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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.

Just thought I would let you know that I am now 41 years of age. Crossing the other side of 40 is an incredible blessing considering that Martin, Malcolm, Medgar and Jesus Christ did not have that privilege. I am grateful to God for allowing me to see another year, and to do it while serving the people of the state of Mississippi for my eighth legislative session.

Previous Comments

Happy birthday, Rep. Fleming! The other side of 40 ain’t so bad. It’s all about your mindset. 😉

#170051 | Author: ladd | Date: Feb 2 2006

Happy Birthday! The other side of 40 is a great place to be.

#170052 | Author: kate | Date: Feb 2 2006

Thank you for the kind words.

#170053 | Author: Rep. Erik Fleming | Date: Feb 3 2006

Happy belated! I’m still coping with being on the other side of 30…

#170054 | Author: L.W. | Date: Feb 7 2006

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.