The cities of Jackson, Flowood and Pearl have ended an eight-year-long legal battle over rights to land on and surrounding the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in a deal that sees each city walk away with new additions to their respective cities.
The terms of the deal allow each of the three cities to incorporate portions of the airport’s land, develop it and reap the increased tax revenue. Jackson, meanwhile, maintains ownership of the land and the airport, though other legal conflicts over the airport are continuing.
“This agreement unlocks long-underused land for economic development while protecting Jackson’s ownership of our airport,” said Jackson Mayor John Horhn in a June 9 press release. “Jackson will benefit from tax revenue on developments built on the land the City is incorporating and it will benefit from direct payments from the developers on every piece of property that is developed.”
The airport and the land surrounding it exists in a unique situation. The area is owned by the City of Jackson but is located in Rankin County. Jackson attempted to annex parts of the land in 2019, but Rankin County and the cities of Flowood and Pearl challenged the attempt in court, arguing that Jackson needed Rankin County’s consent before making such a move. In 2023, the Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with the challenging parties, upholding a Hinds County Circuit Court ruling. Further, Flowood and Pearl each had eyes on their own annexation claims around the airport.
Last fall, the three cities agreed to no longer oppose each other’s annexation attempts. Under the deal, Jackson will maintain ownership of the land while Jackson, Flowood and Pearl will be allowed to annex portions into each city’s respective borders.
Rankin County Chancery Court Judge Haydn Roberts approved all three cities’ annexations. As Flowood City Attorney Rusty Fortenberry noted to the Mississippi Free Press, the chancery judge still had to approve each city’s annexation request in accordance with state law, regardless of what deal was made.
“It was like donut holes existing in the county that nobody other than the county had authority over,” Fortenberry said.
“This is a win-win for all,” said Rosa Beckett, JMAA Chief Executive Officer, in Jackson’s press release. “By delineating and assigning city limits for property in previously unincorporated areas, everyone benefits as commercial development continues to boom in this area. JMAA remains committed to supporting collaborat(ive) economic development.”
Ownership Issue Lingers
While one legal battle has concluded, Jackson has another ongoing, one against the state of Mississippi. The two sides have locked horns for a decade in a dispute over control of the airport’s board.
Concerns about airport ownership stem from S.B. 2162, a 2016 law introduced by Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, that would take control of the airport out of the hands of the City of Jackson, despite the City owning the land on which it sits.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn, then representing Jackson as a state senator, described the law as a “hostile eminent-domain takeover” when it was passed in 2016.
The City of Jackson remains involved in a legal battle against the State of Mississippi, fighting the implementation of S.B. 2162, which would give the state more control over Jackson’s airport than the city itself.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Judge Carlton Reeves denied Mississippi’s request to dismiss Jackson’s case in 2025.
Earlier this month, Reeves denied another motion from Mississippi’s legal team intended to prevent Jackson from using the term “airport takeover”’ at trial, in addition to suppressing a variety of other potential evidence sources.
If implemented, S.B. 2162 would change the governing board of the airport drastically.
The current board is appointed by the Jackson mayor. Should S.B. 2162 be allowed to go into effect, it would strip Jackson of majority control in naming members to the board. Instead, the Rankin and Madison County boards of supervisors, the Mississippi Development Authority, and the Mississippi National Guard would each have representatives on the board, in addition to three at-large members appointed by the governor and the lieutenant governor. Jackson’s mayor and city council would both appoint one member each.
All four of Jackson’s state senators opposed the bill. Harkins did not express any complaints about current airport management at the time.
‘We Will Continue that Fight’
Horhn emphasized that the city’s success in getting approval for the airport-area annexations does not mean they are done fighting S.B. 2162. He said it is one of several laws intended to put Jackson’s resources under state control.
“Jackson residents should also know that the City is not letting anyone take control of the management of the airport,” Horhn said in the June 9 press release. “We will continue that fight.”
Last week, both Jackson and Mississippi began notifying the courts of whom they intend to subpoena for testimony.
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s then-chief-of-staff Joey Songy, deputy chief of staff Drew Snyder and advisor Bobby Morgan were all included as parties to be subpoenaed.
Other parties to be subpoenaed include: City of Brandon director of internal audit Samantha Atkinson, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten, former Rankin County Chancery Court Clerk Larry Swales, former Madison County Administrator Shelton Vance, former Assistant Director for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Alice Perry and Rankin County Chancery Court Clerk Alice Perry and Rankin County Chancery Court Clerk Mark Scarborough. Scarborough is the former mayor of Richland.
A bench trial for the case began on Monday, June 22, 2026, in the Southern District of Mississippi. Bench trials rely on a single judge to make decisions, rather than using a jury.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the Jackson Airport and read past stories here.
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