Four cities are winners of special achievement honors given for the second year by the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University.
Cleveland, Hattiesburg, Madison, and Natchez recently received 1997 Innovations of Municipal Government Awards.
Madison was the overall winner for community services through its Natural Resources Conservation Plan and Demonstration.
The awards program is sponsored in cooperation with the Mississippi Municipal Association. Presentations were made at the MMA's recent midwinter conference in Jackson.
Of the other top winners, Cleveland was cited for achievements in human and social services through the Bolivar County Literacy Council; Hattiesburg, for protective services through its Community Policing in Action program; and Natchez, for housing development assistance through its Historic Woodlawn Restoration Project.
"The awards are designed to encourage and reward novel and successful approaches and to spread the word about what can and has worked" in municipal government, said Stennis Institute director W. Martin "Marty" Wiseman.
At nearly 300, municipalities make up the state's largest group of government units.
Named for Mississippi's former senior U.S. senator and 1923 Mississippi State graduate, the Stennis Institute has a threefold mission: to enhance state and local government through research, training and technical assistance; to conduct research and provide assistance specifically focusing on rural development; and to promote civic education and citizen involvement in the political process.