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Vicksburg Chief of Police Penny Jones, at far right, speaks to the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Alderman, from left, Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Ward 1 Alderman Thomas "T.J." Mayfield, about shootings at a local gas station. (Blake Bell/The Vicksburg Post)

Pictured is Bertha Mayfield, wife of the late Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield Sr., removing the bow from his chair as Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. looks on. (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

Officials cut the ribbon on the new Vicksburg Animal Shelter in December. (Ben Martin/The Vicksburg Post)

President and CEO of the Vicksburg Warren Partnership Pablo Diaz updates the public on the new port project at a chamber meeting in February. (Blake Bell/The Vicksburg Post)

The Volvo bus that crashed in August on Interstate 20 is examined by safety officials. (submitted photo)

A groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited new Warren County Jail was held on Old Highway 80. (Ben Martin/The Vicksburg Post)

The American Queen riverboat, right, sits docked along Vicksburg’s watefront (File photo/The Vicksburg Post).

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Project Planning and Review Robyn Colosimo, right, and USACE Vicksburg District Commander Col. Jeremiah Gipson were included on the panel during a trio of meetings. (Blake Bell/The Vicksburg Post)

Mississippi State University professor Dr. Eddie French speaks during a public meeting. (Blake Bell/The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg finished first on the top ten list of America's Best Historical Small Towns in Newsweek magazine's Readers' Choice Awards. (Photo courtesy of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Burueau)

Like all years, 2024 was made up of a hodgepodge of good and bad, ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs. In 2024, Vicksburg grappled with old questions that have lingered, tried to find new solutions to continuing problems and faced devastating loss. But, the River City also reveled in successes, accomplished goals years in the making and laid the groundwork for years of potential growth. Below, The Vicksburg Post counts down the top ten stories that defined the year of 2024 in Vicksburg and Warren County.

1. Shootings continue to plague city

In 2024, the question of what to do about the continued problem of gun violence inside the Vicksburg city limits permeated much of the year’s social commentary. Elected officials and law enforcement alike held special meetings and community town halls to discuss the issue, all while gunshots continued to ring out across the city. 

In several cases, singular locations became the sites of multiple instances of gunfire, leading a frustrated public to demand answers for why the violence could not be curbed. In August, a study released by WJTV listed Vicksburg as having the third most gun violence in Mississippi since 2019, behind only Jackson and Meridian. 

The problem came to a head in early August, when 18-year-old Korey Sims Jr. was killed by gunfire at a private residence on Abraham Drive. The death came only a month after Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. was criticized for saying most shootings in Vicksburg were not random acts and declaring the city a “safe” place. 

In October, Flaggs and other city officials met with residents of the Fostoria neighborhood after a number of shootings occurred around the same home on Speed Street.

In early December, one man was killed in another Vicksburg neighborhood in an officer-involved shooting that remains under investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. 

2. Alderman Michael Mayfield dies

In March, the City of Vicksburg lost longtime Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield Sr. Mayfield passed away after a brief battle with cancer. 

Mayfield was first elected to the North Ward Alderman position in July of 2005. Prior to serving as alderman, he served as District 2 supervisor for the Warren County Board of Supervisors for 10 years. A product of the Vicksburg Public School System, Mayfield graduated with high honors from Hinds Community College, receiving his associate’s degree in basic electronics and electricity. He was also certified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In late May, Mayfield’s son, Thomas, “T.J.” Mayfield, defeated Daryl Hollingsworth in a runoff to a special election to fill the vacant Ward 1 seat on the Vicksburg Board of  Mayor and Aldermen. T.J. Mayfield said he will run again for the seat in Vicksburg’s 2025 municipal election. 

3. Vicksburg’s new animal shelter official opens

After years of taking one step forward and two steps back, the City of Vicksburg officially cut the ribbon on its new animal shelter on Cedars Road in December.

With a price tag of nearly $2 million, the new facility replaces the shelter on Old Mill Road that has for years faced flooding problems and other structural issues.

In late December, shelter director Kacie Lindsey said personnel are still working to move the animals themselves and expects the process to be completed by Jan. 6.

In the months leading up to the shelter’s opening, donations poured into the facility, including $50,000 from the Friends of the City of Vicksburg Animal Shelter designated for new cat cages and an additional $10,000 from resident Karen Kirk on behalf of the estate of her late mother Barbara Crow Whiteman.

“I’d like to thank everybody for all their support to help make this happen,” Lindsey said at the facility’s ribbon-cutting event.“Thank you to all my volunteers that help on a daily. And I hope to see more volunteers start to come to our new facility.”

4. New port project unveiled 

In January, the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce brought some big news for both entities it represents, as the chamber’s executive director, and president and CEO of the Vicksburg-Warren Economic Development Partnership, Pablo Diaz announced the official location of the new south port project.

Diaz said the announcement was a long time in the making as the need to expand the Warren County Port has been a priority for years and birthed a partnership between the City of Vicksburg, Warren County Board of Supervisors, the port commission, and the Vicksburg-Warren Partnership.  

The new port will be located south of Interstate 20 and between the Mississippi River and U.S. Highway 61 South.

In November, Gov. Tate Reeves announced a total of $10,483,796 has been allocated to the project to conduct wetlands mitigation as required by the site’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. In 2022, the City of Vicksburg allocated $1 million in reserve funding for the project, just one month after a $1 million pledge from Warren County.

 A completion date for the port has not yet been announced.

5. Bus crash on I-20 kills 7

A bus crash on Interstate 20 killed seven people in late August when a 2018 Volvo bus traveling from Atlanta to Dallas experienced a failure of the left front tire.

The crash, which took place Aug. 31 at 12:40 a.m. near mile marker 9 on I-20 in Warren County, caused the bus to roll over on its left side on an embankment. Six people were declared dead at the scene and another died later at Merit Health River Region hospital in Vicksburg.  

A total of 43 people — 41 passengers and two drivers — were on the bus. All of the survivors were transported to hospitals in Vicksburg and Jackson for treatment.

First responders from the Vicksburg police and fire departments, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Warren County Fire Service and Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to the scene. They worked well into the night aiding injured passengers and freeing those trapped in the wreckage.

In the days following the accident, many of the surviving passengers found themselves stranded in Vicksburg, where Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said locals came out in droves to help where they could. In addition to supporting the victims’ needs for food, medicine and shelter, Pace said he was thankful for the volunteer help of translators, as most of the victims spoke only Spanish.

6. Groundbreaking held for new Warren County Jail

In September, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Warren County Jail. The $74 million project will replace the current jail, which was built in 1907 and received its last major upgrade in 1977.

County and city officials, along with partners of the project, gathered at the site of the new facility at 1200 Old Highway 80. 

“To say I’m glad this day has come is an understatement,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

The new facility – which will be constructed by general contractor White Construction, a national company with offices in Ridgeland – will have a capacity of 240 inmates, nearly doubling the county’s current capacity. The facility will also be built to allow expansions in the future.

The county will pay off the cost of the new jail over a 30-year period. The project is expected to take about two years to complete.

7. Vicksburg wins Newsweek’s Reader’s Choice award for Best Historical Small Town

In August, the River City made waves by coming in first in the Readers’ Choice list of America’s 10 Best Historical Small Towns by Newsweek magazine.

Vicksburg was one of 15 nominees for the distinction of Best Historical Small Town, which was chosen by Newsweek readers who were able to vote online for the order of the final top ten list. Other nominated towns from across the country included Berlin, Md; Bisbee, Ariz.; Breckenridge, Colo.; Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif.; Cedarburg, Wis.; Cody, Wyo.; • Concord, Mass.; Gettysburg, Penn.; Harpers Ferry, W. Va.; Hyde Park, N.Y.; Lindsborg, Kan.; St. Augustine, Fla.; Tombstone, Ariz.; and Williamsburg, Va.

“We couldn’t be happier to wear the badge of the number one Best Historical Small Town by Newsweek,” Visit Vicksburg Executive Director Laura Beth Strickland said of the award. “Vicksburg is full of history, and visitors come from all over the world to hear our stories and experience our city. We hope this will allow us to draw an even larger audience to Vicksburg.”

8. American Queen Voyages announces bankruptcy

In February, American Queen Voyages shocked customers and employees alike with its abrupt announcement that the company would cease operations and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

 In a letter to guests and travel partners, Adam Peakes, president of AQV parent company Hornblower Group, said the cruise line planned to initiate the Chapter 11 process, commonly referred to as a “reorganization” bankruptcy, in the U.S. and ancillary proceedings in Canada. 

American Queen was one of three cruise lines that regularly docked in Vicksburg, along with Viking Cruise Lines and American Cruise Lines. 

American Queen Voyages, formerly known as American Queen Steamboat Company, operated river cruises all along the length of the Mississippi River, as well as the Ohio River Valley and the Pacific Northwest. It has included Vicksburg on its itineraries for more than a decade. After an 18-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it returned to Vicksburg in August 2021.

In April, American Cruise Lines acquired the four river cruise vessels that sailed for American Queen Voyages.

9. Yazoo Backwater Project forms new plan

In 2024 a new chapter was written in the decades-old story of the Yazoo Backwater Project, a continually evolving plan to address flooding in the area that has resulted in devastating effects for farmers and residents for years. Most recently, in 2019, about 500,000 acres of land and 686 homes were flooded in the area.

In August, the release of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) detailed the impact on the environment, both desirable and undesirable, that the project would have. It was produced by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The release came after public meetings in July, including stops in Vicksburg, in order to gauge public opinion on three proposed options for the project.

In November, the USACE Vicksburg District released the final EIS. USACE said it received extensive public input gathered during the earlier DEIS phase, which concluded Aug. 12. The collaborative efforts during this process have allowed for comprehensive engagement with affected communities and stakeholders, USACE officials said, ensuring that a wide range of perspectives have been considered in the development of the final document.

10. City officials again consider new form of government

In 2024 an old proposal concerning Vicksburg’s form of government found new life and city officials again spoke their minds about altering the River City’s unique municipal structure.

In July, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour each voiced their opposition to any proposed changes in the government after a local group gained traction in advocating for a restructuring. 

In late July, representatives from the  John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University were on hand at the Warren County Courthouse for a public meeting, laying out the pros and cons of proposed forms of government that could replace Vicksburg’s current structure.

Although a petition advocating for a ballot initiative circulated through the River City in 2024, a final number of signatures appearing on the document was never disclosed. 

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