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Mississippi Today

White-hot Golden Eagles capture Sun Belt Championship

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Southern Miss celebrates its Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship at Riverwalk Park in Montgomery. That's right fielder Carson Paetow on top of the pile. Somewhere, underneath, is pitching Justin Storm. Credit: Andrew Abadie/Pine Belt

Different league, same result. Scott Berry's Southern Miss Golden Eagles have won another championship.

Southern Miss defeated the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns 6-2 Sunday at Montgomery Sunday in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in the Eagles' inaugural season in the league. Southern Miss, ranked No. 16 nationally, will enter the later this week with a 41-17 record.

The Golden Eagles hope to host an NCAA Regional and will learn their tournament destination on Monday. Regardless of where they head, they will go as one of the hottest teams in college . Sunday's victory was their 19th in the past 21 games. 

Rick Cleveland

“We earned every bit of that win today,” an emotional Berry said amid the championship celebration. “I just couldn't be more proud of the way our guys competed and did what it takes in all phases of the game.”

There were many USM heroes Sunday, but none stood taller, literally and figuratively, than 6-, 7-inch left-hander Justin Storm. The hero of last year's NCAA Regional championship against LSU, Storm replicated the feat against another Louisiana team. He pitched the final 5.1 innings, shutting out the Cajuns while allowing only three hits and striking out eight. Afterward, the former Central basketball center paraded around field at Riverwalk Stadium with the championship trophy high above his head, while his teammates circled the field shaking hands with Eagle fans who made the “neutral site” championship much like a home game at Pete Taylor Park.

All American Tanner Hall was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after pitching a complete game victory in the Eagles' opener against James Madison. Hall was warming up in the bullpen during the eighth and ninth innings, but Storm was able to finish it out.

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“Storm was just electric,” Hall said. “He shut them down, just like I knew he would.”

Asked what the championship meant to him, Hall said, “I mean it's everything, but it's mostly about Coach Berry to me. This being his last conference tournament, it just means more.”

Berry, 60, announced his retirement — effective season's end — 12 days ago. Christian Ostrander, the associate head coach and pitching coach, will take his place.

Shortstop Dustin Dickerson, third baseman Danny Lynch, first baseman Christopher Sargent and Hall all made the All-Tournament team. Dickerson and Lynch both homered Sunday and Sargent also contributed two hits.

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Designated hitter Slade Wilks provided more heroics, launching a towering, two- home run — his 20th — in the seventh inning, increasing a tenuous one-run to 5-2. The ball seemed to stay in the air forever before coming down just over the reach of leaping Louisiana right fielder Heath Hood.

The Cajuns probably would prefer to never see Lynch again. Lynch, a senior who will become a Southern Miss grad assistant next season, launched two grand slams just one week earlier to give the Golden Eagles an 11-9 victory and a 2-1 series victory over Louisiana.

Said Berry, “Sometimes, there's somebody that has your number and Danny Lynch certainly has Lafayette's.”

Despite the loss, the 40-22 Cajuns probably played their way in to the NCAA Tournament by defeating seventh ranked Coastal Carolina twice on Saturday to reach the league finals. The Sun Belt presumably will place four teams in the 64-team field: USM, Coastal, Louisiana and Troy.

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It is difficult to fathom that on April 22, Southern Miss fell to 22-15 after a 20-7 drubbing administered by Coastal Carolina at Conway, S.C. The Eagles came back to defeat Coastal the next day to begin the hot steak they continued Sunday. From 22-15 to 41-17 is no easy feat and similar to what did a year ago when it went from 22-17 to a national championship.

Under Berry, Southern Miss won five Conference USA regular season titles and four CUSA Tournament championships. Berry's Eagles also have accomplished seven consecutive 40-victory seasons, the most of any NCAA Division I program.

Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain was beaming afterward.

“Our guys really wanted this for Coach Berry, and I'm really, really proud the fight they showed,” McClain said. “Scott is the epitome of what we want to be at Southern Miss: character, class, tough, doing everything the right way. He may be retiring, but his fingerprints will be all over this program for a long, long time.”

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

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Mississippi Today

Senate committee passes Medicaid ‘expansion’ bill that leaves hundreds of millions in federal dollars on table

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth and Taylor Vance – 2024-03-27 16:39:21

The only surviving expansion bill in the Legislature passed the Senate Medicaid Committee Wednesday and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. 

But the proposal, as it passed the Senate committee, is not considered traditional “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not qualify for the enhanced federal funding the to newly-expanded states. It would the cost of the expanded coverage up to the state.

The Senate committee passed the House Republican bill with a strike-all, meaning it replaced the bill's original language with its own plan, which Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, refers to as “expansion light.”

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Blackwell estimated about 80,000 people would be eligible under this version of expansion, and half of that would apply. The House plan was expected to more than 200,000 people.

When a draft of the Senate's bill was leaked on March 20, Blackwell stressed to Mississippi Today that he and Senate were still tweaking parts of the legislation. However, the legislation that passed the committee is essentially the same as what was outlined in the leaked draft. 

The Senate proposal would:

  • Cover working Mississippians up to 99% of the federal poverty level. For an individual, that would be an annual income up to $15,060. For a family of four, that would be an annual income up to $31,200.
  • Not cover those making between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty threshold — not even through a private-care option. A plan that doesn't cover people making up to 138% is not considered “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, meaning Mississippi wouldn't qualify for the 90% federal match rate that the Affordable Care Act grants to new expansion states, nor the additional, two-year 5% increase in match rate the federal government provides to newly-expanded states under pandemic relief spending passed by Congress. Instead, as was the case with Georgia, Mississippi would only get its regular federal Medicaid rate of about 77%.
  • Leave the health insurance exchange, the online marketplace that offers federally subsidized plans to people who make between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level, intact. The Senate plan, unlike Arkansas' Medicaid expansion, would not extra subsidies from the state's federal Medicaid money available from the ACA.
  • Include a work requirement mandating at least 120 hours of employment a month in a position for which health insurance is not paid for by the employer. That's more stringent than Georgia's plan, which mandates 80 hours a month. There are several exemptions, such as for full-time students or parents who are the primary caregiver of a child under six years old.
  • Go into effect 30 days after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves a waiver necessary for the work requirement. That's unlikely to happen under the Biden administration, which has rescinded work requirements previously approved for other states during the Trump administration and has not approved new ones. If the federal government denies the waiver, Mississippi would have to wait until a new administration took office, or sue the Biden administration. Georgia remains in litigation with the federal government over the work requirement issue, and has suffered low enrollment and missed out on millions in federal funds by not fully expanding coverage.
  • Require anyone who voluntarily dropped private insurance to wait 12 months before applying for Medicaid coverage.

Senate Democrats voiced several concerns about the administrative burden of the work requirement and the 120 hour a month minimum, which is even stricter than Georgia's plan – currently the strictest expansion plan in the country. 

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, asked Blackwell about the enhanced match from the federal government.

“So the federal government paying our match for two years and 90% after the two years – we would not qualify for that?” Blount asked.

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Blackwell said that is correct, and they would leave that money on the table.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, introduced two amendments: one to decrease the recertification requirements from four times a year to twice a year, and the other to reduce the work requirement hours from 120 hours a month to 80 hours a month. 

Both amendments were voted down by , who make up a majority of the committee's membership. Despite their amendments getting shot down, the Democrats still voted in favor of the bill. Only three Republican senators in the committee voted against the plan. 

When asked about the administrative burden of enforcing the work requirement, Blackwell said he is not worried and believes the Division of Medicaid has enough employees for its implementation. 

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But Georgia, the only state currently with a work requirement in its expansion plan, has spent $26 million taxpayer dollars to ensure a mere 3,500 people to date. More than 90% of that has gone to administrative and consulting costs. 

The bill is expected to be taken to a floor vote as early as Thursday, with a deadline of April 10. 

Since the Senate plan is drastically different than the House proposal – which is a mostly-traditional expansion plan insuring those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level and would go into effect whether or not the federal government approves a work requirement waiver – a final version will likely be hammered out later in the session in a conference committee.

Any final plan would realistically need a two-thirds majority from both chambers to show it has the potential to override a potential veto from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has privately told lawmakers he plans to veto any Medicaid expansion bill.

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Reeves on Tuesday night hosted around 20 state senators at the Governor's Mansion in Jackson where he, again, reiterated his opposition to any form of Medicaid expansion, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. 

At the Tuesday night event, Reeves said he would veto the Senate's expansion plan if it reached his desk, though he reportedly said he approved the Senate's work requirement provisions. 

Shortly after the committee passed the expansion legislation, Reeves posted on social that the Senate plan is “still bad policy” and he will oppose it.

“And so I will continue to do what I told the voters I would do – fight Obamacare Medicaid Expansion with every ounce of my being,” Reeves said.  

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

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Mississippi Today

Michael Guidry named Mississippi Today managing editor

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Mississippi is pleased to announce Michael Guidry as managing editor.

Guidry, who joined the Mississippi Today staff in February 2024, manages the newsroom's day-to-day and plans broader editorial strategy.

He previously served as managing editor at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where he developed skills in audio storytelling as a producer, writer and editor.

“Michael is a perfect fit for what we're building at Mississippi Today,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's a proven newsroom leader, and he knows Mississippi. He also brings us a lot of digital and audio skills that can expect to see more of pretty quickly.”

A native of Destrehan, Louisiana, Guidry moved to Mississippi to attend Millsaps College, where he earned a dual Bachelor of Arts in History and Theatre. After graduating, he worked as a public school teacher for more than a decade.

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Michael Guidry

While at MPB, Guidry helped a team that received recognitions from the Radio Television Digital Association, the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and the Public Journalists Association.

MPB's special feature on Memorial Day – which he co-produced and co-narrated – received the 2023 Region 9 Edward R Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Guidry continues to host MPB's weekly politics show @Issue.

“As someone who spent years in a adjacent to Mississippi Today, it became evident the newsroom was quickly becoming a leader in local, nonprofit news,” Guidry said. “I could not be more to join a publication dedicated to elevating the voices of while holding power to account.”

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

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Mississippi Today

Geoff Pender named Mississippi Today politics editor

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is pleased to announce Geoff Pender as Politics and Government Editor.

Pender, who first joined the Mississippi Today staff as senior political reporter in May 2020, will oversee the day-to-day of Mississippi Today's politics team.

He brings more than 30 years of experience covering Mississippi politics to the new role.

“If you follow Mississippi politics, you know Geoff Pender,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's been a vital member of our politics team since 2020, and we couldn't be more for him to now lead it. He's been a mentor to so many of our reporters, and he's led several impactful investigations for us. can expect more of that from him in this new job— and if you're wondering, you'll also continue to see plenty of his analysis of the 's biggest stories.”

Geoff Pender

Before joining Mississippi Today, Pender was political and investigative editor at the Clarion Ledger, where he also penned a popular political column. He previously served as an investigative reporter and political editor at the Sun Herald, where he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Hurricane coverage.

A native of Florence, Pender is a journalism graduate of the of Southern Mississippi and has received numerous throughout his career for reporting, columns and of information efforts.

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“I truly appreciate this opportunity and appreciate being able to continue working with the great team of journalists at Mississippi Today providing in-depth coverage at such a crucial time for the state,” Pender said.

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

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