Meridian put its military installation team together in 1991 and helped Naval Air Station Meridian avoid getting shut down after landing on closing lists in 1991, 1993 and 1995. Larmar McDonald, a Meridian insurance businessman and current chair of the Meridian Military Team, says he thinks the local air station is the only Navy installation [...] [...]
Ties to military operations have exempted Golden Triangle Regional Airport near Columbus and Key Field in Meridian from closing under a funding cutoff set to begin April 7 under the federal budget sequester. Five other “contract towers” in the state — Tupelo, Greenville, Oliver Branch, Jackson and Bay St. Louis – failed to gain exemptions [...] [...]

Will Sanders, vice president of Sanders Oil Company in Columbus was recently elected president of the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association for the coming year. Sanders, his wife, Ginny, and two children, Liam (10) and Kate (8), live in Columbus. [...]

by Becky Gillette Published: January 31,2013
Tags: 38 Studios, Amory, Arkansas, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Arkansas Teachers Retirement System, Bethlehem Steel, Birmingham Steel Corp, Boston Red Sox, Bradford Research Inc., Calisolar, Charles Bradford, Clif Chitwood, Columbus, Columbus Commercial Dispatch, Curt Schilling, economic development, George Hopkins, Good Jobs First, Greg LeRoy, Harry Sanders, John Correnti, Lowndes County, Mississippi, Mississippi Business Journal, New York, Nucor Corporation, Rhode Island, Silicor, ThyssenKrupp
John D. Correnti, the businessman Arkansas is counting on to deliver “the largest economic development project in the state’s history,” a proposed $1.1 billion steel mill in Mississippi County in northeast Arkansas, has recently failed to deliver on promises for big projects in Mississippi. Tuesday Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe announced that Correnti’s Big River Steel [...] [...]

COLUMBUS — Solar silicon maker Silicor Materials has missed another deadline. The company failed to put up $150,000 in escrow money to show good faith and seal a deal that would have meant hundreds of new jobs to Lowndes County. The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors in December agreed to extend the start date for [...] [...]
Ellen Russell of Pontotoc and Mickey Howley of Water Valley have been elected by fellow Main Street managers and members to the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) board of directors. Russell has been elected to serve for the first time and replaces Lise Foy of Canton. Howley has been re-elected to serve another term on [...] [...]
On Sept. 14, government and economic development officials in the Golden Triangle unveiled a plan for an economic development cooperative they say will become the model of regionalism in Mississippi. The Golden Triangle Regional Development Authority will not officially arrive until October 2014. Until then, the Golden Triangle Development LINK (which was known as the [...] [...]

Representatives from the three Golden Triangle counties have formed a steering committee to explore the possibility of forming an umbrella organization charged with spurring economic development in the region. The committee held its first meeting last week, representing the first step toward a partnership among entities that have traditionally carried on a governmental and industrial [...] [...]
JACKSON — The Mississippi Department of Transportation says a newly reconstructed portion of Highway 45 with four lanes will be opening today. The new portion of highway has four-lanes and it will connect Shafer Chapel Road to Highway 82 near Columbus in Lowndes County. The department says this is the final phase of a reconstruction [...] [...]

by Associated Press Published: February 6,2012
Tags: Columbus, Ethics Commission, Hinds County Circuit Court, Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Public Utilities Committee, Rankin County, Rep. Jeff Smith, Service Printers of Flowood, State Rep. Kevin McGee
JACKSON — A Rankin County lawmaker has been ordered by the state Ethics Commission to repay the state $346,554 from public printing contracts that went to his family business. State Rep. Kevin McGee was also fined $50,000 for the dealings. McGee, a Republican from Brandon, owns — along with family members — Service Printers of [...] [...]