NewsTracker Answers for week of Jan. 20, 2014

Q: One out of three Mississippians will have diabetes by 2030 and need costly care to stay alive, according to Dr. Richard deShazo of the University of Mississippi. Where is Mississippi?

Circle the area on this map

Q: DeShazo warns that obesity could devastate Mississippi's health and economy. The state's obesity rate is second only to its southwestern neighbor . . .

A. Alabama

B. Arkansas

C. Louisiana

D. Tennessee

C. Mississippi has long been the state with the highest obesity rate, dropping only slightly in the latest government survey to second place behind Louisiana where 34.7% of the population is now obese, compared with 34.6% in Mississippi. Tennessee is north of Mississippi; Alabama is east; and Arkansas is northwest.

Q: Obesity-related health problems are disabling people who would normally be earning money. Which state is poorer than Mississippi?

A. Arkansas

B. Maryland

C. West Virginia

D. None

D. Mississippi has the lowest per capita and median family incomes in the U.S. West Virginia and Arkansas rank just above Mississippi. Maryland has the highest per capita and median family incomes. Before the Civil War, Mississippi was the fifth-wealthiest state in the nation, with its wealth generated by cotton plantations.

Q: Mississippi is known as a birthplaces of which art form?

A. Bluegrass

B. Blues

C. Clog dancing

D. All of the above

B. African-American musicians of Mississippi's Delta region were pioneers of the blues, which went on to heavily influence jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.

Q: Who is excluded from holding public office by Mississippi's constitution?

A. Atheists

B. Income tax cheats

C. Manslaughter convicts

D. All of the above

A. While people convicted of manslaughter and income tax charges are specifically excepted from a ban on felons being elected to the legislature, Section 265 of the Mississippi constitution says, “No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state.”