Allen Siegler
@allensiegler.bsky.social
Award winner and a journalist, not an award-winning journalist. Mental health reporter for @mississippitoday.org, former reporter for @healthbeat.org and @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social
When I moved to MS in April 2025, I didn’t know how the state was managing opioid settlements. Turns out, a lot of the public didn’t either. Even the state’s recovery advocates, many who had suffered from the opioid epidemic, didn’t know much about the money.
Congrats to @mississippitoday.org reporter @allensiegler.bsky.social for being named among the local reporting finalists for the 2026 Livingston Awards, which honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under 35 across all forms of journalism. wallacehouse.umich.edu/announcing-t...
Announcing the 2026 Livingston Awards Finalists
We proudly introduce this year's Livingston finalists and showcase their exceptional reporting. Read their names and work here.
wallacehouse.umich.edu
Advocates have told Mississippi Today about sightings of immigration officials across the state, including in the Jackson metro area, and our reporters are working to cover these stories. But we need your help.
Send us news tips on I.C.E. in Mississippi
Advocates have told Mississippi Today about sightings of immigration officials across the state, including in the Jackson metro area, and our reporters are working to cover these stories. But we need your help.
mississippitoday.org
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents. I did it because the government isn’t. This is what I found.
Quick surgeries, scars and facelifts that fade: Complaints pile up about a Jackson plastic surgeon Some patients say they are unhappy with scarring and other problems after having facial plastic surgery by Dr. Adair Blackledge of Jackson. Blackledge says he prides himself on neat work and good…
Quick surgeries, scars and facelifts that fade: Complaints pile up about a Jackson plastic surgeon
Some patients say they are unhappy with scarring and other problems after having facial plastic surgery by Dr. Adair Blackledge of Jackson. Blackledge says he prides himself on neat work and good patient care, and that critics have harassed him and his staff.
mississippitoday.org
🧵 Mississippi Today filed public records requests with 147 cities, towns and counties to find out how each is – or isn’t – spending opioid settlement dollars. Here are some of the biggest takeaways. buff.ly/9dZX4rZ
buff.ly
Deaths at child care centers are rare, but they still reveal a broken system Day care deaths are rare, but complaints about injuries, neglect, abuse and unsafe conditions are more common. Together, they show an industry with too few resources to guarantee safety at an affordable price.
Deaths at child care centers are rare, but they still reveal a broken system
Day care deaths are rare, but complaints about injuries, neglect, abuse and unsafe conditions are more common. Together, they show an industry with too few resources to guarantee safety at an affordable price.
mississippitoday.org
‘I didn’t have a voice’: Mississippi poultry industry’s use and alleged abuse of immigrant workers Six years after ICE raids on Mississippi poultry plants, current and former immigrant workers say deteriorated conditions persist for both those undocumented and on work visas.
‘I didn’t have a voice’: Mississippi poultry industry’s use and alleged abuse of immigrant workers
Six years after ICE raids on Mississippi poultry plants, current and former immigrant workers say deteriorated conditions persist for both those undocumented and on work visas.
mississippitoday.org
Mississippi Marketplace: Magnolia State preps for the AI boom Mississippi, the Deep South and the nation are seeing a boom in artificial intelligence data center construction. The centers promise economic growth, but there are concerns about their environmental impact and that they create…
Mississippi Marketplace: Magnolia State preps for the AI boom
Mississippi, the Deep South and the nation are seeing a boom in artificial intelligence data center construction. The centers promise economic growth, but there are concerns about their environmental impact and that they create relatively few jobs.
mississippitoday.org
Mississippi Today is looking to speak to residents of Jackson and Mississippi who utilize federally-funded assistance programs. If you are interested, please fill out this survey. airtable.com/app7tIdgN0ii...
Airtable | Everyone's app platform
Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.
airtable.com
Ex-corrections official alleges widespread medical neglect and mismanagement in Mississippi’s prison system The same year the state agreed to pay VitalCore $100 million in taxpayer funds to provide health care to people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, a top official at the Mississippi…
Ex-corrections official alleges widespread medical neglect and mismanagement in Mississippi’s prison system
The same year the state agreed to pay VitalCore $100 million in taxpayer funds to provide health care to people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, a top official at the Mississippi Department of Corrections, asked about an inmate's rotting leg, remarked that the company "sucks."
mississippitoday.org
@mississippitoday.org is hiring for the position of Health Editor! They seek an experienced journalist who can lead their health team and who understands the health considerations of rural and suburban Mississippians alike. Learn more and apply here: mississippitoday.org/careers/heal...
Health Editor - Mississippi Today
Mississippi Today is seeking an experienced journalist who can lead our health team.
mississippitoday.org
The FBI and a Mississippi sheriff investigated complaints about brutal assaults, but the deputies accused remained on the force and were never charged. mississippitoday.org/2025/07/10/r...
Signs of Violence in Sheriff’s Office Dated Back YearsMississippi Today
The FBI and a Mississippi sheriff investigated complaints about brutal assaults, but the deputies accused remained on the force and were never charged.
mississippitoday.org
New vending machine provides free medicine to fight opioid overdoses NFL player Jeffery Simmons chooses his native Mississippi as a site for free distribution of naloxone.
New vending machine provides free medicine to fight opioid overdoses
NFL player Jeffery Simmons chooses his native Mississippi as a site for free distribution of naloxone.
mississippitoday.org
Gov. Tate Reeves said he will not stop the execution of Richard Jordan, Mississippi’s oldest and longest-serving inmate. New from @mississippitoday.org mississippitoday.org/2025/06/24/d...
Death penalty foes ask governor to stop execution - Mississippi Today
Gov. Tate Reeves says he will not block the execution of Mississippi's oldest and longest-serving death row inmate.
mississippitoday.org
Decade of daring: McMullen young writers make 10th workshop special Aspiring authors honed their craft during the McMullen Young Writers Workshop at Millsaps College in Jackson.
Decade of daring: McMullen young writers make 10th workshop special
Aspiring authors honed their craft during the McMullen Young Writers Workshop at Millsaps College in Jackson.
mississippitoday.org
Lawmaker probing Mississippi’s prisons finds inmates suffering from treatable diseases as corrections asks for more money 'When they beg me for supplies because they make them reuse colostomy bags over and over that don’t fit, when they are bowel and bladder incontinent and they don’t provide…
Lawmaker probing Mississippi’s prisons finds inmates suffering from treatable diseases as corrections asks for more money
'When they beg me for supplies because they make them reuse colostomy bags over and over that don’t fit, when they are bowel and bladder incontinent and they don’t provide diapers to them it is hard for me to hear that (MDOC) feels that they provide adequate care.' -- House Corrections Chairwoman Becky Currie
mississippitoday.org
A doctor told a mom her baby had ingested methamphetamine while at Little Blessings Daycare. The Mississippi Department of Health fined Little Blessings $50 after the incident. My boss Kate Royals' perplexing new @mississippitoday.org investigation: mississippitoday.org/2025/06/17/c...
Baby tests positive for meth after day in child care - Mississippi Today
The Mississippi Department of Health, which is responsible for regulating and licensing day care centers, fined Little Blessings $50 after the incident.
mississippitoday.org
UMMC’s records system asks if patients are citizens, but hospital won’t say why The field was not added by Epic, the electronic health record system used by UMMC, a spokesperson for the software company told Mississippi Today.
UMMC’s records system asks if patients are citizens, but hospital won’t say why
The field was not added by Epic, the electronic health record system used by UMMC, a spokesperson for the software company told Mississippi Today.
mississippitoday.org
The Aultmans, a South Mississippi couple, just lost their daughter to an overdose last month. They're not confident the area's local governments will use opioid settlements so other families won't share their experience. My latest @mississippitoday.org story mississippitoday.org/2025/06/11/p...
Parents worry opioid money not properly spent - Mississippi Today
Parents who lost children to addiction expressed concern that their local elected officials hadn’t sought the voices of people in their shoes and worried these funds could be used in ways that wouldn’...
mississippitoday.org
‘Sinners’ puts ‘truth on screen’ for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians It’s a small part in a big movie, but for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, their scene in "Sinners" is a huge deal.
‘Sinners’ puts ‘truth on screen’ for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
It’s a small part in a big movie, but for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, their scene in "Sinners" is a huge deal.
mississippitoday.org
Mississippi has a plan for its opioid settlement distribution. It allows the Legislature to spend tens of millions of dollars on purposes other than the public health crisis. My latest story for @mississippitoday.org mississippitoday.org/2025/06/03/m...
Bulk of opioid settlement dollars in hands of lawmakers - Mississippi Today
Public health advocates and Mississippians affected by the crisis worry the setup for the state's opioid settlement funds could enable the dollars to be spent on purposes other than ending the overdos...
mississippitoday.org
NEW: The mother of an Arizona man who died after being unable to find mental health treatment is suing his health insurer, saying it broke the law by publishing false information that misled its customers. By @maxblau.bsky.social
He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame.
The mother of Ravi Coutinho, the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation, is suing Centene for publishing “misleading” information that gave her son a false impression about the kinds of mental h...
propublica.org
Where Jackson creativity is the “blueprint for resistance,” Briarwood Arts Center is the brick, mortar Brown hopes that his persistence and dedication to creating safe spaces inspires others in Jackson to imagine what’s possible for their neighborhoods.
Where Jackson creativity is the “blueprint for resistance,” Briarwood Arts Center is the brick, mortar
Brown hopes that his persistence and dedication to creating safe spaces inspires others in Jackson to imagine what’s possible for their neighborhoods.
mississippitoday.org
In Jackson’s ‘white Republican bastion,’ population changes shape council race The hotly contested race reflects what political observers and ward residents have known for years now: Northeast Jackson is not quite the “white Republican bastion” it once was.
In Jackson’s ‘white Republican bastion,’ population changes shape council race
The hotly contested race reflects what political observers and ward residents have known for years now: Northeast Jackson is not quite the “white Republican bastion” it once was.
mississippitoday.org
Moms in Mississippi now face out-of-pocket costs of over $100 per session for breastfeeding help – and are calling on lawmakers and the state’s largest private insurer to step up. mississippitoday.org/2025/05/28/w...
‘Why is this not being covered?’: Moms with Blue Cross must pay or forego lactation support - Mississippi Today
Moms in Mississippi now face out-of-pocket costs of over $100 per session for breastfeeding help – and are calling on lawmakers and the state’s largest private insurer to step up.
mississippitoday.org
It’s the first time Delta Dental’s foundation, the philanthropic arm of the national dental insurance company, has funded a senior oral health partnership outside of California or Washington, D.C.
Delta groups secure $5 million grant to improve dental care for older adults
It’s the first time Delta Dental’s foundation, the philanthropic arm of the national dental insurance company, has funded a senior oral health partnership outside of California or Washington, D.C.
mississippitoday.org
Katherine Lin will report on development, where politics and economics intersect throughout the state.
Katherine Lin joins Mississippi Today through partnership with Report for America - Mississippi Today
At Mississippi Today, Lin will report on development, where politics and economics intersect throughout the state.
buff.ly
