Just before Biden left office in January 2025, he honored Fannie Lou Hamer, who died in 1977, with a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom. That medal now sits in a glass display case at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Hamer’s family donated the medal to the museum last October.

Mississippi is one step closer to having internet access in “every area of the state that still lacks access to high-speed internet” after the federal government approved the state’s broadband expansion plan, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday.

Mississippi may soon criminalize illegal immigration under State law and allow the Mississippi Department of Public Service to collect identifying information about any undocumented immigrants in the state.

Medicaid expansion isn't going to happen in Mississippi this year because of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican, told me last week.

Well, my Starkville Public Library card expired. We had a good five year run, even after I stopped living there 😅 I guess it’s time to finally get a Brandon Public Library card!

Thanks for the blue check, @bsky.app! Please verify my Mississippi Free Press colleagues too: @donnerkay.bsky.social @trjackson.bsky.social @kimberlygriffin.bsky.social @heatherharrison.bsky.social @nickjudin.bsky.social @illanireland11.bsky.social

The governor’s office says that the sudden postponement came as he sought to focus on recovery efforts in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern. The postponement comes on the same day Reeves publicly blasted GOP Senate leaders for killing a "school choice" bill.

Minutes before Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves was set to give his annual State of the State speech in the House chamber this evening, Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, announced that the governor had abruptly decided to postpone the speech "indefinitely." The chamber broke out into whoops and cheers.

Mississippi families will soon be able to enroll their children in private schools or homeschool programs, including those with religious curricula, using federal tax dollars after Gov. Tate Reeves opted Mississippi into the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

“America’s history was made in Jackson, whether we’re talking about the Freedom Riders, Medgar Evers, those families, the students at Tougaloo College,” Kamala Harris said at her book tour event at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday.

Public Mississippi tax dollars could soon fund tuition for more students attending private schools through school vouchers as part of a massive education package the Mississippi House narrowly passed yesterday afternoon.

I was 10 feet away from Kamala Harris tonight at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. Many more high quality photos to come. Enjoy these iPhone snapshots for now. Best job in the world @mississippifreepress.org

Thousands more Mississippi students could soon have access to publicly funded vouchers to pay for them to attend private K-12 schools if Mississippi House Speaker Jason White gets his way this legislative session.

I don’t ever want to talk to another automated phone system again. I want to speak to a real person, not a stupid computer that can’t answer my questions.

I'm honored to be featured in @ashtonpittman.bsky.social's latest editor's note. Adding "cheerily feisty reporter" to my resume. I already updated my bio on here 😂

Quick tip: when a media outlet isn’t invited to a press gaggle, factcheck to see if same thing happened to other outlets—and don’t assume it was an exclusive snub due to a particular story. And ask the elected official why as @heatherharrison.bsky.social did here before reporting.

Mississippi House Speaker Jason White held an unusual invite-only press conference in his office on Monday, excluding both the Mississippi Free Press and Mississippi Today. When MFP's @heatherharrison.bsky.social asked him about it today, he said he did it "to get my side out there." Full story:

NEW for @mississippifreepress.org: Mississippi House Speaker Jason White didn’t invite me to his invite-only media Q&A he held on Monday ahead of the legislative session. I asked him why. Read what he told me today.

I am so excited to be working alongside Rogelio every day at the Mississippi Capitol. He has made my life SO MUCH EASIER and takes the best photos. Welcome to the team!

You can get a lot of out life--and politics--by putting on a fake smile and acting cheerful. It's easier for someone to talk to you about hard topics when you're spreading sunshine. This is one of my most valuable tools in my reporting toolkit.

NEW for @mississippifreepress.org: Students may have an easier time transferring from one public school district to another after the Mississippi Senate passed Senate Bill 2002 on Wednesday morning.

NEW for @mississippifreepress.org: Mississippi educators could soon get an annual pay raise of at least $2,000 after the Mississippi Senate Education Committee advanced legislation on Tuesday to increase teacher salaries. Follow me for more from the Capitol.

NEW for @mississippifreepress.org: Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann plans to raise salaries for K-12, community college and university educators during the 2026 legislative session. Follow me for more stories from the Mississippi Capitol.

The 2026 legislative session has begun! Follow me to keep up with the latest at the Mississippi Capitol.

Merry Christmas from the Harrisons!💜🎄🐶🐈

Bluesky is back in Mississippi but with some caveats this time: Only users 18 and up are allowed to access the website. All Mississippians must verify their age before Bluesky lets them use the platform. Shout out to all the lovely Mississippi Bluesky users I interviewed for this story!

Mississippi adults can freely access Bluesky again, but there's a catch: They must verify their age. Bluesky blocked access after Mississippi's age verification law took effect in August. Meanwhile, Facebook, X and other major social giants still haven't implemented the state-required age checks.

Thank you to @heatherharrison.bsky.social for the discussion in this article.

Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who has long defended Trump, is ripping the president's "so-called 'peace plan.'" "Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin,” Wicker says. @heatherharrison.bsky.social reports:

The Mississippi Department of Human Services is warning of an increasing potential of theft or fraud of SNAP benefits.

Mississippi SNAP update.

For the past week, my stomach dropped each time I saw a new story pop up with "Kim Davis," "Supreme Court," or "same-sex marriage." I initially didn't think they would take the case... but as the decision got closer, my anxiety over it grew, too. A sigh of relief. Temporary, but welcome.

I just realized today that these videos are also getting posted on @mississippifreepress.org’s BlueSky account! Yay! Follow along for more.

To cheer myself up, I like to donate food/treats to the animal shelter when I shop at the pet store. It only takes a couple extra dollars and I feel happy to be making a difference. Maybe you could brighten your day by donating to givebutter.com/mfpdonate or your local animal shelter!

With just 10 legislative special elections on the ballot, Mississippi Democrats flipped two Republican-held Senate seats and one GOP-held House seat. Here's the full election results from last night, courtesy @heatherharrison.bsky.social: www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...

NEW: 12 Mississippi polling places have moved and 4 have been closed ahead of the Nov. 4 legislative special elections, an MFP investigation finds. Counties also have incorrect addresses in the state system for 11 polling places, risking sending some voters to the wrong location.

Some of my photos from the Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi with JD Vance and Erika Kirk on Oct. 29, 2025.

Some of my photos from the Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi with JD Vance and Erika Kirk on Oct. 29, 2025.

In Mississippi, where 13% of the population relies on SNAP food assistance, all SNAP benefits will be halted on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown. The Mississippi Department of Human Services announced the pause today. @heatherharrison.bsky.social reports:

NEW: Lauren Stokes, the University of Mississippi employee who lost her job for resharing a social media post criticizing Charlie Kirk, is suing Chancellor Glen Boyce. After her firing, she says she and her husband had to close their restaurant and flee Oxford for weeks due to threats.

Lauren Stokes' lawsuit says that losing her job for sharing a post criticizing Kirk violated her 1st Amendment rights. “By terminating Lauren for reposting the speech in question, the University says its employees must conform to a point of view,” it says. @heatherharrison.bsky.social reports:

My eulogy to Becky Henderson, a Mississippi medical cannabis patient and advocate.

If I've randomly followed you this week, I'm writing a story about the Bluesky ban in Mississippi. My editor @ashtonpittman.bsky.social gave me people's Bluesky handles who reached out & wanted to help with this story. I'm unable to DM many of you so please email me if you're still interested!

The Mississippi WIC program is only accepting applications from pregnant women, breastfeeding women and high-risk infants during the federal government shutdown, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced on Oct. 2.

#Mississippi #baby #dies of whooping cough ... | #whoopingcough | #infection | #pertussis | #bacteria | #pathogen | By @heatherharrison.bsky.social via @mississippifreepress.org

Democrat Cliff Johnson says he will stand up for “vulnerable” Mississippians and bring “Mississippi values” to Washington, D.C., if voters elect him to serve Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District, he said in an announcement today.

A baby in Mississippi has died of whooping cough, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced on Sept. 29, marking the state’s first whooping cough death in 13 years.

I miss Starkville BAAAADDDDD. Let’s petition for the Legislature to relocate there🤪

What’s the deal with German flags in central Mississippi? I’ve seen some flying at Renaissance in Ridgeland and outside the ice cream shop in downtown Brandon. Are we honoring ancestors/history or do we have Germans visiting town?

Using acetaminophen medication like Tylenol during pregnancy does not cause autism despite “dangerous disinformation” that the White House is spreading on the topic, says Dr. Anita Henderson, a pediatrician at the Hattiesburg Clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.