The Commercial Dispatch

06/18/2026

Aldermen on Tuesday cleared the way for two housing projects, including a five-story mixed-use development downtown and the city's first cottage court community.

The first project, planned for the former site of the Starkville Community Market at 128 S. Jackson St., will see 24 residential units added to the downtown portfolio.

Aldermen on Tuesday cleared the way for two housing projects, including a five-story mixed-use development downtown and the city’s first cottage court community.

06/17/2026

Jeff Lebby added four recruits to Mississippi State football's 2027 recruiting class over the weekend.

Jeff Lebby added four recruits to Mississippi State football’s 2027 recruiting class over the weekend.

06/17/2026

After City Attorney Jeff Turnage and Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett, two officials who usually participate in executive sessions, were removed from the courtroom Tuesday evening, Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears announced the executive session would address the job performances of several departments, as well as positions at City Hall.

The bulk of Tuesday’s city council meeting at the Municipal Complex played out behind closed doors, with little action to show for the hour-plus executive session when it finally adjourned.

06/17/2026

In the second of back-to-back weekends of fishing tournament action on the Columbus Pool of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a heap of local fishermen left their mark on the water and in the standings with one area angler taking home a first-place finish.

06/17/2026

Following seven years of being shuttered after being partially demolished by an EF-3 tornado in 2019, the R.E. Hunt Museum and Cultural Center's is set to reopen, kicking off Juneteenth celebrations in Columbus.

Following seven years of being shuttered after being partially demolished by an EF-3 tornado in 2019, the R.E. Hunt Museum and Cultural Center’s is set to reopen, kicking off Juneteenth celebrations in Columbus.

06/17/2026

Softball America named Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth as two of the country's top players for what they did in the circle in 2026. Faricloth came in at No. 21 while Goold landed at No. 42.

Two Mississippi State pitchers earned Top 100 honors for their 2026 seasons on Monday.

06/17/2026

Somewhere over Aliceville, Alabama, Capt. Daniel "Slick" Flynn, the pilot teacher in the front seat of the aircraft, speaks over the radio to explain the barrel roll maneuver we're about to perform before he quickly jolts the plane to the right.

Suddenly the sky flips and becomes my floor, and we spin downward, pushing roughly 4.5 G-force, or feeling roughly 4.5 times the normal pull of gravity, and my body folds in on itself.

Surprisingly, the takeoff in a T-6 Texan II from Columbus Air Force Base doesn’t feel too different from the rumble of a commercial airline’s ascent.

06/16/2026

Robertson was named the Braille Institute's 2026 Teacher of the Year, an international award granted to educators who go above and beyond to support and advocate for blind and low-vision students.

She has supported families, curated educational programs, mentored teachers and future professionals and shaped policy in an effort to create a world where blind people have the same access to literacy and education as sighted people.

The red dining room walls of Casey Robertson’s house in Hamilton hold 26 crosses of different shapes, colors and sizes, serving as a testament to her faith, which has guided her work in blindness advocacy for the last two decades.

06/16/2026

They aren't there for a typical summer camp; they are there to challenge themselves, expand their horizons, and glimpse what the future of Mississippi can look like when our youth are given the space to lead.

Every summer, a quiet transformation takes place on the historic campus of the Mississippi University for Women.