State Theater Getting New Lease on Life with New Owners

STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

State Theater owners Greg and Mark Hayden are banking that they will be able to succeed where some others have failed over the past two decades – as their attempt to revitalize the venerable venue as a restaurant, bar, and live music theater. They purchased the property in 2015; it was originally founded as a movie hall in the 1930s and has borne other names and hosted several businesses ever since. The Hayden’s face an uphill challenge due, in part to the sheer size of the venus and the attendant costs, but they are certain that they are up to the challenge. The bar is ready to rock already, and they are continuing to invest their hard-earned money into renovating the rest of the building.

Mayor Lynn Spruill expressed her support for the project and reminisced about her own past as a patron there: “When I was growing up, I used to go to the movies there, so I’m very fond of the fact that people are trying to bring it back to life,” Spruill said. “I’m excited about having events downtown. I’ve always thought that the Cotton District was the Cotton District and then downtown had other things to offer. So, I like the idea of us having more than one location for that.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/category-news/new-york-based-owners-try-to-make-go-of-state-theatre/

10.5 Mil Grant Awarded to Help Support Future Engineers

STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of msstate.edu

MSU-Bagley College of Engineering faculty member Dalton “Ross” Smith was recently awarded a $10.5 million grant to be used to improve and expand the college’s IDEELab program, which educates and trains prospective engineers at the school. “A strong industrial base is critical to our national security, and we need innovative approaches to developing our industrial workforce,” said Adele Ratcliff, an MSU alumna and ICAM Director. “It’s exciting to see this work taking place in Mississippi that will grow hands-on learning opportunities in advanced manufacturing for students in such a defense-rich region. Mississippi State’s leadership follows a National Academy’s recommendation to incorporate an applied manufacturing focus to strengthen U.S. engineering and manufacturing capabilities.”

The grant will allow training and other opportunities to be extended to students in such a way that they can get hands-on training while still at school, in addition to making it possible to introduce the concepts to students in K-12 grades, as well: “Ideally, everyone would have the opportunity of a co-op or internship, but that isn’t always the case,” Smith said. “This now becomes the place where students get to practice skills they learn in the classroom for creating marketable technologies. Students will have access to advanced manufacturing equipment, as well as collaborative design spaces.” The plan is to help students gain more hands-on experience and better prepare them for the working world after graduation.

In addition to the $7 million provided by DoD, approximately $3.5 million of the grant comes from non-federal matching funds.

Please click here for the original article: https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2023/09/mechanical-engineering-instructor-and-ideelab-deputy-director-has-big

Soul Food for the Soul – And Giving Back to the Community

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Slim Smith

Shirley Coleman has been dedicating nearly half of her life to serving up great soul food for the good folks of Columbus, frequently parking her food truck in the Gateway Shopping Center in East Columbus (generally 11 to 6 Wed~Sat). Having learned to cook at a young age, she worked other jobs and eventually sold candy in order to raise the money to start her own business. She began running the food truck full-time in 2003 after the clothing factory where she had been working shut down.

More recently, she has felt the calling to also give back to the community in other ways, by giving good, hot meals to those in need on a regular basis. This year has been the best ever in that regard, as she has given out four thousand free meals; she sets out on Mondays to provide this service. Recently, the Columbus Housing Authority has granted her permission to set up her truck in their parking lot. “It hasn’t been easy, but the Lord was with me,” Coleman said. “The Lord put it on my heart to go out in the community and feed the poor,” she said. “At first, I did it on my own, driving around the neighborhoods and feeding children who would come by. I loved it. I thought, ‘This is one day that I know these children aren’t going to bed hungry.’” She even delivers to elderly folks who cannot easily leave their homes.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/category-news/profile-ms-shirley-uses-food-truck-to-feed-less-fortunate-in-east-columbus/

Trotter Accessibility & Safety Renos Planned. Plus: A Literal Fire(house) Sale

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Brian Jones

The Columbus City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved some external renovations for the Trotter in order to bring it into compliance with ADA law. The focus of Phase I is on the 2nd Street side, where the plan is to double the current sidewalk width from five to ten feet in addition to making some badly-needed repairs there, add a wheelchair ramp, and change the parking from angled to parallel parking. They will also be removing the “hazardous” crepe myrtle trees on the corner. “We’re going to convert angled parking — where people can’t see to back out — to parallel parking, which mimics what’s across the street,” City Engineer Kevin Stafford explained. “You can see (when) coming in and out of those spaces.”

Phase II will be all about the courtyard area: “If you’ve been down there, the patio area outside the downstairs doors of the Trotter is kind of treacherous,” Mayor Keith Gaskin said. “The trees that are in there have bumped up the sidewalk.” Trees will be removed and the concrete will be repaired. All repairs and renovations are slated to be complete by about christmastime of this year, and the funding will come from the city’s current 2% hotel tax, which is designated for Trotter maintenance and repair.

The Old Fire Station 4 at Airline and South McCrary, which has not been in active use for several years, is going up on the auction block. The 1959 structure has been plagued by structural and roof issues, so any buyer would need to deal with those. One potential bidder has expressed interest: Crossroads Sober Living, which ic located right next door. Founder Dusty Snider spoke with the Dispatch: “We’ve been going back and forth with the city for about a year. . . We’re still interested if it makes sense. It’s been sitting there empty, it needs a lot of (repair work), so we’re hoping for a fair price.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/ada-ramp-better-sidewalks-parallel-parking-coming-to-trotter/

Airbus Has 20 Years in GTR, Future Prospects are Sky High

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

Airbus Helicopters recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their assembly plant next to the GTR Airport. In that time, they have gone from producing five helis per year to over a hundred, in a space that has expanded from 85 thousand square feet to 331K, and they have done so with the help of a workforce that has added more then 300 employees in that time. “It was still a dream (in 2003),” CEO Romain Trapp said Friday during the celebration. “We are very happy with what we have achieved. We believe the success we have comes also from having found Mississippi as a great place to do business. . .Here in Mississippi, we bring (Airbus’s) purpose to life by building and supporting helicopters that enable our customers to perform essential missions, such as serving and protecting people and communities.”

They continue to produce helicopters for both military and civilian use, including some that are used for medical and rescue purposes. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) spoke about the accomplishment: “Our friends from Airbus, and their leadership of so many people in this room and those who are not able to be with us now, have performed something worthy to be remembered.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/20-years-of-airbus-worthy-to-be-remembered/

When You Got that Glo

STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

Starkville’s own Glo, makers of light-up toys and cubes, was recently recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the nation. CEO Hagan Walker had this to say: “Making the list constitutes I think it’s the top 0.5% of the fastest-growing private companies in America,” Walker said. “For us as a small company in Starkville, Mississippi, that started out of a classroom project, that’s pretty cool to be in that top percent.”

They opened for business in 2015 and have been growing ever since, selling a variety of products within their special niche and even selling internationally: “We are being more prevalent as an omnichannel company, meaning that you’re not just relying on one sales channel,” Walker said. “For us, we’ve really made a lot of strides with that.” While they have their own storefronts online and at street level, they also sell their products at both Mom & Pop shops and through larger retailers such as Macy’s, Kohl’s and Nordstrom.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/2023-08-17/glo-ranks-among-fastest-growing-private-companies/

ELM LAKE UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP, EXPANSION PLANS IN THE WORKS

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

Myung Lee, the new owner of the Elm Lake Golf Club, has announced that he recently purchased it for an undisclosed sum. He has plans to both renovate the clubhouse and to add new buildings to the property once the weather is more conducive to construction projects: “The winter time here is going to be slow, so that will be a good time for us to expand out a restaurant space and add (indoor) screen golf here as well,” Lee said. “I’m really happy about the sale. It’s very exciting but also worrying because now we have to plan and make those changes.” A resident of the US for over three decades, he had been looking into a number of gold courses that were coming up for sale; when he first laid eyes on Elm Lake, he knew it was the one. He has since moved from Texas to the adjoining subdivision.

Plans in the works for various parts of the property include a large sports bar and restaurant, a fitness center, and an indoor golfing room for patrons to practice their swing on a simulated green. He is also considering a pool/waterpark area for the kids. He also plans to spend plenty of time there speaking with members to find out what they would most like to be done to his new venue, already in excellent condition. Next year, the name of it will become Elm Lake Country Club.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/2023-08-10/restaurant-space-course-improvements-coming-to-elm-lake-in-2024/

Sol Y Luna Opening Soon-a??

GOLDEN TRIANGLE REGION, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

COLUMBUS

Sol Y Luna has been renovating the former Logan’s Roadhouse building at 589 18th Ave. N. for some time now. The nascent venue will offer “authentic Mexican cuisine,” and is owned by the folks behind Mi Hacienda. A manager from MH said that, “It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

Local entrepreneur Chris Hannon recently launched Do The 662, a site that seeks to promote area events and other businesses for a reasonable price: “We are doing events of all kinds like Latin music at a local club, Market Street Festival, trivia nights at a local pub,” Hannon said. “We are certainly doing events here in Columbus, Starkville, and West Point but also in places like Senatobia, Fernando and Cleveland too.”

STARKVILLE

Boardtown Pizza and Pints, 705 University Drive, plans to reopen later this month. They were forced to close due to an electrical fire back in March, but they’re working on getting the doors open again as soon as possible.

Skin care and facial business The Shine Facial Bar is preparing to open their third location soon at 401 University Drive, where Strange Brew used to be. Owner Jonathan Mason said, “We just are much closer to Starkville than we are to Auburn, and we’ve always wanted to be a part of the Starkville community. We’re super excited to basically be moving just an hour and a half down the road.” They plan to open up this Fall.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/2023-08-10/goings-on-with-grant-boardtown-pizza-and-pints-returning-to-starkville-in-a-few-weeks/

LINK Hints at Big Business Investment Just Around the Corner

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said recently addresses the organization’s 20th anniversary; in that time, it has helped to create over 20,000 jobs in our area: “The jobs we’re creating are vastly different than the jobs that were here. . . an assload of land [has been] acquired and put into development,” Higgins said. “… It won’t fit into the back of a pickup truck.”

There are three major deals currently in the works, just waiting for the final details to be ironed out before they can be formally announced. Two of the deals will be for businesses in Lowndes, and the other, in Oktibbeha; the total expected capital investment is expected to be North of $200 million.

He also spoke of plans to move the LINK office to the GTR Airport, in order to better server all areas of the GT region from a more central location: “It’s kind of common ground, if you will. All three of our counties actually own the airport.”

They are also working on bringing in a 1,500 Cinco Megasite (off of Hwy 82 West) in conjunction with the TVA.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/2023-08-08/3-company-announcements-coming-this-month/

GT Regional Airport Set to Expand This Fall

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

The Golden Triangle Regional Airport has announced that its terminal expansion project – originally planned for May of this year – has secured all of its funding and will commence this Fall; the project is anticipated to take 18 to 24 months to complete. The primary change will be the addition of a second floor to the facility, along with an elevator and two escalators to go along with it. The passenger waiting area will also be rearranged. A jet bridge (raised passenger tunnel used for boarding and disembarkation) will also be added. In the meantime, the current waiting and security areas will be adjusted to account for the construction. The funding has come primarily from the FAA and the MS DoT: “It’s a great feeling to get all the funding pieces together for the project,” Executive Director Mat Dowell said. “The state funding is very important to airports like ours where they can help us with our funding so we don’t have the burden of trying to come up with such a large amount on an impactful project.”

West Brothers Construction won the bid for the project. Vo-owner Rob Winklepleck is looking forward to it: “It’s always exciting to be part of a project that enhances the community and economy where we live,” Winklepleck said. “Like most businesses, we’re thankful for all the work that we are awarded. We are proud of all our projects, but the ones at home, working with local businesses and community representatives feel a little different.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/2023-07-26/terminal-expansion-project-at-gtra-slated-to-start-by-fall/