Mississippi announces over $100 million in economic development grants
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi officials announced more than $100 million in new grant funding designed to prepare communities for future economic development and job creation.
The grants are being distributed to areas across the state as part of a site development program aimed at creating the groundwork needed for new business investments.
“The over $100 million in new investment I am announcing today will help strengthen Mississippi’s economy. It will help bolster our state’s record-breaking momentum, and it will deliver even more opportunities to the over 3 million people who call Mississippi home,” Gov. Tate Reeves said.
Local preparation required
Communities not receiving grants may have missed the opportunity because they did not apply, according to Bill Cork, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority and the governor.
“The answer for most of them on the site development program is because your community didn’t ask,” Reeves said.
Both the governor and Cork said local communities must first make preparations before receiving state funding.
“We are not willing to give a grant to an entity, to a city, or county, or economic development organization that is not ready to start spending money soon,” Reeves said.
“What we aren’t going to do is be a daddy state or a mommy state and try to predict for these counties what’s good for them,” Cork added.
Geographic challenges highlighted
Officials highlighted natural features that affect development potential, including national forests and flood hazard areas. The Mississippi Delta region faces particular challenges due to flooding history.
“The very thing that makes – it’s somewhat ironic – but the very thing that makes the Mississippi Delta such fertile land and that is the fact that it has flooded for many years also makes it extremely challenging to see significant industrial development in a large part of it,” Reeves said.
The investments are not expected to create immediate job openings but are designed to ensure future economic development announcements in the coming years.
For more details, including the areas receiving grant funding, click here.
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