Where is Tupelo?

A pilot has been flying in circles for hours, threatening to intentionally crash into Walmart on West Main in Tupelo, a city in northeast Mississippi, as police evacuate the stores, according to a police department release.

According to the report, police have also been able to begin direct communication with the pilot.

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Where is Tupelo?

Lee County, in the U.S. state of Mississippi, has Tupelo as its county seat and largest city. The sixth-largest city in Mississippi by population, Tupelo is regarded as the economic, industrial, and cultural centre of North Mississippi. Its population is estimated at 38,300.

Although the region had previously been populated as “Gum Pond” along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Tupelo was officially founded in 1866. Tupelo earned the moniker “The First TVA Community” when it became the first city to get electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority on February 7, 1934. A significant tornado that struck the city in large portions in 1936 remains one of the worst tornadoes in American history.

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Tupelo was previously regarded as the centre of the American furniture manufacturing sector and saw a boom as a local manufacturing and distribution hub after electrification. Despite the fact that many of Tupelo’s manufacturing sectors have experienced a decrease since the 1990s, the city has expanded because of the city’s robust healthcare, retail, and financial services sectors. The most number of banks with assets exceeding $10 billion have their headquarters in Tupelo, the smallest city in the country.

Due to its status as the birthplace of Diplo, Rae Sremmurd, and Elvis Presley, Tupelo holds a special place in Mississippi’s musical heritage. The Elvis Presley Birthplace and the 10,000-seat BancorpSouth Arena, Mississippi’s largest multipurpose indoor arena, are just two of the city’s many art and cultural institutions.

The most recent All-America City designation went to Tupelo in 2015, making it the first Southern American city to receive five such distinctions. The Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association, one of its Main Street initiatives, won the Great American Main Street Award from the national Main Street organisation in 2020.