SuperTalk Media MidDays with Gerard Gibert 2026-07-03

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
The show was previously recorded.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:02)
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Get ready, get ready to go beyond the headlines and join a meaningful conversation with people from around the state. You're listening to MidDays with Gerard Gibert, here on SuperTalk Mississippi.

**Gerard Gibert** (1:00)
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to MidDays, SuperTalk Mississippi. I'm your host, Gerard Gibert, along with Rhino in the Element Wealth Studio, guiding you through the middle of your day with facts, fodder, and fine music on this Friday Eve. Man, yeah, and a delightful one it is out there. I enjoyed a quick trip down to McColl, Mississippi, Pike County, addressing the McColl Rotary Club. Great folks down there. Really enjoyed being with them and talking a little bit about stuff going on. It was really good. Good folks. And one thing I noticed, Rhino, on the way down I-55 there, I spoke in New Albany back right after the ice storm, about a month after the ice storm or so. And I noted all the downed trees along the route, as you get kind of in the northern tier of 55 there.
And then all, of course, all the way through New Albany, that route through there. Well, there's a section, you know, we had the tornadoes that came through not so long ago. There's a section in Lincoln County, which was hit pretty hard. Lincoln, Lawrence, and Lamar counties hit hard by the recent outbreak.
And just as tornadoes do, you know, it's a stretch, not very large. As pine trees are just twisted up and down, and completely topped. Just nothing but stalks standing up from the ground. Just amazing the power of those storms. But what an interesting contrast you would expect to see in Mississippi, where you got downed trees from an ice storm that came through in the northern counties, and then you got the downed trees from tornado. It came through in the southwest counties.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:58)
I don't know. It might be argued that you'd only see that in Mississippi.

**Gerard Gibert** (3:02)
That's true.
Where we kind of have all the climates in one state, right? Man oh man.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:09)
But we're also one of those states that's perfectly positioned to usually get ice instead of snow.

**Gerard Gibert** (3:16)
That's right. Which is more devastating, typically. I think the difference was the area affected by the ice was much larger, of course, than tornadoes are, than the wind effect of the tornadoes. But the ice, pretty much, you see the entire tree just kind of falling down. But with the tornado, it's like it's been ripped out, ripped off.
And it was just a small stretch. You know how there's some areas of 55 where you got a pretty wide median, and it's usually planted. It's treed up. And other foliage.
And it was just that small stretch right there at Brookhaven, Lincoln County. Man, I hope everybody is recovering. I've seen some reports on that. I know some folks are still without their homes, of course. Their homes were completely devastated, and they're trying to manage that situation, still taking donations, I believe. So, man, let's pray that the destructive weather, at least, is out of here for a while. Delightful today, for sure. It's more like typical May weather. It's one of my favorite months of the year. I think most people would agree with that. May and October, similar in terms of the temperature range. You get those big high pressures, bright blue skies, low humidity.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:39)
And the northern half of the Magnolia state today can brag and say that they are among the nicest weather in the country.

**Gerard Gibert** (4:45)
That's exactly right.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:48)
According to the weather people.

**Gerard Gibert** (4:50)
How about that? Well, let's enjoy it. Let's celebrate it. So appreciate Dave filling in. Wow, why did you let everything go all hell in a handbasket, as they say? In a short 48 hours. Stuff happening on the national scene, stuff happening, of course, here in the state, with the governor saying, yep, we don't need this special session. I know he was on with Richard yesterday. That has actually made some national news, because in focus, of course, is redrawing the congressional districts. I think it's fair to say that on the national landscape, the special session called by the governor to reconfigure the Supreme Court districts, that's more of an issue that has some applicability within our state, not on the national stage. The national stage, in the national political landscape, the concern more, of course, is about what does this redistricting look like as it relates to the United States House of Representatives. Now, in the state of Mississippi, we have four districts, as you know, although our Constitution thinks we have five, at least vis-à-vis the ballot measure process. Who did that, man? Golly. Oh, this will never change. This is permanent, right? But I digress. So that's what's going on. Now, the governor, I believe, yesterday came out, yesterday, Rhino, and he was on, actually on Fox News yesterday. Like I said, some degree of national news, because we are one of those states that could, based on control of our legislature by Republicans, could redo these maps in such a way that Congressman Benny Thompson would have to return to Mississippi.