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It’s hard to imagine a county that’s done better at taking a sour batch of lemons and turning them into lemonade than Mississippi County.
Through most of the 20th century, the northeast Arkansas county comprised people tied to its crops or its Air Force base.
Its population peaked in the 1950s around 82,000 before a prolonged period of steady — sometimes abrupt — declines that have continued to this day.
The way crops are farmed changed, and in 1992, Eaker Air Force Base shuttered, leaving behind it an emptiness that extended well beyond the deserted base.
Crime worsened as the population declined, and Jonesboro blossomed into the regional hub it is now. Hope in Blytheville was in about as short supply as B-52s.
Then a little over a decade ago, the steel boom began. The county had long housed Nucor-affiliated steel production facilities, but the construction of a new, state-of-the-art Big River mill started a domino effect that has continued, culminating most recently with the opening of the Hybar mill in Osceola). The county has been blessed with another chance to remake itself.
On a recent visit to the county, I couldn’t have been more impressed by how everyone there simply gets it. That’s an overused phrase, but I can’t think of a better way to express what I saw.
From the county judge to economic developers, from the president of the local college to bankers and steel industry executives, they all understand precisely what is needed to continue to propel the area forward, and they’re all rowing in the same direction. There is real excitement, real belief in what could be.
They’ve put on a master class for how small to midsize counties ought to support a development surge. I know south Arkansas — hopeful for lithium mining to take off — is taking notes.
The innovation is off the charts. Arkansas Northeastern College is redefining industry alignment. The Work Here, Live Here program, which helps local workers pay to build or buy a home in the county, is unique.
From where I sit, they’re doing everything right. But I must ask a tough question: Will it be enough?
The Work Here, Live Here program has been wildly successful by every metric, with more than 150 people buying homes in the county through the program. That’s still only a fraction of the thousands of steelworkers who continue to commute into work each week from Memphis, Jonesboro or Missouri.
And most of the new development from the program has occurred outside of Osceola and Blytheville in places like Manila. That’s great for Manila, but if the area wants to take the next step and start attracting more national businesses that will improve the quality of life, more people must move into the population centers of Blytheville and Osceola.
I don’t know whether Mississippi County will be able to turn this final corner, but I know its current leaders won’t be to blame if it doesn’t.
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