcher: Jim Herring and Two-Party Politics shares the unique perspective on a transitional time in Mississippi politics by the only former member of the Mississippi Democratic Party State Executive Committee to later serve as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. The author, Jim Herring of Canton, takes the reader through his political activity as a Democrat from the mid-1950s up into his switch to the GOP during the first term of President Ronald Reagan, and then provides a behind the scenes look at his work as state Republican Chairman from 2001 to 2008. Part family history, part memoir, part political recollection; the text benefits from the work of Joseph L. Maxwell, III whose previous research and writing in books by Republican leaders Wirt Yerger, Billy Mounger and Charles Pickering provides context for the personalities and history in the book. more

A Ridgeland-based attorney, Madison County Native and amateur sleuth, along with a small team of fellow internet investigators, has developed a novel suspect in a well-known case that has left the Federal Bureau of Investigation scratching their heads for the past fifty years. more

What began as an original family recipe has become a beloved sauce that can be found in stores everywhere, and Keeper of the Sauce David Wilson said it all stems back to his uncle’s masterpieces in the kitchen.   more

Just as spring flowers bloom every year, Robert Pickenpaugh of Pickenpaugh Pottery makes his signature clay flowers in time for the season but this year be a particularly special run. more

Within months of opening her popular new Flowood bakery in November 2021, Amy McNeill quickly realized there was a very sweet opportunity just waiting for her to share her talents in Madison County, as well. more

As the longest-serving executive director of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP), Dr. Sam Polles and his team of 600 to 1,000 dedicated people (including seasonal workers) in all 82 counties in Mississippi have worked tirelessly to bring residents the best outdoor programs and facilities available anywhere.  more

Anu Amen-Ra has perfected the art of hand-rolling fine cigars, including nearly half a decade of trips to Cuba and working in the famous Trinidad factory in Havana, and turned it into a luxury service. more

During a recent unseasonably warm afternoon, I decided to explore the backroads surrounding the thriving little town of Flora in Madison County. These trips are always a success that finds me weighed down with farm fresh eggs and sweet raw honey from roadside stands and farms throughout the area. The bonus on this particular outing was a chance meeting with Tim Hutson, a retired Mississippi attorney and avid sportsman who has reinvented himself as a local artisan of considerable note and talent. more

Chad Mars has been painting seriously for a decade, but he doesn’t use a brush. Instead, he finds his artistic tools at places like Lowe’s. His talents are “organizing the accidents into something that makes sense,” he says. more

After five decades in the music industry, veteran industry exec J.W. Williams has relocated from Nashville to Madison, a move he says is a “natural fit” because of the state’s significance in everything from the Blues to country music.  more

Most looked at the derelict 100-year-old structure for sale in Ridgeland’s Old Town Railroad District and saw a costly remodeling or even a demolition. more

Madison native Hunter Norris has gone from spending his fall hunting seasons wandering around the woods with a gun and a camera to a career documenting the tracking, observing and bagging of wildlife in the mountains of Mexico and big elk in the American heartland. more

Big Red has been in the Tinsley family for as long as any of the Tinsleys can remember. more

There is something about the way the words “Friday night” roll off the tongue that evokes a little excitement in most people. For many, it signals the end of the workweek and an excuse to unwind.  more