Mississippi

As Mississippi levels rise, so do concerns by river users

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2024

As Mississippi levels rise, so do concerns by river users

It was another soggy Saturday in the metro, with teeming rains adding to river levels in the area.

“I have never seen rain and wind like this,” declared Greg Simbeck, who was strolling along Upper Landing Park in St. Paul on Saturday.

Not far away, Watergate Marina was living up to its name, with the Mississippi creeping up boat landings, even as a few hardy souls were out fishing.

“We’ve had a drought the last few years, so I accept the rain, you know?” smiled Travis Plummer, from St. Paul.

Plummer, no fair-weather fisherman himself, said the river levels are the highest he’s seen in a long time.

“It’s pretty extreme,” he said. “Usually, it’s to the bottom of the culvert right there, went up about eight to nine feet.”

It wasn’t hard to find cars splashing through standing water on area roads. High levels shut down Water Street from the St. Paul Yacht Club to the marina. Fourth Street, near CHS Field, is also closed, from Willis Street to Commercial Street.

“To see it this high, just because of rainfall is crazy,” Simbeck said. “I can’t even remember just from the rain being like this.”

At Upper Landing Park, riverside walkways and access points simply disappeared.

“It’s incredible,” says Vanessa Whitney, from North St. Paul. “You can clearly see that the walkway is supposed to go down here, but we’re not able to go.”

All that excess water is causing problems for Sue Rodsjo and her family’s 1966 Chris Craft boat.

“Because it’s an old boat, our boat always takes on water, so it always gets a bit of a leak through the wood boards,” Rodsjo explains.

Rodsjo said that when the river reaches a certain height, the power will be shut off at the dock her family uses. She said that power is needed to keep her bilge pump going and her boat dry, so a temporary move elsewhere on Friday was a necessity.

“We figured it would be better to get to Stillwater than find our boat at the bottom of the Mississippi,” Rodsjo said.

After all the wet weather of the past week, is there such a thing as rain fatigue?

Plummer thinks so and he likely isn’t alone.

“It’s somewhat scary, and somewhat intriguing to me,” he noted. “I like the storms, but I think I’ve had enough, because it seems like it’s rained every day for the last two weeks. I’m ready for it to dry out a little bit.”

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Mississippi

Mississippi State baseball, Brian O’Connor 10-0 after Arizona State win

Published

5 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi State baseball, Brian O’Connor 10-0 after Arizona State win

Mississippi State baseball didn’t have a hit through four innings but came through with big fifth and sixth innings to reach 10-0.

The No. 5 Bulldogs defeated Arizona State 8-4 in the first game of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 27.

Gehrig Frei jolted MSU’s offense in the fifth inning when he hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run for a 4-0 lead over the Sun Devils (8-2). MSU then added three more runs in the sixth inning for a 7-1 lead. Aidan Teel homered for a second straight game with a solo home run in the eighth inning.

Mississippi State sophomore Ryan McPherson had the longest start of his career, throwing seven innings with one run allowed, four hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Watch Mississippi State baseball in Amegy Bank College Baseball Series

Mississippi State baseball vs Arizona State score updates

Dominic Longo and Dominic Smaldino both hit solo home runs in the ninth inning off MSU’s Maddox Miller to cut the score to 8-4.

Centerfielder Aidan Teel led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo home run for an 8-2 lead.

The Sun Devils scored one run in the eighth inning on a PJ Moutzouridis sacrifice fly. It cut Mississippi State’s lead to 7-2.

McPherson is done for the day as MSU’s pitcher after throwing a career long seven innings. He allowed one run with four hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Chone James hit a two-RBI single, then Reed Stallman also hit an RBI single. Mississippi State is up 7-1 in the sixth inning.

Landon Hairston grounded into a double play to trim MSU’s lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning.

The first pitch thrown by Arizona State reliever Josh Butler was a pinch-hit, three-run home run by Gehrig Frei. MSU leads 4-0 in the fifth inning.

Arizona State starting pitcher Cole Carlon exited in the fifth inning with an apparent cramp after giving up the RBI single to Bryce Chance.

Bryce Chance hit an RBI single for a 1-0 Mississippi State lead in the fifth inning.

There were no hits by either team through four innings. ASU’s Dean Toigo hit a single and so did MSU’s Blake Bevis.

Only one batter has reached base through the first two innings, MSU’s Noah Sullivan via a walk in the first inning. MSU pitcher Ryan McPherson has three strikeouts, while Arizona State pitcher Cole Carlon has five.

The Bulldogs are 9-0 with new coach Brian O’Connor. It’s their best start since they went 13-0 in 2015. However, the Bulldogs had a poor season after that, finishing 24-30.

2B Drew Wyers
3B Ace Reese
DH Noah Sullivan
LF Vytas Valincius
C Chone James
1B Blake Bevis
SS Ryder Woodson
CF Aidan Teel
RF Bryce Chance

The Feb. 27 game between Mississippi State and Arizona State in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series is also streaming for free on YouTube at this link.

Mississippi State vs Arizona State will air on 96.1 FM. It can also be streamed for free on the Mississippi State Hail State app or on the MSU athletics website.

What time does Mississippi State baseball play today?

All games are played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Feb. 27: vs. Arizona State (11 a.m. CT)
Feb. 28: vs. Virginia Tech (3 p.m. CT)
March 1: vs. UCLA (2:30 p.m. CT)

What channel is Mississippi State baseball on today?

All games are streaming on FloCollege. The Feb. 27 game against Arizona State is also streaming for free on YouTube.

Mississippi State starting pitchers in Amegy Bank College Baseball Series

Feb. 27 (vs. Arizona State): RHP Ryan McPherson (2.70 ERA, 1-0) vs. LHP Cole Carlon (2-0, 1.64 ERA)
Feb. 28: (vs. Virginia Tech): LHP Tomas Valincius (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBA
March 1 (vs. UCLA): TBA

Mississippi State injury updates

There is no official injury report for this series, though Mississippi State pitcher William Kirk exited his Feb. 24 start with a leg injury.

Mississippi State baseball 2026 schedule

Next five games:

March 3: at Southern Miss
March 6-8: vs. Lipscomb
March 10: vs. Tulane (in Biloxi)

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Couple sentenced for selling faulty fire extinguishers to Mississippi daycares, businesses – SuperTalk Mississippi

Published

17 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Couple sentenced for selling faulty fire extinguishers to Mississippi daycares, businesses – SuperTalk Mississippi

The Smith County couple who knowingly sold faulty fire alarms to daycares and other commercial businesses across the state will spend time behind bars.

Daniel and Sherri Finnegan, the owners of Finnegan Fire Safety Equipment, entered guilty pleas on Tuesday in connection with the fraud scheme. Daniel Finnegan will spend seven years in prison, while his spouse will be locked up for one year. Officials report that the plea agreements encompass charges filed in both Rankin and Madison counties, where 12 charges have been filed against each defendant stemming from six different cases.

The Finnegans were arrested in Aug. 2024 for selling and installing used fire suppression systems that did not work and were not tested before being placed into service, putting people at risk in the event of fire. The Mississippi Insurance Department reported that the couple targeted minority-owned businesses and owners who had a language barrier.

Originally, the duo was charged with 41 counts each of false pretense, along with 37 counts each of violations of the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code. Despite the pleas entered in Rankin and Madison Counties, the defendants still face an additional 31 fire prevention code violations and 37 false pretense charges that remain pending in 11 other counties.

“The investigation showed that more than $343,000 was paid directly to the couple by confirmed victims. It is important to note that this figure does not represent the full financial impact, as some financial documentation could not be obtained,” a statement from the Mississippi Insurance Department reads. “Furthermore, many victims incurred substantial additional costs to correct and remediate deficient installations and to bring fire protection systems into compliance.”

Restitution ordered for Daniel Finnegan totals $67,853.95, while Sherri Finnegan has to pay out $20,000.

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Mississippi

Former federal attorney faces arson charge after two fires in Fondren

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Former federal attorney faces arson charge after two fires in Fondren

A former federal attorney was arrested and charged with arson for two fires in Jackson, Mississippi.
The fires damaged a building and a dumpster at the Yana Club of Mississippi, a recovery community nonprofit.
The suspect, George McDowell Yoder III, has a history of previous arrests and was suspended from practicing law in 2022.

A former federal attorney was arrested and charged with arson after a building and dumpster were set on fire Friday, Feb. 27, in the Fondren area of Jackson, authorities said.

Jackson Fire Department Chief of Investigations Charles Felton said firefighters responded around 12 a.m. Friday in reference to a reported building fire and dumpster fire at Yana Club of Mississippi located at 555 Hartsfield Street.

Felton said fire crews arrived and found two separate fires in the Fondren neighborhood that caused damage to the Yana Club and the dumpster.

No injuries were reported.

After the fires were extinguished, a fire investigator was called to the scene. Investigators spoke with Capitol Police, who had a suspect detained.

Felton said the Jackson Fire Department Arson Division arrested George McDowell Yoder III, a former federal attorney, and charged him with first-degree arson of Yana Club and third-degree arson of the dumpster.

In 2021, WDAM TV reported Yoder had been a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi from 2009 to 2011. Yoder also ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 2016.

According to a 2023 article by the Laurel Leader Call, Yoder was arrested in 2021 for residential burglary and faced multiple charges from 2021 to 2023. Yoder was also arrested in 2023 for arson charges, the outlet reported.

Documents from the Supreme Court of Mississippi also indicate that Yoder was admitted to the practice of law in the state in 1999 but later suspended in 2022 from practicing law for three years.

Court records show Yoder was found to be accepting fees from clients, abandoning them and then failing to deposit their retainers into a trust account. Yoder “commingled” his personal money with those of his clients and performed little to no work on a Madison County criminal case he was hired to resolve.

Jackson fire officials also said that a fire did not occur Friday morning at The Pig & Pint, a barbecue business located next to Yana Club.

Yana Club of Mississippi, a nonprofit organization, is described via their Facebook page as a “recovery community” that serves individuals seeking help with addictions.

The organization confirmed at 10:23 a.m. Friday via a social media post that the Yana Club building will be closed due to damages sustained from the fire.

“Due to the safety of our members, we will be closed through the weekend,” the organization stated. “We are working with [the] fire department and insurance to determine the best course of action. The building is currently deemed unsafe for meetings to be held. We will be in touch with updates when we have them.”

Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.

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