By: Meredith Biesinger, Magnolia Tribune Before you ever smell the coffee or browse the shelves, The Author Shoppe in Hattiesburg has already worked its magic on you. Maybe it’s the towering bookshelves, the warm window glow, or just curiosity—a...
FestivalSouth, a signature program of the Hattiesburg Concert Association, has been awarded a prestigious America 250 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its 2026 summer festival. This national funding initiative celebrates the 250th...
By: Susan Marquez, Magnolia Tribune It’s not necessary to be named Ellen to be a celebrated writer in Mississippi. But to be celebrated at “Ellenpalooza,” it’s pretty much mandatory. Such is the case with authors Ellen Ann Fentress and Ellen Gabardi as...
By: Meredith Biesinger, Magnolia Tribune Have you ever found yourself in a back alley halfway across the world…surrounded by cats? Mary Martin has. Between Singapore street corners and Mississippi clay, that moment stuck. It followed her home to the Gulf...
By: Frank Corder, Magnolia Tribune A recent study on genetic testing reveals what researchers say is meaningful progress in the fight against restaurant menu mislabeling along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. SeaD Consulting’s latest report in April shows...
Dr. Shelby Freland Thames, the eighth president of The University of Southern Mississippi and an accomplished research scientist and respected academic leader, passed away Friday, April 17, 2026. His life’s work left a lasting imprint on higher education,...
