Wendy Swart was a cosmetologist in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years. Dana Presley cut hair in Florida for more than a decade. Dawn Roy was a teacher in Arkansas. 

This Labor Day, which is Monday, we celebrate America’s working men and women, many of whom are going the extra mile during this COVID-19 pandemic.

During its open meeting on Monday, Chairman Dane Maxwell and fellow Public Service Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a slight rate decrease for Mississippi Power customers. It’s the third for Mississippi Power customers since Maxwell took office in January. 

President Donald Trump designated 11 counties as as primary natural disaster area, so producers in Jones, Wayne, Smith, Simpson, Amite, Claiborne, Covington, George, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence and Pike counties who suffered losses caused by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and fl…

The coronavirus has impacted the way we lead our daily lives, and that includes how we eat. With many restaurants, hotels and schools closed, the food supply chain has had to adapt in order to bring to market the food we need to live. 

CHOCTAW — The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians recently received a $15,000 grant from First Nations Development Institute as part of the Building Digital Technology Capacity in Native American Communities Project and was made possible through generous support from Comcast Communications T…

The Mississippi 30 Day Fund announced a new partnership with Cooperative Energy by giving $30,000 to the fund. The donation will go directly toward serving Mississippi’s small businesses suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

TEC is announcing a collaborative agreement with Southern Pine Electric to provide Fast Fiber Internet to many of Mississippi’s unserved or underserved areas. With the endeavor, TEC and Southern Pine will cooperate to expand the availability of fiber internet, voice and security solutions to…

On Friday, Dixie Electric Power Association, along with 14 other electric cooperatives in Mississippi, submitted a grant application to the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff for a high-speed internet pilot project. 

Three weeks ago, we — along with some of Mississippi’s top philanthropic, business, and community leaders from across the state and four of our former governors — announced a nonprofit effort to help small businesses struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Applications are now being accepted for Walmart’s seventh annual “Open Call” for U.S.-manufactured products, company officials announced. 

 The Mississippi Public Service Commission voted to establish the “Connect Mississippi Committee” at its monthly docket meeting on Tuesday. 

Rural broadband expansion and K-12 distance-learning initiatives will receive almost a fourth of the Coronavirus Relief Fund, under a package appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature. Mississippi received $1.25 billion in unallocated federal aid to soften the pandemic’s health and economi…

The Mississippi State Treasury has returned $7 million in unclaimed property since Treasurer David McRae took office in January, he announced Tuesday. That amount includes $1.7 million that was distributed during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Dixie Electric is getting more than $44 million as part of a $1.6 billion investment by the United States Department of Agriculture to build or improve rural electric infrastructure in 21 states, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced.

The Mississippi Transportation Commission has awarded emergency contracts for tornado debris removal along state highways and for maintenance projects across the Southern District.

Residents urged to report poor cellphone, internet service

A local eatery that has been in Laurel for more than 35 years is closing as a result of COVID-19, the owner announced on Facebook.

Face masks, temperature-checks, social-distancing among changes

The Mississippi Main Street Association has developed the Opening Doors video library as a resource for small businesses in Mississippi that are coping with the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

C Spire will continue to offer double the high-speed data — up to an extra 25GB per month — free to eligible postpaid and prepaid wireless smartphone customers through Sept. 30 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division will host a drive-in hiring event for job seekers from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday on Singing River Island.

Telesat has joined a group of tech firms led by Mississippi-based C Spire working to bridge the “digital divide” and help solve the rural broadband access and adoption problem. 

Suez, which services the City of Laurel, is alerting businesses and homes that may have been closed for a month or more due to COVID-19 that a crucial part of reopening will be the flushing of their water pipes to ensure health and safety. According to the Environmental Science, Policy and R…

The Department of Employment Security has enough money in the immediate future to pay benefits owed to residents across the state and pay for additional staff to handle claims, Executive Director Jackie Turner reported to the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee on Thursday. 

C Spire is extending a waiver on late fees for consumer and business wireless customers through June 30 as part of its support of the FCC’s “Keep America Connected” program. The company will not terminate service or impose late fees for wireless customers who notify the company of an inabili…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Tuesday identified U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that could help cattle producers, poultry growers, and private landowners who experienced losses from recent historic tornadoes and severe storms in Mississippi.

Houston will be the new destination for twice-daily flights from Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport starting on July 1 and tickets will go on sale through United Airlines starting today (Saturday) at united.com.

For Mississippi residents who have put off taking care of routine healthcare needs for fear of exposure to COVID-19, a new initiative launched by one of the nation’s largest urgent care providers may provide a solution.

C Spire is providing eligible smartphone unlimited plans with an extra 25GB of high-speed data free and doubling the high-speed data up to 50GB for customers on eligible prepaid plans through June 1 in response to the COVID-19 crisis, it was announced Sunday.