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Freezing consequences for Mississippi River as nuclear units down

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Freezing consequences for Mississippi River as nuclear units down


For the first time in 25 years, both units at the Prairie Island nuclear energy plant are down for repairs.

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Xcel Energy spokesmen say it won’t create any direct safety issues for people living near the plant just north of Red Wing.

But locals have a big idea to protect against indirect problems they’re almost sure are coming.

Ice creeping out from the shores of the Mississippi River is a common sight in much of Minnesota this time of year.

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But not in the Red Wing/Hager City area.

Two units making clean energy at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant churn enough water to keep the river warm and free of ice all the way down to Lake City.

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But for the first time since 1998, both units are down simultaneously.

“The river is going to see some ice forming that it has never seen before,” said Wayne Prokosch.

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Xcel spokesmen tell us one of the units was powered down last month for scheduled refueling and maintenance, which they do every other year.

They say the other unit shut down safely about a month ago because of an equipment issue between the turbine and the electric grid.

Xcel doesn’t have a precise timeline for finishing repairs, but spokesmen tell us they expect both units back online sometime in January.

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Right now, the current is strong enough that the river’s all water not ice, but with both units at the plant shut down, locals expect this entire river to freeze solid.

“I anticipate there will be people driving across the river just to show it could be done,” Prokosch said.

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He says the warmer section of the river usually stays busy with fishing boats, even in winter.

And over the last 50 years, people got comfortable staying on the shore all year.

“Since the nuke plant has been put in there’s been multiple marinas installed on the Mississippi River in downtown Red Wing and on the back channel and Hager City, which is going to cause some havoc on the docks,” Prokosch said.

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But they’re not just letting the ice come to them.

“We’re installing multiple bubblers up and down the ends of the docks to keep a line of water open,” Prokosch said.

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Agitators keep the water churning on a smaller scale, hopefully creating a barrier around boats still in the river.

Xcel spokesmen don’t like their chances.

“We do not believe installing agitators or similar actions would be effective in this situation and do not anticipate covering the cost for these actions,” they said in a statement to FOX 9.

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Prokosch looks forward to proving them wrong.



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Mississippi

Miss the speeches at this year's Hobnob? Here's a recap – SuperTalk Mississippi

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Miss the speeches at this year's Hobnob? Here's a recap – SuperTalk Mississippi


Business leaders gathered in Jackson on Thursday to hear from various elected officials and candidates seeking political office at the Mississippi Economic Council’s annual Hobnob event. Hobnob is intentionally scheduled just before an election to allow politicians to give Mississippians one last pitch before voters head to the ballot box….



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SEC Football Week 10 Storylines: Mississippi State Gets Break in League Play

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SEC Football Week 10 Storylines: Mississippi State Gets Break in League Play


A visit from 2-6 UMass could not possibly come at a better time for Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs are physically and mentally spent, riding a seven-game losing streak that hit a new low with last week’s 58-25 loss to Arkansas.

So, hosting the Minutemen in Starkville presents all kinds of opportunities for Jeff Lebby & Co., such as getting reps for the young kids, opening up more of the playbook for QB Michael Van Buren … and, yes, experiencing winning for the first time since the opener.

Either Mississippi State or UMass is grabbing its first FBS win of 2024 this weekend. Here are 5 other storylines to watch in Week 10 of the SEC.

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The Tigers are coming off their best game, beating Kentucky behind the running of Jarquez Hunter. Now, they host Vanderbilt which could be subdued after losing a close one to Texas. With Louisiana-Monroe in the on-deck circle, Auburn can claw back to .500 if it first handles business Saturday.

Arkansas’ young QB is coming his most prolific game of the year, accounting for six TDs last weekend. But that was Mississippi State and this is Ole Miss, which allows just 11 points per game and is getting outstanding play from DT Walter Nolen and LB Chris Paul Jr.

The 6-1 Vols are positioned for a playoff berth, despite averaging just 21 points in four SEC games. Tennessee is winning with defense and the running of Dylan Sampson. Coming out of a bye, has Josh Heupel figured out how to unlock Nico Iamaleava’s potential in time for this week’s Kentucky game?

Florida, and head coach Billy Napier more specifically, has a massive opportunity to use the annual game with Georgia as a turning point of the season. An upset is not as far-fetched as it seems. DJ Lagway and the Gators have won three of their last four, only losing by six at Tennessee, and the Dawgs have had uncharacteristic bouts of vulnerability this fall.

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One week after rallying to beat LSU in a home thriller, Texas A&M travels to South Carolina for a night game. Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer is developing a reputation for delivering in these spots. Subplot: Does Mike Elko start Conner Weigman or last week’s hero, Marcel Reed, for this road test?

ESPN Analyst Boldly Compares Mississippi State QB to Heisman Trophy Favorite

UMass Brings Bottom-10 Ranking to Starkville: 5 Key Stats About the Minutemen

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Why Mississippi State football is examining these 5 drives to help struggling defense

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Why Mississippi State football is examining these 5 drives to help struggling defense


STARKVILLE — The first five offensive and defensive drives from another loss have been a teaching point for Mississippi State football.

Defensively, Mississippi State, which allowed its most points of the season last week in a 58-25 home loss to Arkansas, conceded three touchdowns and a field goal on the first five possessions. 

On offense, MSU (1-7, 0-5 SEC) lost a fumble, scored a touchdown, missed a field goal and had two turnovers on downs to trail 24-7 early in the second quarter.

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The numbers don’t hide how poorly the defense has played all season, but first-year coach Jeff Lebby has made it clear that the defense isn’t all to blame for a seven-game losing streak. His offense can do a better job, too, helping set up the defense for success with a nonconference game against UMass (2-6) at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (3:15 p.m., SEC Network).

“We weren’t able to create any momentum,” Lebby said. “It’s both sides of the ball not finding a way to get momentum, create it and then keep it. As a group and as a team, looking at those five drives and seeing how we can change the game at that point is something that we’ve done a ton of and we’ve got to learn from.”

Mississippi State hasn’t been capturing momentum

Mississippi State tight end Justin Ball and defensive lineman Sulaiman Kpaka said the Bulldogs can feel momentum when it swings during games. 

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The problem is, momentum has been swinging away from the Bulldogs early and often. 

Mississippi State has only scored 14 points on opening drives this season. It has scored two touchdowns, punted without a first down four times, turned the ball over on downs once and lost the fumble against Arkansas. And in first quarters, MSU is averaging just 3.4 points in seven games against FBS opponents, tied for 102nd in the country and tied for second to last in the SEC.

Meanwhile, the defense has enabled five opening-drive touchdowns, and its 9.3 points allowed per first quarter against FBS teams is last in the SEC and tied for 124th nationally.

“Those first five drives we talked about when we go out and handle our business every one of those drives, it puts the defense in a much better position,” Ball said Tuesday. “It helps with momentum as well. It gets them a little more motivated to go out there and get some stops and get the ball back to us so we can keep doing our thing.”

It’s forced Mississippi State to play from behind virtually all season. In the seven games against FBS opponents, MSU has only led twice for a combined 11 minutes, 49 seconds. None of those leads have gone past the first quarter, and MSU has only been ahead for 2.8% of game time against the FBS. 

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“I want us to be able to go create momentum early in the game and then keep momentum,” Lebby said. “We have to find ways to do that.”

Is the Mississippi State offense feeling more pressure to score?

While the Mississippi State offense hasn’t started games well, it’s still found ways to score plenty of points, even with freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. 

In SEC play, MSU is averaging 24.2 points per game, 4.2 more than it did against Arizona State and Toledo in September. Three of the five conference games have been against teams currently ranked inside the US LBM Coaches Poll top 11, and the 31 points at Georgia are the most the Bulldogs have scored at an AP top five team since 1936.

So, yes, MSU is scoring. It just isn’t soon enough. 

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“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure, but at the same time I would say it’s pressure,” wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. said. “It is what it is. We got to do that. Our goal is to score a lot of points a game, and right now we haven’t been doing that. It’s pressure, but at the same time, it’s not pressure. We just got to go out there and do our job.”

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



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