Sophie Bates, Author at The Rapid City Post

The American flag waves outside the Mississippi Supreme Court in Jackson, Miss., April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules

August 20, 2025

A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court electoral map, after finding the map dilutes the power of Black voters. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the map, which was enacted in 1987, violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in future elections. The lawsuit, which was filed on April 25, 2022, argued the map diminished the Black vote in the Central District. Aycock wrote that she will impose a deadline for the Mississippi Legislature to create a new map.

Louie the spider monkey climbs on John Richard, a volunteer at the Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary in Perkinston, Mississippi on Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

A Mississippi monkey sanctuary helps veterans with PTSD find peace

August 3, 2025

An Army veteran finds peace through a unique bond with a spider monkey named Louie. John Richard, who has struggled with PTSD for over 20 years, says his connection with Louie has been more healing than any treatment. Their friendship began last fall at the Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary in Mississippi. The sanctuary’s founder, April Stewart, also a veteran, shares a similar story. She says working with animals has helped her cope with PTSD. The sanctuary, which houses various rescued primates, aims to provide a natural habitat and healing space for both animals and veterans.

FILE - Medgar Evers, Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), poses for a photo, Aug. 9, 1955, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo, File)

Daughter of assassinated civil rights leader sees painful echoes of political violence in America

July 1, 2025

Civil and voting rights activists gathered in Jackson, Mississippi, to honor what would have been the 100th birthday of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Evers was assassinated by a white supremacist in 1963. The 2025 Democracy in Action Convening, a four-day conference, celebrated Evers last week. Former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams headlined the four-day conference. Abrams, also a voting rights activist, railed against recent actions by President Donald Trump’s administration and denounced recent acts of political violence.

Mississippi set to execute state’s longest-serving death row inmate

June 24, 2025

Vietnam veteran Richard Gerald Jordan is set to be executed in Mississippi nearly 50 years after being sentenced to death. Jordan is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for murdering a woman in a kidnapping and ransom scheme in 1976. He is the state’s longest-serving death row inmate and is one of several inmates suing the state over its three-drug execution protocol, which they claim is inhumane. Jordan will be the third person Mississippi has executed in the last 10 years. The most recent execution was in December 2022.

‘Sinners’ puts ‘truth on screen’ for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

June 5, 2025

The blockbuster horror film “Sinners” features the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in a short, but impactful scene. For some Choctaw, it is the first time they’ve heard their language and seen their culture accurately portrayed on screen. The filmmakers set out with the goal of authenticity in mind, hiring Choctaw consultants and actors to ensure the movie did the tribe justice. “Sinners” producers didn’t stop with Choctaw consultants; they enlisted a small army of experts who advised on the confluence of cultures mingling in the 1930s Mississippi Delta, where the film is set.

Ryan Coogler hosts ‘Sinners’ screening in Mississippi town where film is set

May 29, 2025

Director Ryan Coogler and other cast and crew members of the hit film “Sinners” visited Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the film is set, for a special screening. The film is set in 1930s Clarksdale, Mississippi, but current day Clarksdale doesn’t have a movie theater, making it difficult for people to see the film about their hometown. Community organizers decided to change that, starting a petition to invite the cast and crew to Clarksdale and collaborate on hosting a public screening.

Brian Lowery stands before what remains of his home, which was ripped apart by a tornado, in Tylertown, Miss., on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance

May 20, 2025

Mississippi’s request for federal disaster assistance is pending more than two months after 18 tornadoes ripped through the state. The delays offer a glimpse into what could be in store for communities around the country as the summer storm season arrives and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is mired in turmoil. And hurricane season is just around the corner. The emergency management director in one of the state’s hardest-hit counties says debris-removal operations have ground to a halt, and people who lost their homes aren’t getting the help they need.

Sophie Bates.