Mississippi
Mississippi River refuges get $10 million for nature-based solutions to climate change
A Nonprofit is working to fight climate change through tree cloning
The Archangel Tree Archive nonprofit is cloning trees across the country and replanting them around the world in hopes of reversing climate change.
A $10 million investment will fund seven projects aimed at making national wildlife refuge lands along the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers more resilient to climate change, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced earlier this month.
The projects, which span all five states that border the upper Mississippi, will emphasize nature-based solutions — in other words, working with the river ecosystem instead of trying to control it — to blunt the impacts of some of the river’s major problems, like flooding and drought. There are 11 national wildlife refuges along the two rivers, the largest of which is the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
The funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act. Part of it was rolled out last year to support projects on state-owned lands, including in Wisconsin.
The upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers are seeing the consequences of a warmer, wetter world, and the human-engineered infrastructure built decades ago, like the lock-and-dam system and levees, isn’t able to keep up. In particular, an almost unprecedented amount of water flowed through the rivers over the last decade, killing trees, degrading fish habitat and threatening to breach levees meant to constrain them.
These new projects are meant to help land managers think through those climate threats and adapt to what’s happening now, said Tim Miller, who manages the La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
Here’s what to know about what they’ll tackle.
Floodplain forests are a priority
More than $1 million will be dedicated to the project, “Building Resilience in America’s Big River Forests,” and an additional half-million will go toward restoring bottomland hardwood forest in Missouri.
Bottomland forests, also called floodplain forests, are located along major rivers. As their name indicates, they flood seasonally when the river floods. But along the upper Mississippi, more water flowing through the river and longer-lasting flooding events have inundated these trees more than they can handle, causing hundreds to die.
More: What to know about floodplain forests, a struggling ecosystem on the Mississippi River
More: A new technique could help save the Mississippi River’s floodplain forests: raising the forest floor
Work is ongoing to save them, but this money will allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the range of that work to all 11 national wildlife refuges along the river in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, Miller said.
Staff will be curtailing invasive plant species that have moved into areas where larger trees have died and planting tree species that are better suited for today’s wetter conditions.
The funds will also help staff labor-intensive projects like these on refuges that have very few employees, Miller said. The national wildlife refuge system has struggled with chronic understaffing in the past decade.
Other projects will make room for the river
Some river engineering structures will get a facelift, or even a total overhaul, to deal with high waters. That includes Guttenberg Ponds in Clayton County, Iowa, where a levee protecting a wetland area from the river’s main channel has been degrading over time, repairs for which have been costly. The project will allow the degradation to happen and turn the area behind it into floodplain forest, Miller said.
“Instead of fighting the river with these levees we’ve had, we’re allowing it to naturally degrade over time,” he said. “It’s kind of a neat way of looking at it.”
Other engineering changes include replacing or raising the elevation of water control structures, which regulate the flow of the river, so they can hold more water, easing stress on the river, Miller said.
Wisconsin project focused on fish habitat
One of the projects funded is specific to Wisconsin: restoring Sam Gordy’s Slough in Buffalo County. Floods and high flows have brought more sediment into the backwater channel, making the area shallower and less suitable for fish and effectively cutting it off from the river’s main channel.
More: Climate change imperils the upper Mississippi River backwaters. Now nature needs human help.
The project will reconnect the backwater channel to the main channel by dredging, and install a sediment diverter so sediment can’t keep piling up, Miller said.
Work will start on most of the projects this year, he said, with the exception of the Guttenberg Ponds project.
Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at (920) 996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com.
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
Mississippi
D1Baseball rankings: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss surge after big weekends – SuperTalk Mississippi
Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss have surged in the rankings after a big weekend on the diamond.
The Bulldogs (30-10, 10-8 SEC) jumped two spots to No. 15 in the latest poll from D1Baseball following a strong bounce back. Brian O’ Connor’s club, after having been on the wrong side of SEC sweeps in back-to-back series, earned a 10-rule win over Samford on Tuesday, then took care of business with a sweep at South Carolina.
Next up for Mississippi State is a midweek home matchup versus Memphis on Tuesday before LSU heads to Dudy Noble Field for Super Bulldog Weekend.
The Rebels (29-12, 10-8 SEC) took the biggest leap in the rankings, making an eight-spot jump to No. 17 despite not budging in the top 25 a week ago after sweeping LSU. Once Mike Bianco’s club took the first two games at Tennessee in the most recent series, D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers made note that Ole Miss fans could expect to see their team catapult in his outlet’s poll. Come Monday, though the red and blue lost the series finale, D1Baseball stuck to its word.
“What a weekend so far for [Ole Miss baseball]. Cade Townsend carried a no hitter into the sixth in an 8-1 win over Tennessee to take the series,” Rogers wrote on X. “Rebs are on a heater. Safe to say they’ll be much higher than 25 on Monday.”
Next up for the red-hot Rebels is a home midweek outing versus Murray State, the team that knocked the Rebels out of the postseason last year, before No. 5 Georgia travels to Swayze Field for Double Decker weekend.
The Golden Eagles (28-12, 11-7 Sun Belt) made a four-spot jump to No. 18 after securing a much needed conference sweep to keep hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional alive. Christian Ostrander’s club defended home turf over the weekend, taking all three games from a solid Texas State club.
Next up for the black and gold is a Tuesday midweek battle versus former conference foe Tulane, before making an hour and a half drive to South Alabama for the weekend.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Georgia Tech
- Texas
- Georgia
- Oregon State
- Texas A&M
- Florida State
- Coastal Carolina
- Virginia
- Auburn
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi State
- Kansas
- Ole Miss
- Southern Miss
- Oregon
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Boston College
- USC
- Arkansas
- Arizona State
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
01-07-11-30-34
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 7-4-6, FB: 5
Evening: 3-3-0, FB: 8
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 3-4-8-9, FB: 5
Evening: 6-2-0-4, FB: 8
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 10
Evening: 08
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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