Aug 25, 2022 - Tupelo, MS
by: Caleb McCluskey, Daily Journal
Gov. Tate Reeves touted Northeast Mississippi's economic development on Wednesday following a meeting with Lee County and Tupelo officials.
Officials across Lee County met with Reeves to discuss the future of Northeast Mississippi. Speaking to media after the meeting, the governor said he had a great conversation with local leaders about the importance of economic development and developing the infrastructure to meet growth.
“We had a good conversation with community leaders talking about ... the partnership that we have created with our state legislature and our local communities to make sure we can fund that local infrastructure in such as way that we meet the needs of the next 50 years here in Northeast Mississippi,” Reeves said.
Reeves also said he and local leaders spoke about the importance of maintaining an educated workforce. He touted the local public school district, community college and universities as leaders in the state system.
“There is no doubt that in Northeast Mississippi, one of the strengths here is in this part of our state is our educational institutions," the governor said. “In Mississippi, we can definitely say, ‘Yes, we have a qualified workforce; we have an educated workforce; and we have a workforce training system that can get people to these potential employers.'"
When asked about the growth of affordable housing development alongside economic growth, Reeves said it was a focus when talking about development, but that there is no easy solution to working class families' struggles to find affordable places to live.
Reeves said it's important that people educated in Mississippi have job opportunities locally.
“We have to keep working on that," he said. "(Affordable housing) is certainly something that is important. … In every new economic development opportunity that we have we talk a lot about not only workforce training but workforce housing.”
Sen. Chad McMahan, R-Guntown, said the meeting with the governor was productive.
“I am so glad Gov. Reeves came to Lee County today,” he said. “He is here regularly, but today he was here to focus on economic development. He has proven to be a friend to Lee County Mississippi though the number of economic projects we’ve had in this area.”
Saltillo Mayor Copey Grantham thanked Reeves for taking time to visit the region and speak with him and other leaders.
“We are just excited to meet with the governor,” he said. “For him to take his time out of his busy schedule to come to Northeast Mississippi means a lot."
