SUMMARY: Charles Knight, the director of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, is retiring after 31 years. His tenure saw the museum gain prestigious accolades, including the American Alliance of Museums accreditation and the Southeast Tourism Society's Travel Attraction of the Year award. Recently, Mississippi Magazine readers named it the 2024 Best Museum. Knight, who began visiting the museum as a child, advanced through roles from Research Coordinator to Director. He significantly impacted conservation, education, and tourism. Lynn Posey of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks praised Knight for his contributions and dedication, thanking him for his service.

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SUMMARY: Charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly appearing in Mississippi, recently including a $350,000 fast charging station in downtown Brandon funded by Entergy Mississippi. Positioned near Interstates 20 and 55, it benefits local and passing EV drivers. This station, alongside one in Ridgeland, aids Entergy Mississippi's research on EV impact on the power grid. With 3,300 EVs in Mississippi, Entergy is gathering data for future infrastructure planning, expecting 26 million EVs in the US by 2030. The Brandon station has two fast chargers that can power an EV in 30-45 minutes at $0.30/kWh. Many cities statewide now have EV charging stations.

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SUMMARY: Republican Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann plans to propose several measures to reduce chronic absenteeism in Mississippi schools. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing over 18 school days annually, stood at 23.9% in the 2022-23 school year, down from 28% in 2021-22 but still higher than pre-pandemic levels. Hosemann's proposals include restricting cell phone use in schools, shifting school attendance officers to district-level supervision, increasing their salaries, and encouraging low-performing schools to adopt a modified calendar. He also intends to visit schools statewide to better understand absenteeism issues and has tasked the K-12 and Postsecondary Mental Health Task Force with examining the problem.

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