Business Blog

By: Matthew D. Bolian Since 2011, a fight has been brewing in the state capitol over where the Department of Revenue (DOR) and its 500 plus workers are going to relocate. In one corner is Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, and in the other is Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, R-Clinton. Sen. Blount represents those [...]

Upon announcing the appointment of Brent Christensen to the directorship of the Mississippi Development Authority, Gov. Phil Bryant recalled joking about the salary with current interim chief Jim Barksdale. “I told (Barksdale) I would double what Leland Speed was making,” Bryant said. “Leland was making a dollar a year.” The governor has an eye for [...]

The coming departure of Parkway Properties from Jackson leaves a leadership void for downtown causes, says Ben Allen, president of the Downtown Jackson Partners, a public-private partnership created to promote and facilitate downtown’s revitalization. Parkway’s executive corps brought a “care factor” that will be hard to replace, Allen said. “As far a losing the emotional [...]

From the Mississippi Development Authority: Kimberly-Clark Corporation [NYSE: KMB] has announced it is locating a distribution facility in Southaven, Miss.  The company’s Southaven distribution center will employ more than 100 workers and represents a capital investment of approximately $2 million. “I am pleased Kimberly-Clark is expanding its business presence in Mississippi,” Governor Phil Bryant said. [...]

While Parkway Properties is shifting its operations to Orlando and selling off nearly all its Jackson office properties, a company often incorrectly thought of as a cousin to Parkway – EastGroup Properties – is staying put in Mississippi’s capital. EastGroup CEO David H. Hoster II says the only reason his company and Parkway are believed [...]

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is not revealing details but says the Peach State is in the “final stages of negotiating” what would be the biggest project since landing a Kia auto plant in West Point that now employs 3,000 people, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday. One other state is in the running for the project [...]

Today, there is a warning on the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s website about icy accumulation in North Mississippi. It is for the I-55 bridge over the Coldwater River in DeSoto County. However, it would appear that the really slick ice in DeSoto County is at the Southaven Mayor’s Office. >> SEE RELATED STORY FROM THE [...]

Things haven’t been going Leland Speed’s way in his court challenges to a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would curb Mississippi’s power to take private property for large economic development projects But don’t look for Speed, a real estate executive and interim Mississippi Development Authority chief, to walk away from the fight. “I’m [...]

Every year, hunters flock to the Delta to take advantage of some of the best public hunting land in the state offered by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks’ wildlife management areas (WMAs) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This year, however, hunters are wondering if [...]

The Mississippi Supreme Court Thursday dashed Leland Speed’s bid to keep a constitutional amendment limiting eminent domain off Mississippi’s November ballot. But in issuing the 7-2 ruling, the justices said they would be willing to reconsider Speed’s arguments if the amendment passes. The court essentially ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the matter, since [...]