A rose to our fellow Americans who have defended our nation through military service as Tuesday’s Veterans Day approaches. There are currently 18 million living veterans, which account for roughly 6% of the entire U.S. population. According to the Veterans Administration, most of these veterans served in the past 30 years and during wartime. Today, veterans of the Gulf War era now outnumber those who served in the Vietnam era through 1973. Of the more than 16 million Americans who served in WWII, just over 120,000 were still with us on Veterans Day 2024. Women are the fastest-growing group in the veteran population. Today, more women serve in the Armed Forces than ever before, making up approximately 18% of the total enlistment. In 2000, women accounted for just 4% of the veteran population; today they make up 10%. Those numbers aren’t abstractions. Everyone reading this can count veterans among their family, friends and neighbors, so it’s a personal holiday for all of us. We urge you to take the time to express your gratitude for their service.

A thorn to the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors for making a low priority of honoring all Lowndes County soldiers who died in World War I. In February 2024, supervisors were made aware that 12 fallen Black soldiers from the county had been deliberately left off the list of the soldiers whose names were included on a monument to the war dead erected in 1933. Research by MSMS history students identified the Black soldiers and found evidence that they were deliberately excluded. Research also discovered the names of two white soldiers who had been left off the list, most likely by accident. A committee was formed to determine how best to recognize these soldiers, either by adding their names to the existing monument or erecting another listing the names and providing necessary context. It’s been 21 months since the supervisors learned of this error and there has been no tangible progress toward honoring these men. Each May, Memorial Day honors the soldiers who have died in military service. Two Memorial Days have come and gone since supervisors learned of this situation. Will another Memorial Day pass without action as well?

A rose to Mississippi University for Women, which has increased its enrollment by 8%, the highest increase rate among the state’s eight public universities. For the first time since fall 2019 MUW grew in total students attending the university. MUW added 173 more students to last fall’s total of 2,193. It’s the first time The W has increased its student population since 2019. This growth comes as MUW faced serious challenges to its future as the state’s Board of Education recommended that Mississippi School for Math and Science be relocated from the MUW campus to Mississippi State. It also followed a messy effort to rename the university to reflect its modern status as a co-educational institution. That effort, which included a proposed new name, met with bitter criticism from within the MUW family. Given those distractions, the healthy growth is a testament to the university’s recruiting efforts and proof that despite all the negativity that has swirled around it, The W is still a viable, growing institution.

A rose to the city of Starkville as it reaches the halfway point of a major infrastructure project. The Highway 182 revitalization project, which runs about one mile between Old West Point Road and Long Street, broke ground in fall 2024 with plans to reduce the road to two lanes divided by landscaped medians, add pedestrian and bike lanes to each side of the street and install new underground utilities, among other improvements. The $41.2 million project is being paid for by a combination of federal, state and local funds. When completed, Highway 182 will be transformed from a dated, neglected thoroughfare to an aesthetically appealing and inviting city retail street.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.