Mississippi
Mississippi River delegation lobbies for conservation funding in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mayors from 10 states along the Mississippi River flew to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to lobby for funding to protect and restore one of the world’s most important working rivers.
The convening was part of the annual capitol meeting of the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI). The initiative, which includes 105 cities, aims to scale up existing investments and policies protecting the river corridor.
Advocates from the Mississippi River Network also were in Washington D.C. to host meetings with senators and house representatives as they discussed the budgets for 2024 and 2025.
The network consists of nearly 70 local organizations and 20,000 individual members dedicated to creating a healthier basin. Members from across the basin flew to the capitol to bring concerns from their communities directly to the decision-makers, said Maisah Khan, policy director of the network.
The Mississippi River Network presented two policy priorities: increasing federal funding for farmer-led conservation and investing in better water infrastructure. This funding would largely come from the second half of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
So far, these two acts have brought $146 billion in new investment to the Mississippi River corridor, according to the 2024 Policy Platform for MRCTI. But climate change has already taken a toll on the shipping industry, which moves 589 million tons of cargo each year.
Over the last two years, intense drought across the basin caused billions in losses along the Mississippi River, said Sarah Kapnick, chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as she spoke to the mayors in the capital.
The mayors agree that middle America needs an ambitious plan to safeguard the Mississippi River basin, which produces 92 percent of U.S. agricultural exports. MRCTI’s 2024 Policy Platform recognizes the importance of ecosystems at the heart of this economic corridor.
Their plan incorporates federal funding over the next two years with policy recommendations designed to emphasize resilience, climate mitigation and ecosystem restoration across the basin.
Demand for farmer-led conservation funding
The Farm Bill reauthorization is a critical part of the policy priorities for both the Mississippi River Network and the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative. The current iteration of the Farm Bill was last passed in 2018.
On March 9, President Joe Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which includes funding for the Department of Agriculture and five other federal departments through Sept. 30. However, the Farm Bill is separate and has been extended through 2024, and could be up for renewal this year.
The Mississippi River Network called on elected officials to protect and increase conservation program funding in both the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. Farmers play a crucial role in conservation because the fertilizers and pesticides sprayed on their fields eventually run off into the Mississippi River and contribute to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Current conservation program funding is not meeting the demands of farmers, according to data collected by the Mississippi River Network. There is huge demand for these programs and they are consistently underfunded. These conservation practices would offer a high return on investment for both farmers and downstream Mississippi River communities in the form of mitigating floods, filtering pollutants, and maintaining habitat for recreation and tourism.
“Funding farmers is the issue that everyone is in support of,” said Mark “River” Peoples, an advocate and guide with the Quapaw Canoe Company who traveled to the capitol with the Mississippi River Network to speak with elected officials. “But where is that money going to come from?”
Mayors along the Mississippi River also are calling on elected officials to increase funding for current conservation practices. MRCTI urges the House Committee on Agriculture to update its proposed Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023 to include the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The act would strengthen nutrient runoff management programs, which can reduce pollutants that contribute to the dead zone.
The mayors of MRCTI also encouraged Congress to increase funding for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, which uses Farm Bill money for agricultural conservation programs, by $50 million. According to MRCTI, since 2005, the corridor spanning the 10 mainstem basin states has sustained over $246 billion in losses from droughts, floods, extreme heat and named storms.
Billion-dollar climate disasters are becoming increasingly common. In 2023 alone, the U.S. experienced 28 weather disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion. Mayors along the Mississippi River have seen the effects of these climate disasters steadily increase.
As droughts increase and last for longer periods, the mayors of MRCTI urge Congress to address gaps in drought policy and resilience.
Water infrastructure to east chronic drought
“Five hundred and fifty-three days of low water had incredible economic implications on this nation,” said Edward Belk, director of civil works for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Southern Louisiana’s historic drought also caused a second year of saltwater intrusion, threatening drinking water. As salt water from the Gulf of Mexico crept up the Mississippi River, the Army Corps barged 153 million gallons of water to communities that had lost access to clean drinking water, said Belk.
The mayors also asked that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency invest $5 billion to find a permanent solution for saltwater intrusion in southern Louisiana. MRCTI said the funding would begin to cover the cost of converting water treatment plants to handle desalination as well as examine and implement the best option to ensure New Orleans has permanent access to fresh water.
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. MRCTI and the Mississippi River Network also receive Walton funding.
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Staff
A wood products manufacturer is set to create new jobs as part of a major expansion.
Carpenter Pole and Piling is investing nearly $5 million into its Wiggins, Mississippi, operation.
The expansion will add 10 new positions and support long-term growth in the region.
“Carpenter Pole and Piling is a true Mississippi success story, and we’re proud to see the company continue investing right here at home,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
“This expansion in Stone County is creating new opportunities for hardworking Mississippians while strengthening a company that has long contributed to our state’s economy,” Reeves said. “When Mississippi businesses grow, our communities grow with them, and we remain committed to fostering a business environment where companies can thrive.”
Carpenter Pole and Piling produces utility poles and pilings for marine and foundation use.
The project includes construction of a new treatment plant, investment in a 2,600-cubic-foot autoclave and an alternative treatment option to improve production capacity.
The company is also clearing and preparing an additional 20 acres for a new pole storage yard.
Stone County is also contributing to the project.
The company expects to complete construction by September 2026.
The new roles are expected to be filled by January 2027.
Carpenter Pole and Piling specializes in the production of utility poles. It also manufactures foundation and marine pilings.
The new autoclave will increase production and add an alternative treatment option.
This story was created by business and development writer Ross Reily, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
Mississippi
CBSB: Southern Miss sweeps again, Mississippi State shines in Texas, Ole Miss struggles – SuperTalk Mississippi
Southern Miss earned its second consecutive sweep, rounding out a mostly successful weekend of college baseball for Mississippi’s major programs.
The No. 12 Golden Eagles (10-1), fresh off a mercy-rule victory over Alabama, exited a hostile Louisiana Tech environment with three straight wins versus a former conference counterpart. Christian Ostrander’s crew won 8-3 on Friday, cruised to an 11-0 run-rule victory through seven innings on Saturday, and was on the good side of a 6-2 scoreboard in Sunday’s finale.
A three-run bomb by Kyle Morrison in the top of the fourth of Friday’s game put the black and gold up 5-3, and solid pitching carried the team the rest of the way. A six-run top of the fourth of Saturday’s game, in part due to a Matthew Russo 2 RBI single, broke a scoring stalemate and fueled Southern Miss to a win in a shortened matchup. A two-run long ball by Joey Urban in the top of the ninth of Sunday’s battle gave the Golden Eagles a buffer that would not be eclipsed.
Kros Sivley (2-0) was Friday’s winning pitcher after logging a pair of strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Grayden Harris (2-0) got the win on Saturday after fanning five batters and surrendering no runs through six complete innings. Camden Sunstrom (1-0) closed out the finale with the win after striking out two batters and not giving up a hit or a run in the final two frames.
Mississippi State wins two in Texas
The No. 4 Bulldogs (11-1) had a solid weekend in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. Brian O’Connor’s club handled the weekend test with an 8-4 win over Arizona State, a 15-8 victory over Virginia Tech, and a heartbreaking 8-7 extra-innings loss to No. 1 UCLA.
Mississippi State broke a scoring hiatus on Friday with a strong bottom of the fifth. A Bryce Chance RBI single scored the game’s first run, then a Gehrig Frei homer put the Bulldogs up 4-0. Three insurance runs were added in the next offensive frame, and Mississippi State did not look back. On Saturday, an Ace Reece longball gave the maroon and white a 4-0 lead in the top of the second. Virginia Tech chipped away, cutting the deficit to two runs, until a five-run top of the seventh put things out of reach.
Sunday’s finale was a battle between two teams vying for bragging rights as the nation’s best. The Bruins took an early 3-0 lead, but Mississippi State quickly countered. A two-run bomb by Reed Stallman and an RBI double by Ryder Woodson knotted things up 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. The Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to lead 5-3.
A two-out home run by UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky tied the ballgame in the top of the ninth. Mississippi State, with runners on second and third and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, could not send a runner home. A wild pitch and a 2 RBI triple scored three Bruins in the top of the 10th. Stallman hit his second home run of the day to inch the Bulldogs within one run of their foe, but it was not followed up with more scoring.
Winning pitchers for Mississippi State this weekend were Ryan McPherson (2-0) and Tomas Valincius (3-0), while Ben Davis (0-1) was tabbed with the lone loss.
Ole Miss struggles in neutral-site tournament
In its first set of tests versus power conference opponents, the Rebels (10-2) struggled mightily, dropping two of three outings in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic. Mike Bianco’s club fell to Baylor 6-5 in extra innings on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday in an 8-0 win over Ohio State and suffering a 9-2 loss to Coastal Carolina in Sunday’s finale. Ole Miss was a combined 0-18 at the plate with runners in scoring position in the two losses.
Though the weekend didn’t play to the Rebels’ advantage, a few individual performers stood out. Murray State transfer Dom Decker, who entered his junior campaign without hitting a home run, hit three balls over the outfield wall at the Houston Astros’ Daikin Park. Hunter Elliott had a career-high 11 strikeouts on Friday, while Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe collectively fanned 16 batters in Saturday’s shutout.
Next up
Southern Miss will play a pair of home midweek games, the first being against Mississippi State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and the second versus Nicholls on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before hosting North Alabama over the weekend.
Mississippi State will host Lipscomb over the weekend after facing the Golden Eagles.
Ole Miss will host Memphis on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and North Alabama on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., before welcoming Evansville for a weekend series.
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