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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

In the cover package of this issue, you’ll find a number of the “most intriguing” individuals who’ve made big waves in Jackson over the past year. Since those were taken, here are some less noteworthy topics.

• Whose Instagram pics public officials like.

• The secret to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ sweet-potato souffle recipe.

• Vintage of all the quarters in Supervisor Robert Graham’s pants pocket.

• What’s inside The Clarion-Ledger.

• Where all of Mayor Tony Yarber’s wisdom napkins go.

• Who got snubbed on the acknowledgement page of former Gov. Haley Barbour’s book.

• Average amount of coffee Jeff Good consumes daily.

• Name of JSU President Dr. Carolyn Meyers’ sequin supplier.

• Total number of fuschia, lilac and wisteria-hued neckties Councilman De’Keither Stamps determined weren’t sufficiently purple to wear to a budget committee meeting.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.