COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- The city of Columbus celebrated its 39th annual 7th Avenue Heritage Festival. Historically, 7th Avenue was considered the cornerstone for African American businesses in Columbus. It was also the birthplace of the Queen City Hotel, which housed artists like B.B. King, Duke Ellington, and more when they traveled through the area. Thursday, the festival recognizes one of…
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Stores and businesses across Mississippi and the United States are once again dealing with a shortage of products on their shelves and in their warehouses thanks to the pandemic. The root cause is the disruption of supply chains all over the globe. “They’re telling us they expect this to last through next year, through 2022,” says…
COLUMBUS, Mississippi (WCBI) – SUMMARY: We received widespread showers the first half today, but rain has ended this evening across the region. We will remain dry tomorrow and Saturday before rain returns Sunday afternoon. TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy and muggy overnight. Low temperatures will reach the middle 60s. Chance of rain: 10%. FRIDAY: Overcast early with patchy AM fog then becoming…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus police continue to search for a gunman after Wednesday night shooting. A juvenile was hit by the gunfire. Police Chief Fred Shelton says that girl was treated and released from the hospital. He declined to give her age. When officers arrived at the shooting on 18th Street North, they found out the victim was driven…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville went to the dogs today! Not the football team but an actual K9 ready to serve. Mayor Lynn Spruill swore in the Starkville police department’s newest officer, Kojack. He was joined by MSU’s mascot bully, along with K9 officers from the MSU police department and Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office. Pups from across town were invited…
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – School districts in Mississippi will not receive a letter grade this year for state test results. It’s unclear how or if this will impact schools still under the state’s control, such as the Noxubee County School District. The Mississippi Department of Education is making the scores in each district public. Noxubee Schools have been under…
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Three teachers received an A plus for our essay contest and today they received their prize. A 500 dollar check to decorate their classroom. We paid a visit to Delois Mickens, a teacher at Noxubee County High school. Mickens appreciated the voters who supported her and talked about what she plans to do with the…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Julie Heintz of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is one of the winners in the WCBI Back to School Essay Contest. Today, she received a check for 500 dollars from Monroe County Farm Bureau. Teachers were challenged to write an essay about how they would spend the money in their classrooms. Heintz’s plans…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A shooting on Columbus’ Northside sends a child to the hospital. Columbus Police and Emergency crews were called to a reported shooting on 18th Street, near Sim Scott Park around 7:30 Wednesday Night. When they got to the scene, they were told the victim, a child had been taken to the hospital in a personal vehicle….
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Wednesday was the day that many tenants of the Catherine Street apartment complex in Starkville have been dreading. For more than a month, residents, many with lower incomes, children and in some cases, disabilities, have faced mass eviction after new owner Ferretti Property Services chose not to renew their leases. “They knew the day was coming,”…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)-Some grocery stores in the Golden Triangle still haven’t been getting their products in; at the same rate as before the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not just the pandemic; severe weather and labor shortages have all played a part in not getting items on store shelves. Empty shelves in a grocery store are bad news for customers and for…
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Organizers of the largest consignment sale in Northeast Mississippi are expecting big crowds for the three-day event. The “New 2 U’ Kids Sale is taking place in Building Five of the Tupelo Furniture Market. Consigners have brought more than one hundred thousand items to sell at the three-day event. Thousands are expected each day at the…
ITAWAMBA COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – J. R. Hawkins is excited to show off his future home at Itawamba Crossroads Ranch. Hawkins will move into one of five duplexes that were recently built on the property. The idea for the assisted living spaces for high functioning special needs adults has been a dream of Renea Bennett, ever since her son, Marcus, suffered…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – If you’re driving to Starkville and plan on going to the Cotton District, you soon may have to pay to stay. At its most recent meeting, the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted to consider proposals for paid parking in certain spots in the District and the Midtown area. So far, only one proposal has been submitted….
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Leigh Mall in Columbus is preparing for a grand opening nearly 50 years in the making. No, it’s not a new store. It’s a glimpse at the past. Just over 49 years ago, in August of 1972, Sears opened its doors as the first store in Leigh Mall. At the Grand Opening ceremony, store managers invited…
PITTSBORO, MISS. (WCBI) – More than three hundred juniors and seniors in Calhoun County schools were able to talk with professionals from various careers during a field trip. The Calhoun County Career and Technical Center hosted the high school college and career fair. Representatives from area companies, industries, colleges, military, and law enforcement were set up to talk to students…
JACKSON, MISS. (WCBI) – Mississippi’s governor says a special session dealing with medical marijuana could be finalized in a few days. Negotiators in the House and Senate have agreed to a draft bill for a medical marijuana program. That program would replace one approved by voters last November but canceled by the state Supreme Court. Governor Reeves says he wants to…
EUPORA, Miss. (WCBI) – On September 21, five suspects were arrested in connection with a rash of car burglaries spanning across Webster and Grenada counties, as well as the city of Eupora. On September 18th, Webster County Sheriff David Gore says three guns and some other items were stolen during five burglaries on the north end of Martin Luther King…
JACKSON, MISS. (WCBI) – A Northeast Mississippi florist will get to decorate the Governor’s Mansion for Christmas. Allison Siddall and Hannah Krapac Wamsley had seen photos of the rooms in the Governor’s Mansion, but being there in person gave them a better idea of how they will decorate each room. Siddall is the owner of the Starkville-based “State Floral,” which was…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- People who live in Lowndes County say local roads need some improvements. Those repairs are expected to be underway soon as the county was approved for a $5 million loan. The city of Columbus and Lowndes County receive sizeable amounts of money twice a year through the Mississippi Department of Revenue, but in addition to that,…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s a startling statistic for a Representative Democracy, but according to the 2020 Census, one out of every 4 people that is eligible to vote isn’t registered. Some students at Mississippi State University were out today trying to improve those numbers. Today is National Voter Registration Day. Every year people miss deadlines or simply don’t know…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The founders of a Golden Triangle start-up are looking at a bright future. Columbus native Hagan Walker and his business partner Anna Barker briefed a hometown crowd on the growth of their Starkville-based business Glo. Since its founding as a project for a class at Mississippi State, Glo has experienced steady growth, moving from a business…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Having a credit history allows us to make investments or big purchases when we don’t have the money to buy. When you’re making payments on time and keeping your balance low, your score increases which opens up opportunities to be approved for a loan and pay less money in the long run with lower interest rates. You…