Contentious Week In The Legislature

Another week of the Legislature is behind us. And it was quite a week. With us again this morning to break it down is MPB Capitol Reporter Paul Boger. Welcome, Paul.

Zika In Mississippi

Mississippians are being advised to take caution after reports of the state's first case of the zika virus. The State Health Department has confirmed  the case in Madison County in a person who had just returned from a mission trip to Haiti. State Epidemiologist Doctor Thomas Dobbs says eighty percent of people infected with zika show no symptoms. And he cautions those returning from zika countries to avoid mosquitoes once they're back home -- for at least three weeks. Dobbs spoke with MPB's Maura Moed.

University Officials Respond To NAACP

The University of Mississippi continues to wrestle with how best to word a plaque on the Confederate soldier monument on campus. Yesterday evening, the NAACP student chapter met with Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter and committee members who worked on the explanatory plaque that was installed next to the monument last week. Members of the NAACP chapter say the current wording of the plaque fails to mention slavery as the primary cause of the Civil War. MPB’s Sandra Knispel spoke with Vitter and assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs, Donald R. Cole. First, Chancellor Vitter.

The Sweet Potato Queen Musical

The Sweet Potato Queens started out as a way for friends to get together and have a little fun. Nine novels, an annual parade and thousands of members later, founder Jill Connor Browne is getting her wish -- a Sweet Potato Queen musical. With songs by Melissa Manchester and the possibility of Reba McEntire joining the cast, Browne is more than a little excited.