Latest / Between the Headlines: Columbus / A Leadership Pipeline Takes Form PLUS Will MSU's Season Lead to an Economic Boom?

Transcript

A Leadership Pipeline Takes Form PLUS Will MSU's Season Lead to an Economic Boom? · Between the Headlines: Columbus

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what he has come up with today to talk about.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not asking you to hide anything.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, don't put it out there.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let the people see it.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_04: I've never not worked in a hospital working department.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: You can't argue with anybody when they're putting facts in your face.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Zach.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's a hard question.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I have no answer for it.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: From the opinion page of the commercial dispatch.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is Between the Headlines.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_03: This week on Between the Headlines, we have a bit of a political shift here in the Golden Triangle.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_03: We'll talk a little about that.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_03: And Mr.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: Roderick Smith, Councilman, showed his ass a little bit in the council meeting.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_03: And Zach and I have the distinct privilege of describing what that looked like.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: And our special guest today, Mr.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_03: Jake McMahon, will talk sports as Mississippi State's got a chance to actually do something this year but first.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_03: Retirement looks different for everyone, so your plan should be built around you.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: For over 40 years, Financial Concepts has helped people create retirement strategies that fit their lives.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: Our team in Columbus takes the time to understand your goals and build a plan that works for you.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_03: Wherever you are in your journey, we're ready to help.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: We plan retirement.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: Financial Concepts is a registered investment advisor.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_03: This episode of Between the Headlines is brought to you by Bank First, a bank headquartered right here in Columbus, Mississippi.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_03: That means your banking decisions aren't made hundreds of miles away by someone who doesn't know you.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_03: They're made here locally by bankers who know your name and care about the community.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_03: At Bank First, we're more than bankers.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_03: We're your neighbors.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_03: Whether we're cheering in the stands, catching up at a local pancake breakfast, or celebrating milestones across our community, we're part of the moments that matter most.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: Stop by your local Bank First branch or visit BankFirstFS.com to learn more.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: Bank First is a member FDIC and Equal Housing lender, Bank NMLS 454063.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: In the heart of the friendly city, here we are with another exciting episode of Between the Headlines.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_03: We've got things to talk about today related to politics, city council, and sports a little later on.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: We've had a little bit of a, I don't want to call it a shakeup, but uh just a development, and that is Mr.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: Chuck Younger, Senator District 15, I believe it is, announced that he will not seek re-election in that Senate spot, but instead will seek to run for Highway Commissioner, Transportation Commissioner, Transportation, Northern District Commissioner for the Northern District, yes.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: Of Mississippi.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_03: And that's that's kind of where all this starts.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: And uh I guess let's talk quickly about that.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_05: I mean Well, the there's several things here, of course.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_05: Uh uh John Caldwell, who I guess sort of infamously can't work and play well with others, has said he's not gonna run again.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_05: Uh uh Chuck Younger coming in with the opposite personality, uh, jumps out immediately.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_05: He's been the uh uh Senate uh or he's been the chair of that Senate committee for highways and transportation for uh a while now.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_05: Uh so he says I'll I'll run for commissioner.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_05: He jumps out early.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_05: He can't even qualify till January, but he jumps out early as he tells us to try to uh maybe dissuade other people from running.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_05: Uh seems to have the bona fides for it, is going to be a strong candidate in that race uh you know, just period.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_05: Um I mean, is there anything that we want to say just about uh that part of it?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_05: Because there's a second part of this too.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_03: Well, just quickly to what you say about John Caldwell uh rubbing people the wrong way, and if in fact uh what you say is true in regards to Chuck Younger not rubbing people the wrong way, my thing with highways are they're freaking expensive.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: Bridges cost us a lot of million, okay?
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: Everything from signs to repaving, and so whoever ends up with that they need to work hard to save us money because that's a conversation coming down the pipeline as to why does it cost so so much money to maintain our roads?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_03: Now, no complaints.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_05: Raw material costs money to buy.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and the machines and all the rest of it, but labor.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: There's got to be some way to save that money.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_03: But I tell you this whatever we've been doing has worked because I don't know if you're what your perspective is, but anytime I cross the state line into Alabama, the roadways are not as good as they are here.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_03: Just saying, okay, but what's the other side of this?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_05: Well, okay, so we have the other side where, you know, uh uh uh uh Chuck Younger, uh uh someone who is a a moderate Republican in the Senate who has d done a good bit and I think represented this uh his district very well over time, wanting to move in a in a into a more uh administrative position.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_05: Um it looks like that the person uh uh who is at least strongly considering running for Chuck Spot in the Senate is uh Trip Arston from the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: He has not officially announced, but I spoke with him this morning, and the press release is forthcoming.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_03: So that's going to happen.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_05: And and and my my understanding uh is that he's he's very much leaning toward doing it.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_05: I think that the uh filling the hole that that will leave on the Board of Supervisors is something that may weigh heavy on him and uh uh No question.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because I mean he came in there, uh it was uh uh how will we describe what he came into?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_03: We won't.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: We'll just move past it.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_05: No, I I don't want to.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_05: I want to uh there's a story I want to tell that here, and it's one uh I think it's a story worth telling because uh tripp did come on to a board that was in uh that that had a very contentious personality.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_05: Or two or yeah.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_05: Or three.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_05: I I'm just talking about the more collective personality of the board of supervisors.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_05: Very high temperature in that room.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_05: There might have been a food fight at any time in that room.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_05: But when he came on, I'm gonna be honest with you, I I didn't care for him.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna tell this story.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_05: At the time that he was elected to the Board of Supervisors, uh, our lifestyle editor uh was uh Jan Swoke, uh, God rest her, a a a dear friend of mine, somebody who uh I I really enjoyed having conversations with in the news.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_05: We talked about everything like music and movies and just different things that were going on in the city and the county, and she was always really engaged in the political discussions that we were having about what we were covering.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_05: She was right in there with us, and and one day I was um I was in there and I was I was talking about Tripp had just been elected to the Board of Supervisors, and I'd had a couple of discussions with him, and he had just rubbed me all kinds of the wrong way.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_05: And I was in there just kind of bickering about it to Jan, who you gotta be careful about doing this in small towns, because she looked at me and she said, You know he's my nephew.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_05: I said, Oh my bad.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_05: I said, but these are the things that I'm these are the things that rub me the wrong way.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_05: And I I kind of went into it and said, you know, I just didn't I don't think that he takes strong positions on things.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_05: I th I, you know, I've I'm I'm not sure what he's about.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_05: He seems like an opportunist to me.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_05: And I don't really know what what to make of all of that and or how that's gonna play out in county government.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_05: And I gave several examples of interviews I'd done with him, different things that were going on at the county at the time, and I can't remember what they all were now.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_05: But she looked at she went back, she looked at me and she said, I know what your experience has been in covering local politics, not just here, but other places.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_05: And I know that the things that you're saying, I understand the things that you're saying, but I want to tell you point blank, you're wrong about Trump.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_05: And he's gonna prove it to you.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_05: He's going to prove it over time, and you're you're dead wrong about him, and that's all I'm gonna say.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_05: Well, it just goes to show Well, and then when Harry Sanders stuck his foot so far down his throat that he washed it down with the water on his knee.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_05: It wasn't long after that before you know Tripp, who relative to the rest of the board at the time had been on it for about 13 seconds.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_05: He's bippity-boppity-booed into the president's spot on that board.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_03: And that was to Leroy Brooks' chagrin.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_03: But interestingly, at that time, uh, that was when his experience in the legislative budget office really came to light, and we learned that, hey, this fella knows money.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_05: Well, right.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_05: But what I'm saying is at that time that just sort of extended my the my viewpoint of, oh, opportunistic, that that is the most efficient power grab I have ever seen in at that time, 15 years of covering local politics.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_05: But what happened after that was that the man did what he said he was going to do, the way he said he was gonna do it, and stabilized that board that needed stabilizing really bad.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_05: Um I I believe, you know, he has worked very diligently to listen to all of the voices on that board and not try to put any of them in a corner.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_05: He has absolutely uh stood up for the things that stood up for the things in the positions that that he was backing.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_05: He was a strong advocate.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_05: He he has been a strong advocate for MUW and MSMS, uh remaining here and remaining strong.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_05: Even things that were controversial, like tax increases that the county has had, whether you agree with them or not, he stood behind those when he supported them and he explained why they needed to happen, according to him, but he gave but he didn't explain it with emotions or vibes or anything like that.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_05: He just put the pen to the paper and said, This is what we have to pay for, and this is how much it cost.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_05: And so even when people were grumbling, he could sit in front of them and say, Hey, um, this is why we're needing to do this.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_05: I watched that man go, and you were there the night that he walked up in front of the uh Lowndes County uh school district board and defended, you know, you can have different opinions about what you think about this, but uh defended the county's position on that uh tax issue that they were having that they ended up going to court over.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_05: None of the rest of the supervisor showed up.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_05: Trip Harston stood in front of them in a hostile crowd where they did everything but throw tomatoes and bricks at him.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and he said his peace, and he said his peace calmly, he said his peace respectfully, knowing that they weren't gonna agree with him, and he stood by it.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_05: And so you gotta respect somebody who does stuff like that, and you know, and it will leave.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_05: If he does get elected to the Senate, it's gonna leave a huge hole on that board of supervisors.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_05: It's gonna need to be filled with somebody with his same attitude, but what does the Senate district get in return?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_05: Another moderate, another person who cares about their district, another person who will fight for their district, and you know, and and somebody who can work with like Chuck Younger has all along.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_05: Somebody who can viably work with people on each side of the aisle to get things done for home.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, I'm not saying that this is an endorsement for him if he runs.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_05: I'm just saying that whoever runs against him is gonna have to bring some uh some some pretty good bona fides to beat him, I would say.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_05: Because I and and I'll I'll finish my thought from a while ago.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_05: I never got an opportunity to tell uh Jan this before she passed away, but she was right, and I didn't know what I was talking about.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's unfortunate uh that first impressions can be so permanent within our minds.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we overestimate or we underestimate somebody based on what mood they were the first time that we saw one that we met them.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_03: But um uh one of the things that you mentioned is that hole that that's potentially going to be left there.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'll tell you that there's a lot of folks out there, and this is just through the grapevine, they're they're looking at Jason Spears, thinking he might eyeball that position.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll tell you it would not surprise me if he put his name in the hat for that.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_03: And that would create yet another hole down the line.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's um it's kind of a domino effect here, but I I could legitimately see that scenario transpiring.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I don't I don't know anything about uh the spears part of this, and I certainly don't want to throw that speculation out into the wild without uh without knowing it from him.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_05: And I haven't talked to him about that.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_05: But I will say that I think that it's a very good thing that what is developing here seems to be a pipeline of uh leadership that can move up the ranks and infill behind.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_05: But what that creates is uh a an even stronger need to have people who are willing to throw their hat in the ring uh uh for local positions, uh people, young people who are interested in their community and wanting to see it uh succeed.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_05: One of those people we're gonna talk to uh talk about in the next segment here.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_05: But I think it's uh I think it's a good thing to see that pipeline moving from home to Jackson to wherever and continuing to benefit um this community in different ways as we see the as as we see the same names just go up the chain.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_05: But but it creates a need at the bottom for young people in particular to pay attention to their community, know what ward they're in, know what district they're in, know who their leaders already are, and get to uh uh learning about how to be a public servant and how important it is to be a public servant, whether you're just going to be a voter forever and an informed voter forever, or whether you're gonna step up and say, No, I'll I I want to run for that spot.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_05: I want I want to learn how to lead.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_05: And whether you stay in that in local politics the entire time or move up that conveyor like some of these others, um if you're doing it for the right reason and you're informing yours uh informing yourself along the way, more the better for your community.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that we need to be um, I think the community needs to be shepherding those opportunities, and I think that people, especially young people, need to be taking advantage of it.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: Hence the legislature's emphasis on civics as of late.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_03: So no disagreement there.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_03: And the um the council person that you had mentioned is one by the name of Mr.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: Roderick Smith, um, who my first impression was uh, man, this guy is a great gentleman, and I still think he is.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_03: However, too.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely do we got some stuff to talk about today, and the backstory on this uh relates to the Trotter Convention Center and one of our previous episodes we had talked about the usage of that center, and we talked about how you know it really ought not be for free unless it's like legit, bona fide uh municipal use for everybody.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, and so we have these other um I don't want to use a pejorative term, but but just these these other things that that were planned to happen there.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: And uh well, there needs to be a fee charged and there needs to be a policy related there too.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_03: And Councilman Smith took it very personally.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_03: Personally, if it if I may create an understatement there, he took it very personally that the timing of this seemed to be directly at Trump.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_03: Squarely submarine is or 86 is, yes.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_03: And so I watched the video, it's of the last council meeting.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_03: You can look it up if you must, but um uh he obviously had a chip on his shoulders the size of Mount Everest, and it was most unfortunate to watch.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_03: It was.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_05: Uh so let's deal with the issue first.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_05: Um the issue really is that the city council had a policy that uh restricted free use of the trotter to city events with municipal purposes.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_05: Uh that policy was all kinds of things done to it.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_05: It was twisted, it was turned, it was neglected, it had some it had more violations than the Ten Commandments.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_05: Like it was it was bad.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_05: Just and you've got you had a Trotter director that was letting stuff through, um, you had a city council that was letting stuff through and doing uh offering exceptions or just turning their, you know, turning a blind eye to it.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_05: You had Roderick during his tirade in the council meeting, the most cogent point that he made was that um two bingo events uh that Lavon Harris uh war from Ward 4 that she hosted at the Trotter at no charge that weren't uh approved by the council, you all knew about it, and most of you were there.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_05: Whoops.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_05: That was the most cogent point he made in that, but it was a damn good one.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_05: Um and so Jason Spears, Ward Six, comes to the table and says, Hey, I've been looking at this policy.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_05: Um yes, we need to follow the policy, but I think what what we need to do first is we need to better define the policy.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_05: I think that we need to bulk this thing up.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_05: We need to make it a little more airtight, and that way when we are following the policy, we know exactly what we're doing, and it's not as vague as it is right now.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_05: We need to define what a city event is and what municipal purposes are.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_05: We need to define who has to pay what when.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_03: That way we don't have to be arbitrary.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_03: We don't have to be ar arbitrary.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_03: We don't have to hurt each other's feelings and we don't have to pick on Roderick Smith.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_05: And and and Stephen, and I don't agree with this.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I guess that from a the functionality and practicality standpoint, it's it's true what he is saying.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_05: But I hate this argument that and if you get a policy and you want to make an exception to it and we vote on it, then you have the power to do that and it's your prerogative.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_05: And that may be true technically.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I squirm it.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_05: But but just just stop.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_05: Like the whole problem with this whole Trotter thing over years and years and years has been that we have a policy, but we may not care today.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_05: We may not care about this, but we're gonna care next time.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_05: And that really goes to Roderick's argument if you take it, if you take the personal part out of it.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_05: Here's the problem, though, with Roderick's argument.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_05: He's calling the mayor a coward, he's yelling at everybody, he's yelling at Rusty, he's yelling at Ethel, yelling at Jason, he's yet.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_05: He yelled at the janitor.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_05: He yelled yelled at everybody.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_05: But you can't, you know, in a public meeting like that, discussing any issue, if you start acting like someone just broke your G.I.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_05: Joe's, it's unbecoming to a council member.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_05: It just is.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_05: And it's something that I hope I hope that Roderick Smith, with all the potential that he has to be a council person of longevity and and also one who can have a high impact over that longevity.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_05: I hope that he learns from this the right lessons because he had a point to make.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_05: And he made it, but he made it crammed into this thing that was about Roderick.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: Ad hominem.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_05: And you can see in the work that he does in his ward already that he already knows he's better than that.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_05: He's already demonstrated that he's better than that.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_05: These these things that he's doing in East Columbus, these uh the advocacy that he has for his ward, he's getting his feet under him on the council with the the issues that he's voting on.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_05: He's he's doing the work of becoming a good councilman.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_05: So the approach that he took was not a constituent first approach that last council meeting.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_05: And I hope that the lesson that he takes from that is that that's what he need instead of instead of dipping into Roderick first and losing what was a good point in a personal in personal umbrage, I hope that he becomes a better leader from this experience because he can.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_05: If you look at what he's already done, he has apologized for that behavior too.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_05: At a at a meeting that he held for his war, um he apologized to the people who came out to that meeting, said, I didn't I didn't go about that right.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_05: And that is very true.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_05: The other thing is he said policy or no policy, whatever is happening, we're gonna have this Thanksgiving luncheon and I'm just gonna pay the freight, which it's not low.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_05: He's gonna pay fifteen fifty for that uh venue.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_05: Raise a little money.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: Raise a little money, it can happen.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: There's no question in my mind that his tirade and his demeanor and his tone were counterproductive.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: He was obviously combative.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_03: And um I I would take what you said and and and simply say, you know, if he comes into the next council meeting, don't belabor it, but just make a brief apology and move on.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: I think the potential is is very, very strong for him.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: Now, relating to the thing with the Thanksgiving, um, full disclosure, we invited him to come on today and tell us how grand that Thanksgiving event was going to be.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_05: Well, he had to work.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_05: He he declined because he had to work.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_03: Had to work, had to work.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um If I were him, all right.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_03: If I I shouldn't even say that, but if I were him, I probably would have um said, Hey, uh y'all, just gonna be real, this feels a little personal because of the timing of it.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: Will you please consider having this and whatever policy we implement, let it start December the first, and I'm all good with it.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, there might have been a few people to swing over if he'd have approached it like that.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know, but but I know in in situations I've been in, it's very easy for your project, something that you poured a lot of effort into.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_05: And now he's gonna pour a lot of money into.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well when it gets rejected on its merits for it to feel personal.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: It just happens.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_05: Well, yeah, it it does.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, he is the he is the youngest council person.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_05: He is in his first term, he is he is inexperienced uh relative to his peers on that council in the political realm.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_05: And uh like I said, it's just uh if if if this is a learning experience that now uh this is something he can very easily put behind him if this is a learning experience, a bump in the road on his way to becoming what he can become on that council.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_05: And that's what I hope to see, and that's I what I know he hopes to do.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_05: But I have also seen not necessarily from Roderick Smith uh but from others who have been on that council and have d been in positions in the city.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_05: I have seen personal offense completely scuttle the mission.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_05: Like I I have seen that over and over again in ten years of covering that city, and I would hate for him to become another name on that list.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, don't let um something that feels personal become a reason to shut down.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you've still got work to do.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_03: You know, don't take it so personal that you get up there and start drinking in the middle of the council meeting and Frederick's gonna do that.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_03: I don't either.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_03: And and I think that's um I think that's why there's still a tremendous amount of hope there.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: Roderick, I know you listened to our program.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_03: We wish you well, as we wish well for this friendly city of Columbus, Mississippi.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_03: Now, we gotta talk about football.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_03: We had some crazy football last weekend, and we've got good football this weekend.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna bring in our next guest who is the sports writer for the dispatch.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_03: At this time, we're pleased to welcome into the studio Mr.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_03: Jake McMahon, who is a sports writer for the dispatch and specifically all things related to Mississippi State.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_03: Glad to have you in here.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's a perfect occasion to be talking about Mississippi State football.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_03: Where do we start?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, he's right, it is.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_03: It is.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a good three weeks.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_03: Well, uh just speaking from um being a longtime Mississippi State fan, three weeks is not always a telltale.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: It is not.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_03: But but I I'll tell you this.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_03: This does not feel like last year where we started three and oh and ended up going five and eight.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: This feels like we've really got something.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, when you look at last year, it was Arizona State was the big win, but I think it was Northern Illinois, Alcorn, and somebody else cupcakey, you know.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_02: And now you're you're you're three games in.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: You had ULM, but you've gone on the road twice to two really good programs, Minnesota and South Carolina last week.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I know last week started off pretty shaky, but you look at the second half of that game, you rolled them.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: And you rolled Minnesota for four quarters.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: So it no, it it it I wasn't here last year, but from what I've talked to other people who were, and just kind of getting the vibe around this year, it it's it's a total different vibe.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_03: That was a big time turnaround for a big time road win last week.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_03: Do you see that game, Zach?
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_05: I saw a little bit of it.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: Zach probably had better things to do, but I tell you, uh, one of the things I want to talk about is um it of course you weren't here in 2014, but you read all about it.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_03: And um what Dak Prescott did for the program at Mississippi State was not just a thing that that occurred in that stadium in a little um bubble, if you will, but Slim Smith wrote an excellent uh op-ed about the effect that it had on the local economy over there.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_03: And if Kamario Taylor and the Bulldogs can do some big things, it helps out not helps out not just the football program, but everybody over there, including us even.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, no, uh a hundred percent.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um I mean when you walk around the Mississippi State football facility, the posters that they have up, I would say 80% include Dak Prescott in some way, shape, or form.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and you know, a lot of people are saying this is the best quarterback that this program's had since Dak.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think watching Dak back then, Camario might be raw talent and skill-wise, more talented than Dak Prescott, just that facet, no, you know, nowhere near as accomplished as Dak was yet.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um But yeah, I mean, and then you you taking the factor that Camario is a Mississippi kid in in the the hometown aspecting group.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_05: I mean can can he hold up can he hold up to that type of branding though, especially with with NIL being a factor now?
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_05: Because that that's gotta be that's gotta weigh a lot more than it did when Dak was here.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_03: Aaron Ross Powell, that's Zach's polite way of asking, or he's is he gonna be stolen away from us through the pool?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: Have you seen the social media talk about it a lot?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: No, I mean, and that's it's fair.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um when you talk to Camario, like the thing that really shines about him is he loves Mississippi State.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_02: He grew up rooting for Mississippi State.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: His uncle played for Mississippi State.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like I talked to his father before week one, and he was just listening down the the uh a full name of people in his family who graduated from Mississippi.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I know Mississippi has a a low payroll in the SEC, but a low payroll in the SEC is still better than a lot of other payrolls in the country.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: Let's not act like Camario isn't getting paid a lot of money to play here for uh for Mississippi State right now.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I think I think that love for MSU and the the ability to be a legend at the school you grew up rooting for.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: I I I mean I know we're only three weeks in right now.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_03: But we're not bottom of the totem pole when it comes to our NIL and paying the players, are we?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: What where do we stand to your knowledge?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Powell I mean, NIL and paying players and RevShare, it's all kind of a gray area right now that it's not public.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_02: We don't really have the the privilege of knowing as much as I think we should know about that kind of stuff.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: Rev share last year it was$20.5 million.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um Zach Selman said that they spend up to that amount and it's gonna increase, I can't remember, I think 21 point something um this year, and he said they're gonna continue to be at that amount in terms of Rev share.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um in IL contracts we don't know, or I don't know, they do.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um but no, I mean, you know, he's he's making a good amount of money to play it in SEC school.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_05: So right now I'm seeing where uh if you if you look at the uh evolution of MSU's trajectory, the jury's still kind of out on where they're gonna be, but they they're picked to finish last in the SEC.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_05: That's clearly not gonna happen, and we don't have to talk about why.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I will say they they were picked to they were picked uh second to last ahead of I think Arkansas is ahead of the same.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_05: No, I Arkansas was picked ahead of them, actually.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I think so.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_05: And I thought that that was ridiculous at the time.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_05: Um because everybody knew Arkansas was gonna suck.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_05: But uh I mean they're clearly a lot more competent than people gave them credit for in the beginning, very much more competent than people gave them credit for in the beginning.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_05: But now I'm looking at, you know, their the predictions of their percentage chances to win throughout.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_05: They're still sitting at seven and five for projections right now.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_05: Is that do you think that that's low or do you think that's about there?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Ross Powell That's where I'm at with I mean they I I think they'll win this weekend against Missouri, and then you look at their October, it's Alabama by LSU, Oklahoma, Texas.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: And they're on the road at LSU and they're on the road at Texas.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's you know, they're going to show us what they're made of in that October stretch.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, they've set themselves up really nicely to where they can get through that October stretch winless and still be in a good spot to make a bowl win seven uh football games.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, I I think they're really good.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: I think they're a lot better on both sides of the ball, especially defensively than they were last year.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_02: I just don't know if they are there yet to compete with the top of the SEC like they're gonna have to in those four games in October.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I mean, and I know you weren't here last year, uh, but in the reporting that you've done and what you have seen and experienced, what what's the culture change in that program that went that brought them from forgotten to competent that brought maybe Levy from he better do it this year, we're gonna have a lot of questions too.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_05: All right.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean I think it's it's just the fact that Leby in his third year has finally now gotten that that culture of, you know, Mississippi State football is a brand, we're a culture, we're a really good program, we're an SEC program.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: You need to have pride in the fact that you're you're playing uh SEC football.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's a video that's going around of Levy talking to his team after the egg bowl in 2024, his first year.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I think he's I can't remember the exact quote, but he's saying, you need to keep your head set up right now because once we turn this thing around, it's gonna feel damn good.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: And you kind of see that really start to pay off right now.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: There's there's a lot of confidence within the program that they can compete with the big dogs.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Lebby has talked about this is, you know, it there wasn't the first year and last year was kind of what it was was expected in this turnaround, um, and and nothing's really changed for him and his mindset, but the culture is just confidence.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's a game-by-game basis and blocking out the outside noise, especially with Camario.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_02: And as the the outside expectations start to turn from negative to positive, um, just just keeping it inside that building.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I I know I'm rambling here, but but Camario said something um about how coach always is is is saying like the the horball slang of nobody has it better than us.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's kind of the vibe inside the program right now, too.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, well I know and and using maybe David as a as as an anecdotal example here, he's giddy.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_05: Uh so there was a lot of malaise among the fan base during you know Levy's first two years and and even before that it was starting to uh starting to kick in.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_05: We we were talking about the DAC effect uh from a decade ago and or more than that.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_05: But there was also that Malaise effect that started showing up on sales tax receipts and tourism receipts uh in Startville during the fall.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_05: What have you seen the confidence in the program and uh from within?
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_05: Have you seen that translate to the fan base as far as butts in seats, as far as excitement in the stadium, that sort of thing?
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean we've only had one game uh at Davis Wade so far this year.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it's kind of a funny story, but my dad asked if I was gonna bring uh earplugs for ULM for the cowbells.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, how was that for you the first time you heard it?
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I was as I was walking from the parking lot through the tailgates and people just walking, and the fact they're walking was shaking the cowbells, and also I'm like, this is gonna be a long day.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but I said, no, I'm not gonna bring earplugs, it's ULM, like I'm not expecting a crowd.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, there was a crowd.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_02: It was a great crowd, and I expect it to be crazy again this Saturday when they're like breaking the cowbell world record or something at Davis Wade.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, no, I mean uh the ULM game is the only time we've been out there around a fan base on a game day, but there was a lot of excitement um and on social media when you're interacting with fans, seeing these fans.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's it really the it feels like there is a new bit of life injected into this fan base right now, and uh a new sort of belief in Jeff Leby and this defense with Zach Arnett, um, and I think a lot of it is is Camario Taylor.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um but no, I yeah, uh a lot of excitement in this fan base.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_05: Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_05: Well, uh a a r really strong indicator of a confident fan base or an excited fan base is if they travel.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_05: What's that been like so far in these in these road games as far as are you seeing a lot of maroon in the stands?
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I am.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, uh I wasn't at Minnesota, but you could see on TV a really good chunk of Mississippi State fans in Minnesota, which is you know complete other side of the country.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um and they're traveling for that.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: There was a really good contingent uh at South Carolina uh this past weekend.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: I can hear them on the TV with a maroon in white.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, especially uh when South Carolina fans are really starting to clear out early in that fourth quarter.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh there's there there's been a really good contingent, um, really good travel, um, and I expect that to continue, yeah.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think the only empty seats are gonna be up in the corners.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think this is just my prediction.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think we'll pack it out on Saturday, but I think it'll be dead gum close compared to what we have been seeing.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_02: It'll be great.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_02: And then if they win this Saturday, not so speculative, but Alabama coming to town next weekend.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like that would be Standing Room only for that one.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_03: Except for 11 a.m.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I hate that stuff.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's because they pick the time slots before the season, and then it's just like, but that's just come on, like Yeah, and usually the 11 a.m.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_03: is for the losers bracket anyway.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_03: Imagine having to tailgate for that.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_03: One of the biggest games in the season.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_03: No question about it.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_05: Did you get to keep your spot or have you paid have you had to pay the premium to keep it or what?
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: Well, uh the place that I used to tailgate is now overgrown with grass and trees.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like so.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I just gave up on it at that point.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_03: Not saying I won't do it again, but now I've got better accommodations in the stadium.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna be there and I'll be loud, but um, I don't wear earplugs, I wear cotton in ears.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_03: That way I can hear the cowbells, but my brain is like not rattling within my head.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I get overstimulated.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_03: If you listen to this program, you already know that about me.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_03: But uh man, what a hoot.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be good.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, what do you think the score is gonna be?
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_03: You probably hate that question.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, I don't hate it because it's fun to speculate, and then if you get it right one out of the a hundred times you do it, then you feel really smart.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yet to get that yet.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um I really feel good about MSU's chances.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_02: They're favored by six and a half.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure they're gonna cover that.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and I wouldn't be surprised if that line drops here before Saturday.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'm gonna give you 34-28 Mississippi State.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that would be a cover, never mind.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_03: You got one.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_03: I don't, but do you?
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_03: I I think we'll win it.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_03: I I tell you, I want to get a good lead early because just historically, we we Mississippi State is actually a verb, okay.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_03: To Mississippi State a game means to really blow it right there with a muffed punt or something in the fourth quarter.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_03: And like there's this PTSD thing that thinks that we we're not really a comeback team, but hey, maybe we are.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_03: We certainly were last.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_02: 16-0, yeah.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um Yeah, and Missouri is coming off of a very uninspiring performance against Troy, too.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't seem like they have been what they wanted to be through three games.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think a fast start is totally realistic and yeah.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_03: I I I saw something we're gonna have lasers on the field or something.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_03: Lasers.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_03: What?
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like lasers, and they had a little graphic.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_03: A light show sort of deal?
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh some kind of deal.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_03: They're always doing something fancy at that place.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_03: It's a party.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_02: Lasers.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_02: Cowbell record.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_03: Lasers, uh Guinness Book of Cowbell Records.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um what else can we expect?
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_03: Polish sausage?
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_05: Does Levy eventually take the team to the vet school before they play Texas?
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_05: That's a question.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um you take that one.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't know.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_03: TBD, TB scene.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_03: I thought that was more of an Auburn thing.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_03: But uh Oh yeah, okay.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_05: Delayed cognition.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_05: Jackie Sherrill.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you've been listening to between the headlines, our special guest.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it's been Mr.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_03: Jake McMahon.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_03: Do you have anything else to add?
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it's been a pleasure.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_03: We appreciate what you do for the paper and for coming in today.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_03: All right, Zach, I was busy this week.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_03: Didn't read the paper like I should have.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_03: Well, shame on you, David.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, what do we got?
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_05: All right, three things to know.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_05: Number one, the CREATE Foundation is partnering with the Tennessee Valley Authority to form a Regional Disaster Recovery Council to better resource its 17 county service area.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_05: The council is looking at ways to leverage$300,000 in initial funding for a more cohesive response to weather disasters like winter storm fern.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_05: And that could come in the form of smaller emergency response-related grants to the counties in the service area.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_05: Number two, Jessica Horton and Mason Honnell both showed well this week at the 12th annual Josie Music Awards for Independent Musicians held at the Grand Ole Opera in Nashville.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_05: Horton was named Multi-Genre Female Vocalist of the Year.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_05: Honnell was nominated for Male Country EP of the Year.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_05: Congratulations to both of those guys.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_05: Here, here.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_05: Number three.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_05: The Columbus Lounds Convention and Visitors Bureau has extended its$1 million pledge to the city for funding uh construction at the Senator Terry Brown Amphitheater on the island.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_05: Uh they've extended that for another year.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_05: Uh the money was supposed to be spent by September of this year, but um as construction is ongoing and they've committed the million dollars, they've extended that pledge through September of next year.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_05: The amphitheater is expected to be complete by April of next year.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_03: Please don't do the county.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not gonna do it because I haven't Googled how many days.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_03: Y'all stay friendly out there.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_03: We'll keep it real.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just a simple old country boy, but uh, I think that makes sense.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: I've stepped out and I've said what I had to say.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_03: You've been listening to Between the Headlines with Zach and David.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_03: That's what old people do.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_04: That is.