Mississippi
Company that leaked radioactive material will build barrier to keep it away from Mississippi River
The energy company responsible for leaking radioactive material from its nuclear plant in Monticello, Minnesota, in recent months has announced that it will build an underground metal barrier to keep affected groundwater away from the nearby Mississippi River.
Xcel Energy said construction will last several weeks and should begin between Friday and Monday, according to a statement posted on the city of Monticello’s website Thursday.
“Constructing the barrier wall is another step the company is taking to try and ensure that the small amount of tritium still present in the groundwater remains within the plant boundaries and can be safely recovered, stored and reused on site,” Xcel said in the statement.
Xcel discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water containing tritium — a radioactive isotope of hydrogen — had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water had leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pipe.
The leaks were contained within the plant’s boundaries and did not enter the river, the company has said.
Xcel has permanently fixed the source of the leaks, and the plant has returned to normal operations, according to the company’s website Thursday. About 80% of the leaked tritium has been recovered as of August.
“We will continue recovering impacted groundwater until our monitoring wells indicate the groundwater meets the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act standards,” the company’s website said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said water with tritium is safe enough to drink if the amount of tritium is less than 20,000 picocuries per liter.
The tritium level was about 5 million picocuries per liter in November in groundwater within the plant’s boundaries, the company’s website said.
As of August, the highest tritium level was 900,000 picocuries per liter — which is not considered safe enough to drink — within the plant’s boundaries.
In the water adjacent to the Mississippi River, the highest tritium level was 1,000 picocuries per liter, which is safe enough to drink.
Leaked tritium still has not been detected in the river, the company’s website said.
Although the utility and health officials say the leak is not dangerous, the issue has prompted concerns among residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.
The nuclear plant, which provides carbon-free energy for the region, is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis.
___
Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15
Mississippi
Snap Counts from Mizzou at Mississippi State, Season Tracker
The Missouri offense was on the field for over two thirds of the No. 23-ranked Tigers’ victory over Mississippi State in Week 13, possessing the ball for 41 minutes and 51 seconds.
The Missouri offense played 79 snaps in the win, tying its previous high in snaps in SEC play from when the Tigers won over Vanderbilt in double overtime.
The full snap counts for both sides of the ball for Missouri revealed some interesting lineup moves. Here’s the full counts found on Pro Football Focus.
Offense
LG Cayden Green, 79, 100%
RT Armand Membou, 79, 100%
C Drake Heismeyer, 79, 100%
QB Brady Cook, 79, 100%
LT Marcus Bryant, 79, 100%
RG Cam’Ron Johnson, 79, 100%
TE Jordon Harris, 57, 72%
TE Brett Norfleet, 53, 67%
WR Joshua Manning, 49, 62%
WR Theo Wease Jr., 45, 57%
WR Luther Burden III, 38, 48%
HB Nate Noel, 37, 47%
WR Marquis Johnson, 33, 42%
WR Mekhi Miller, 26, 33%
HB Marcus Carroll, 21, 27%
HB Jamal Roberts, 20, 25%
LG Mitchell Walters, 9, 11%
WR Daniel Blood, 5, 6%
HB Kewan Lacy, 1, 1%
TE Tyler Stephens, 1, 1%
• Interesting to see Joshua Mannig get more snaps than any other wide receiver. The coaching staff have praised his run blocking ability before though, which was what he did on 35 of his snaps.
• Pretty impressive for Marcus Carroll to score three touchdowns while only playing 27% of snaps
Defense
CB Dreyden Norwood, 50, 100%
S Daylan Carnell, 47, 94%
LB Triston Newson, 45, 90%
S Joseph Charleston, 43, 86%
CB Toriano Pride Jr., 41, 82%
ED Johnny Walker Jr., 40, 80%
ED Zion Young, 35, 70%
LB Corey Flagg, 33, 66%
DL Kristian Williams, 33, 66%
S Caleb Flagg, 27, 54%
DL Chris McClellan, 27, 54%
DL Sterling Webb, 27, 54%
S Marvin Burks Jr., 23, 46%
LB Chuck Hicks, 22, 44%
DL Eddie Kelly Jr., 17, 34%
CB Nicholas Deloach Jr., 15, 30%
ED Jahkai Lang, 12, 24%
S Tre’Vez Johnson, 11, 22%
DL Marquis Gracial, 8, 16%
DL Jalen Marshall, 7, 14%
S Sidney Williams, 7, 14%
LB Nicholas Rodriguez, 2, 4%
• Nicholas Deloach Jr. was the more relied upon corner opposite of Dreydon Norwood for each of the past two games, but Toriano Pride Jr. stepped back into that role in this one.
• With Tre’Vez Johnson dealing with some sort of injury, Caleb Flagg saw some more playing time at safety.
Offense
LT Marcus Bryant, 764, 100%
RT Armand Membou, 756, 99%
RG Cam’Ron Johnson, 679, 89%
LG Cayden Green, 673, 88%
QB Brady Cook, 602, 79%
C Connor Tollison, 582, 76%
WR Theo Wease Jr., 566, 74%
WR Luther Burden III, 492, 64%
TE Brett Norfleet, 359, 47%
TE Jordon Harris, 331, 43%
WR Joshua Manning, 329, 43%
WR Mookie Cooper, 328, 43%
HB Nate Noel, 323, 42%
WR Mekhi Miller, 313, 41%
G Mitchell Walters, 265, 34%
HB Marcus Carroll, 239, 31%
C Drake Heismeyer, 232, 30%
WR Marquis Johnson, 223, 29%
QB Drew Pyne, 217, 28%
HB Jamal Roberts, 193, 25%
TE Tyler Stephens, 126, 17%
WR Daniel Blood, 119, 16%
T Jayven Richardson, 57, 7%
G Logan Reichert, 56, 7%
G Tristan Wilson, 49, 6%
HB Kewan Lacy, 43, 5%
G Curtis Peagler, 26, 3%
HB Tavorus Jones, 24, 3%
TE Jude James, 21, 3%
WR James Madison II, 13, 2%
WR Courtney Crutchfield, 10, 1%
WR Logan Muckey, 8, 1%
C Talan Chandler, 7, 1%
TE Whit Hafer, 3, 0%
QB JR Blood, 2, 0%
Defense
CB Dreyden Norwood, 517, 79%
S Marvin Burks Jr., 475, 73%
S Daylan Carnell, 465, 71%
ED Johnny Walker Jr., 445, 68%
CB Toriano Pride Jr., 438, 67%
DL Kristian Williams, 401, 61%
ED Zion Young, 397, 61%
S Joseph Charleston, 384, 59%
LB Triston Newson, 380, 58%
DL Chris McClellan, 370, 57%
LB Corey Flagg, 345, 53%
CB Nicholas Deloach Jr., 313, 48%
S Tre’Vez Johnson, 269, 41%
LB Chuck Hicks, 258, 39%
DL Sterling Webb, 236, 36%
S Sidney Williams, 236, 36%
DL Eddie Kelly Jr., 223, 34%
LB Khalil Jacobs, 223, 34%
ED Jahkai Lang, 185, 28%
DL Marquis Gracial, 139, 21%
S Caleb Flagg, 124, 19%
DL Jalen Marshall, 114, 17%
ED Joe Moore, 105, 16%
LB Nicholas Rodriguez, 103, 16%
DL Sam Williams, 49, 8%
CB Marcus Clarke, 44, 7%
ED Williams Nwaneri, 38, 6%
S Jaylen Brown, 37, 6%
S Trajen Greco, 36, 6%
DB Shamar McNeil, 32, 5%
LB Jeremiah Beasley, 28, 4%
DB Phillip Roche, 24, 4%
DB Ja’Marion Wayne, 22, 3%
DL Elias Williams, 11, 2%
LB Brayshawn Littlejohn, 11, 2%
LB Brian Huff, 8, 1%
CB Jaren Sensabaugh, 6, 1%
CB Justin Bodford, 6, 1%
CB Cameron Keys, 6, 1%
CB Nasir Pogue, 6, 1%
LB Brady Hultman, 2, 0%
LB Will Norris, 1, 0%
Mississippi
Mississippi blows opportunity at making the College Football Playoff with Florida loss
How coaches salaries and the NIL bill affects college football
Dan Wolken breaks down the annual college football coaches compensation package to discuss salaries and how the NIL bill affects them.
Sports Pulse
Anyone pushing for Mississippi to be in the College Football Playoff at this point is either on the payroll of the Southeastern Conference or wants to be at some point in the future.
That’s the truth, as plain and simple as it can be after the Rebels choked away the best opportunity in the history of their program Saturday, losing 24-17 at Florida.
No SEC championship game.
No playoff.
No nothin’, other than a New Year’s trip to Orlando or some such place that will force everyone in the program to pretend they’re honored and happy to be there.
And given the vaunted name, image and likeness payroll Lane Kiffin had to work with this year, it’s nothing less than a massive program-wide choke job. You want to play with the big boys after all these years? Fine, go ahead.
But you better take care of business. Instead, Ole Miss messed around and put together one of the most disappointing and confounding seasons they’ve ever had.
With all the hype, all the talent, all the momentum behind Kiffin after they dominated Georgia two weeks ago, are you really going to tell me the Rebels couldn’t do better than 5-for-18 on third and fourth down against a Florida team left for dead weeks ago?
We can break down all the mistakes Ole Miss made in this game from Kiffin’s hard-headedness in handing the ball to defensive tackle JJ Pegues in short yardage to a missed 34-yard field goal to a muffed punt return that handed Florida three points to quarterback Jaxson Dart refusing to tighten his chin strap. There are a lot of things Kiffin will regret.
But the bottom line is pretty straightforward. No team with losses to Florida, LSU and Kentucky should be within a mile of the playoff. And the worst part for Kiffin is that it was so avoidable.
Yeah, the SEC is tough. So what? We’re in a new era here with the 12-team playoff. In a league like the SEC, you can survive losses, especially if you also have good wins.
There has to be a limit, though. Three is just too many.
Florida’s playing well toward the end of the season, but a real playoff team goes into Gainesville and handles a Florida team that just got its sixth win.
LSU is a big brand name with lots of talent, but the Tigers are 6-4 and just not very good.
Kentucky almost certainly isn’t going to a bowl game.
Had any of those three games gone the other way, it would have almost certainly put Ole Miss in the 12-team field. The Georgia win was that valuable, and beating South Carolina 27-3 is one of the more underrated great performances of the season given how good the Gamecocks have been otherwise.
And at some point, there will be a three-loss team in the expanded playoff. Maybe even this year.
But it shouldn’t be Ole Miss. It can’t be Ole Miss, not when those losses all occurred to average or worse opponents.
You have to point the finger at Kiffin. Yes, he’s elevated the Rebels’ program significantly. But for years, his record in the really important games that define seasons has been questionable. After the Georgia win, that narrative was starting to turn. If Ole Miss had simply beaten Florida and Mississippi State, it would have all but locked up its spot. And Kiffin would have been arguably the most important figure in the modern history of Ole Miss football.
Maybe he will be one day. But it’s not going to be this year.
For Ole Miss to implode and miss the playoff with such a stacked roster, and when most of the hard work had been done, is a crushing disappointment.
It’s also a gift to the likes of Indiana and Tennessee. The manner in which the Hoosiers were beaten 38-15 by Ohio State certainly frames their resurgence a bit differently. They didn’t look the part at all and will end the season without any standout wins. But assuming they beat 1-10 Purdue next week, there’s little chance the committee can drop them below Ole Miss.
The Vols also stand to benefit from the developments in Gainesville. The first team out this week, according to the committee, they are in much better position heading into next Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.
SEC homers will undoubtedly argue that both the Vols and Rebels should be in. Already this week, commissioner Greg Sankey was on social media sharing some strength of schedule data as he begins his public lobbying effort to stack the bracket with SEC teams.
And while the SEC is probably the best and deepest conference, you’d have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to conclude that the parity we’ve seen is evidence that it’s stacked with great teams. What’s closer to the truth is that the SEC has several pretty good, but deeply flawed teams, whose inconsistencies tend to show up on the road.
The SEC will spend the next couple weeks claiming that the league’s depth means all of them should be in the playoff. The committee shouldn’t — and won’t — fall for it. Sorry, Ole Miss. But you’re out.
Mississippi
What channel is Mississippi State football vs Missouri on today? Time, TV schedule to watch Week 13 game
Mississippi State football comes off a bye week with a chance to earn a win over nationally-ranked Missouri on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6) last played on Nov. 9 in a loss at Tennessee and have two more games against SEC opponents this year.
The Tigers (7-3, 3-3) lost a back-and-forth game at South Carolina last weekend.
Here’s how to watch the Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:
Mississippi State vs. Missouri will broadcast nationally on SEC Network in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Taylor Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb will call the game from the booth at Davis Wade Stadium, with Alyssa Lang reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
- Start time: 3:15 p.m. CT
The Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game starts at 3:15 p.m. CT Saturday from Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
Clarion Ledger reporter Sam Sklar’s prediction: Missouri 37, Mississippi State 20
The Bulldogs are allowing 41 points per game in SEC play, and it’s difficult to see Missouri not having the same level of success. Expect big days from Burden and/or Wease, plus running back Nate Noel as MSU loses another game by double digits.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 22
- Odds: Missouri -7.5
- O/U: 61.5 points
- Money line: Missouri -300, Mississippi State +240
- Aug. 31: EKU, W 56-7
- Sept. 7: at Arizona State, L 30-23
- Sept. 14: Toledo, L 41-17
- Sept. 21: Florida, L 45-28
- Sept. 28: at Texas, L 35-13
- Oct. 5: OPEN DATE
- Oct. 12: at Georgia, L 41-31
- Oct. 19: Texas A&M, L 34-24
- Oct. 26: Arkansas, L 58-25
- Nov. 2: UMass, W 45-20
- Nov. 9: at Tennessee, L 33-14
- Nov. 16: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 23: Missouri, 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network
- Nov. 29: at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+
Record: 2-8 (0-6 SEC)
- Aug. 29: Murray State, W 51-0
- Sept. 7: Buffalo, W 38-0
- Sept. 14: Boston College, W 27-21
- Sept. 21: Vanderbilt, W 30-27 2OT
- Sept. 28: OPEN DATE
- Oct. 5: at Texas A&M, L 41-10
- Oct. 12: at UMass, W 45-3
- Oct. 19: Auburn, W 21-17
- Oct. 26: at Alabama, L 34-0
- Nov. 2: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 9: Oklahoma, W 30-23
- Nov. 16: at South Carolina, L 34-30
- Nov. 23: at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network
- Nov. 30: Arkansas, TBD
Record: 7-3, 3-3 SEC
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
-
Business1 week ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
Science4 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics6 days ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology6 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle6 days ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs
-
World6 days ago
Protesters in Slovakia rally against Robert Fico’s populist government
-
News6 days ago
They disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony
-
News6 days ago
Gaetz-gate: Navigating the President-elect's most baffling Cabinet pick