Area News

  Mississippi Delta Community College’s (MDCC) Capps Center celebrated the first graduating class of its new pre-apprenticeship construction program with a signing ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 5, at the MDCC Greenville Higher Education Center (GHEC). All eleven students who completed the four-week program received job offers from The Industrial Company (TIC), starting at $20 per…

As part of the Delta Music Institute’s (DMI) monthly All-Access Series, Delta State University students recently welcomed acclaimed guitarist and songwriter Damon Johnson for a special virtual session via Zoom. Johnson, currently on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, shared invaluable real-world insight from his decades-long career in the music industry. Throughout the session, he spoke candidly…

Delta State University has named Matty Bengloff as the new Executive Director of the Bologna Performing Arts Center. Bengloff will oversee the center’s operations, programming and community partnerships as the venue continues its role as a cultural hub for the Mississippi Delta and surrounding region. A longtime Cleveland resident, Bengloff brings a background in operations…

The Mississippi Arts Commission has announced its FY26–FY29 Artist Roster, naming Mississippi Delta songwriter and educator Will Coppage among a select group of artists chosen through a competitive, panel-reviewed process. The MAC Artist Roster recognizes exceptional artistic talent across the state. Artists are selected by panels of professional artists, presenters and educators based on artistic…

What are the chances that great opportunities will come your way more than once? Some say the odds are slim and call it a fat chance. They ask whether lightning really strikes the same place twice. When something wonderful happens, many people credit luck, timing, or coincidence, anything but God. And when they see a…

From Delta soil to sky, a 48-hour vote could launch a new model for rural STEM, unity, and opportunity Leland has been named one of just 24 finalists nationwide in the Dream Bigger 2026 Grant Campaign — a national competition by Skyllght that will award $2,500 grants to 12 communities across the country. The catch: voting is…

Venuti was also recently featured on the United States House of Representatives social media page, where he gave a shoutout to The Leland Progress — a proud full-circle moment for his hometown paper.

Rev. Jessie King, superintendent of Leland Public School District, spoke to the Leland Rotary Club on Monday, Feb. 2, outlining the district’s progress in a presentation titled “From Failing to Flourishing: LSD’s Journey Toward High Performance and Lasting Education Transformation.” Shown left to right are Dr. Don Kiem, Leland School Board; Nehru Brown, federal programs…

March is crowded with holy days. Lunar New Year reminds us that something has already begun beneath the surface. Even when the fields look bare, the year has turned. Growth has started underground. Lent arrives quietly after that. Forty days of reorientation. Not spectacle, but intention. The old word is repentance, which simply means to…

Delta State University formally unveiled a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker on March 10 commemorating the 1969 student sit-in, a pivotal moment in the university’s history and in the broader Civil Rights Movement in the Mississippi Delta. The ceremony, held in front of Kethley Hall on the 57th anniversary of the demonstration, brought together students, alumni,…