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Hosemann outraises McDaniel in Lt. Gov. race, continues accusations of law violations

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Incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann's campaign far outraised his main opponent, longtime Sen. Chris McDaniel in the home stretch before Tuesday's primary.

Hosemann continued his call for an 's investigation into McDaniel's campaign finances, and after reports, filed a complaint questioning McDaniel's residency and whether he has voted illegally. The lieutenant governor's race is the most hotly contested statewide contest for the Aug. 8 party primaries, and the race has seen much mudslinging and negative campaigning in recent weeks.

“My opponent has been referred for criminal prosecution for his repeated illegal campaign finance reports,” Hosemann said in a statement. “Now, it appears doubtful that he lived in his district, which means he voted illegally. is the cornerstone of our Constitution. I call upon the attorney general and the district attorney of Jones County to investigate this alleged illegal activity and determine before Aug. 8 whether the voters of Mississippi have been misled and its election laws violated.”

McDaniel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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Hosemann reported raising $302,000 for July, and more than $2 million cash on hand at the end of the month. McDaniel reported raising $168,000 for the period and having $307,000 on hand.

Hosemann starting in March has filed complaints with the attorney general's office claiming McDaniel and a now-shuttered PAC he created violated campaign finance laws numerous times. One major issue: McDaniel's PAC received $475,000 from a secretive Virginia dark-money nonprofit corporation. The PAC then funneled $465,000 of it to his campaign.

State limits such corporate donations to $1,000 a year to a candidate or PAC. So the donation was $474,000 over the legal limit.

READ MORE: Chris McDaniel, Lynn Fitch show that Mississippi might as well not have campaign finance laws

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McDaniel's PAC initially hid some of these transactions with incomplete, inaccurate reporting to the secretary of state's office. But eventually, after questions from , he first chalked it up to “clerical errors.”

READ MORE: Secretary of State candidates vow sweeping campaign finance reform, enforcement

Then, eventually, McDaniel said Mississippi's campaign finance laws are improper but he doesn't have time to mount a legal , so his campaign returned the money to his PAC. McDaniel said his PAC then returned the money to the dark money group, and he shut down the PAC.

But, by his own reporting, McDaniel's defunct PAC did not return $15,000 of the over-state-limits money, and has offered no accounting for what happened to it.

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This statewide election cycle has seen several claims of campaign finance law or reporting requirement violations in several races. It has also shown what appears to be a reluctance by Attorney General Lynn Fitch – the only statewide officer with clear authority to enforce campaign finance laws – to address or investigate complaints. This has prompted secretary of state candidates, including incumbent Michael Watson, to call for reform.

Mississippi's campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws and reporting requirements are weak, and contained in a piecemealed patchwork of confusing – some conflicting – laws passed over many years. The secretary of state's office and Ethics Commission have for years said they lack enforcement or investigative authority. Most often, campaign finance violations go unchecked, leaving the state political system open to the corrosive influence of special interest money.

Hosemann's new claims about McDaniel's residency stem from media reports that began with a column by Greenwood Commonwealth editor Tim Kalich. Kalich reported that a former reporter for the paper now lives in McDaniel's hometown of Ellisville. The former reporter, through observation and checking city records, questioned whether McDaniel has in recent years really lived at the house he claims as his residence.

Kalich said McDaniel's campaign responded that the house is still his 's residence, but is infested with black mold and having to undergo renovations, forcing the family to sleep elsewhere temporarily. Kalich said the reporter has noticed no work going on at the house, and that water records show nearly no usage for years.

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Other questions have recently been raised about a new state PAC that is running ads against Hosemann. Invest in Mississippi PAC was created by Wisconsin-based political consultant Thomas Datwyler, who McDaniel's campaign has listed as its treasurer. The new PAC appears to have spent at least tens of thousands of dollars on ads in recent weeks. But as of Wednesday, the PAC had not filed a campaign finance report that was due Tuesday, according to Secretary of State Michael Watson's office.

Datwyler, who didn't respond to a request for comment, has a history of running afoul of Federal Election Commission campaign finance rules with several congressional candidates.

McDaniel as a state senator was once a vocal champion of stricter campaign finance laws and transparency for the public on sources of political money. But his PAC and campaign finance reports have defied logic and math, and after filing amended, amended-amended and termination-amended reports, it's still unclear exactly how much money he has raised and from where it came. His PAC and campaign finances mark the largest secret and over the legal limit donation to a state campaign in Mississippi.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Renada Stovall, chemist and entrepreneur

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mississippitoday.org – Vickie King – 2024-05-17 11:53:33

Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating when she had a life-altering epiphany…

“I gotta get out of these woods.” 

She heard it as clear as lips to her ear and as deep as the trees surrounding her property. Stovall's job as a chemist had taken her all over the country. In addition to Arkansas, there were stints in Atlanta, Dallas and Reno. But she was missing home, her and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do. 

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“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south home. Some of those herbs are used in her all-natural products. “I know when I lived in Reno, Nevada, where it's very hot and very dry, there really weren't products available that worked for me, my hair, and my skin suffered. I've got a chemistry degree from Spelman College. I took the plunge and decided to create products for myself.”

A variety of soaps created by Renada Stovall. Stovall is a chemist who creates all natural skin and hair care products using natural ingredients.

In 2018, Stovall's venture led to the creation of shea butter moisturizers and natural soaps. But she didn't stop there, and in December 2022, she moved home to Mississippi and got to work, expanding her product line to include body balms and butters, and shampoos infused with avocado and palm, mango butter, coconut and olive oils.

Nadabutter, which incorporates Renada's name, came to fruition.

Renada Stovall, owner of Nadabutter, selling her all-natural soaps and balms at the Clinton Main Street Market: Spring into Green, in April of this year.

Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the during the summer. She's available via social and also creates products depending on what of her ingredients a customer chooses. “My turmeric and honey is really popular,” Stovall added.

“The all-natural ingredients I use are great for conditioning the skin and hair. All of my products make you feel soft and luscious. The shea butter I use from Africa. It's my way of networking and supporting other women. And it's my wish that other women can be inspired to be self-sufficient in starting their own businesses.”

Soap mixture is poured into a mold to cure. Once cured, the block with be cut into bars of soap.
Renada Stovall, making cold soap at her home.
Renada Stovall adds a vibrant gold to her soap mixture.
Tumeric soap created by Nadabutter owner, Renada Stovall.
Soap infused with honey. Credit: Vickie D. King/

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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On this day in 1954

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-05-17 07:00:00

MAY 17, 1954

Ella J. Rice talks to one of her pupils, all of them white, in a third grade classroom of Draper Elementary School in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 1954. This was the first day of non-segregated schools for teachers and . Rice was the only Black teacher in the school. Credit: AP

In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the

The historic brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, ruling in the case of student Linda Brown, who was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin. 

In Mississippi, segregationist called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Every university but Delta State to increase tuition this year

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mississippitoday.org – Molly Minta – 2024-05-17 06:30:00

Every in Mississippi is increasing tuition in the fall except for Delta University.

The new rates were approved by the governing board of the eight universities, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, at its regular meeting Thursday. 

The average cost of tuition in Mississippi is now $8,833 a year, a roughly 3% increase from last year. can expect to pay tuition ranging from $7,942 a year at Mississippi Valley State University to $10,052 a year at Mississippi State University. 

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In recent years, universities have cited and rising insurance costs as reasons for the tuition increases. At Thursday's meeting, the board heard a presentation on how property insurance is becoming more expensive for the eight universities as Mississippi sees more tornadoes and storms with severe wind and hail.  

READ MORE: Tuition increases yet again at most public universities

But it's an ongoing trend. Mississippi's public universities have steadily increased tuition since 2000, putting the cost of college increasingly out of reach for the average Mississippi . More than half of Mississippi college students graduated with an average of $29,714 in student debt in 2020, according to the Institution for College Access and .

At Delta State University, the president, Daniel Ennis, announced that he will attempt to avoid tuition increases as the regional college in the Mississippi Delta undergoes drastic budget cuts in an effort to become more financially sustainable. 

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“We will resist tuition increases so that our most economically vulnerable students can continue to have access to the opportunities that a college degree can ,” he wrote in a memo to faculty and staff on Monday. “We will move beyond basic survival and into a place where we have the capacity to take better advantage of our undeniable strengths.” 

Delta State didn't increase tuition last year, either. have been concerned the university is becoming too pricey for the students it serves. 

Tuition for the 2024-25 academic year, by school:

  • Alcorn State University: $8,105
  • Delta State University: $8,435
  • State University: $8,690
  • Mississippi State University: $10,052
  • Mississippi University for Women: $8,392
  • Mississippi Valley State University: $7,492
  • University of Mississippi: $9,612
  • University of Southern Mississippi: $9,888

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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