No More Naked Interviews PLUS We Talk With BankFirst's CEO

No More Naked Interviews PLUS We Talk With BankFirst's CEO

Got a question or a tip? Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449287/fan_mail/new] Brand-new Mississippi State sports reporter Jake McMahon moves to Starkville, checks a score while unloading a U-Haul, and suddenly ends up on a midnight roadtrip to Oklahoma City to cover the Women’s College World Series. That’s where we start, because it says a lot about college athletics right now: chaos, speed, and the kind of joy that still breaks through when a team catches fire. Zack is on vacation this week so Dispatch columnist Slim Smith joins David and Jake to discuss how sports journalism has changed as access gets tighter and why the best work still comes from writers who avoid the herd, show up early, and paint a scene.  David and Slim then turn to a local headline that surprised us: a Bitcoin mining operation in Columbus, running thousands of machines and drawing megawatts of power, raising real questions about the grid, rates, and what crypto “value” even means. We close with Moak Griffin, CEO of BankFirst, on what community banking looks like after 138 years, why their Columbus headquarters and training campus matter, and how to protect yourself from fraud.

Chief Daughtry on Youth Violence and the Woody's Waiting Game

Got a question or a tip? Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449287/fan_mail/new] A $100,000 offer, a building that’s been closed for 17 years, and a buyer who suddenly goes quiet. We start with the latest snag in the Woody’s on the Water saga and ask the uncomfortable questions. We also talk about the tradeoff nobody wants to ignore, because development on the lake can bring jobs and activity, but it can also change wetlands and shoreline land for good. Then Columbus Police Chief Joseph Daughtery joins us in studio to explain what he’s seeing on the streets, why youth conflicts are escalating, and how social media turns petty disputes into real violence. He gets specific about how guns end up in the wrong hands, including thefts from unlocked cars, firearms left in plain view, and straw purchases that federal partners are increasingly tracking.

Reps. Rob Roberson & Andy Boyd Discuss Future of MSMS, MUW

Got a question or a tip? Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449287/fan_mail/new] We bring two sitting Mississippi legislators into the studio for a candid discussion about what’s really happening with the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science: why a top-tier STEM residential school can post big academic wins while students and staff deal with aging buildings, unreliable heating and air, and years of deferred maintenance. We keep the focus on facts, tradeoffs, and what “good stewardship” of Mississippi tax dollars should look like when the stakes are kids’ daily lives.  From there, the conversation widens to the Mississippi University for Women and the political gravity around university consolidation. With a shrinking population and tight budgets, we ask what happens to smaller campuses and whether the state saves money by closing schools or just creates new problems when buildings and communities are left behind. We also dig into collaboration and program overlap, including how shared services and smarter specialization could reduce duplication without turning education into a winner-take-all fight between Columbus and Starkville.  We finish by taking on K-12 consolidation and the emotional core of it: schools aren’t just buildings, they’re community identity. You’ll hear a blunt debate over incentives versus mandates, administrative bloat, trust in government, and why technology and online learning can’t replace a real teacher in a real room. If you care about Mississippi education funding, MSMS, MUW, and the future of public schools, hit subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review with your take on what should happen next.

LINK CEO Shakeup Rattles Confidence in Starkville PLUS Stafford Shurden

Got a question or a tip? Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449287/fan_mail/new] A CEO comes in from out of state, lasts about two months, and suddenly he’s gone. We dig into the leadership shakeup at the Golden Triangle Development LINK, why “mutual parting of ways” can land like a dodge, and what people mean when they say an organization’s culture demands transparency. We also talk frankly about how the LINK's past still shapes the present, including the expectations left behind by Joe Max Higgins and the pressure that comes when a board is trying to prove it has learned its lesson. From there, we look at the customer side of economic development. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill doesn’t mince words about what she sees as premature decision-making, and we break down the real tension between personnel privacy and accountability to paying clients. We also spend time on what comes next for new CEO Meryl Fisackerly, why institutional knowledge matters, and why the region can’t afford a slow reset if competition for clients heats up. Then the vibe turns fun and surprisingly meaningful when Stafford Shurden joins us. He’s a Mississippi entrepreneur and social media personality famous for reviewing convenience store food, and he explains how his brand grew from local politics, restaurant ownership, and a love for the country stores many of us grew up on. Along the way we hit customer experience, rural small business, and a big question for the next few years: when AI makes the internet easier to fake, who becomes the trusted source?

Jail Bills, Concert Dreams and a Renaissance Fair

Got a question or a tip? Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449287/fan_mail/new] A single unpaid bill can turn into a full-blown test of how local government works, and that’s exactly what’s happening between the City of Columbus and Lowndes County. We walk through the jail fee standoff step by step: the original per-inmate agreement, the Mississippi Attorney General opinion that undercuts it, and the city’s claim that it “overpaid” and should be able to withhold new payments as credit.  To lighten things up, we shift to the Columbus amphitheater, a new construction timeline that points toward a real opening next spring, and what hiring a professional promoter could mean for booking concerts and building a downtown Columbus live music destination. We also react to an alleged offering plate theft at a local church, using it as a springboard for church security basics and how to make a clearer 911 call under stress.  Plus, special guest Wesley Stewart joins us to explain why Festival of the Fae is exploding in popularity and what to expect at the two-day Renaissance festival.