Mississippi
To save a dying swamp, Louisiana aims to restore the Mississippi River's natural flow
GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has long relied on a vast levee system to rein in the Mississippi River and protect surrounding communities from flooding. But cutting off the natural flow of the river with man made barriers has been slowly killing one of the nation’s largest forested wetlands.
The 176 square mile (456 square kilometers) Maurepas Swamp just to the west of New Orleans holds Louisiana’s second largest contiguous forest, a beloved state wildlife refuge filled with water tupelo and bald cypress trees, their branches adorned by wisps of Spanish moss. A beloved recreation site, the swamp also houses bald eagles, ospreys, black bears and alligators and serves as a waystation for hundreds of different migratory birds.
Deprived of nutrients from the stanched Mississippi River, the swamp’s iconic trees are dying in stagnant water. Yet they’re now set to receive a life-saving boost.
State and federal authorities on Tuesday celebrated breaking ground on an ambitious conservation project intended to replenish the ailing trees by diverting water from the Mississippi back into the swamp.
“This is about reconnecting a natural system, actually fixing it to what it used to be,” said Brad Miller, who has shepherded the project for the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority since 2006.
Miller likened the $330 million river diversion to watering a garden: “The swamp needs river water to be a good swamp.”
The River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp will allow for a maximum of 2000 cubic feet per second (57 cubic meters per second) to flow out of a gated opening to be built in the levee system and routed along a 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) diversion channel. The project expects to revitalize around 45,000 acres (182 square kilometers) of swamp in an area where less than a third of the forest is considered healthy according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Besides injecting much-needed nutrients and oxygen into the swamp, river water will leave thin layers of sediment deposits that mitigate the effect of subsidence — a natural phenomenon on Louisiana’s fragile coast exacerbated by fossil fuel extraction — and climate change-induced sea level rise, said Nick Stevens, a researcher at Southeastern Louisiana University’s wetlands ecology and restoration lab. Healthier forests bolster the swamp with decomposing matter from branches and leaves, he added.
“All of that is completely hindered by not having the Mississippi River attached to it anymore,” Stevens said. “You’ve got all this land sinking as a result of just not getting nutrients.”
The swamp’s diminishing health has had ripple effects on biodiversity, says Erik Johnson, director of conservation science at Audubon Delta, an organization focused on bird ecology in the Mississippi River delta. Some migratory birds like the yellow throated warbler, prothonotary warbler and the northern parula have had their populations plummet by nearly 50% in the past two decades, Johnson said.
These birds rely on caterpillars who are dependent on water tupelo and bald cypress foliage. When there’s less healthy leaves for the caterpillars to gorge on, there’s less food for the birds.
“That’s driving a really rapid decline in these bird populations that depend on this one forest,” Johnson said. “The whole system has shifted.”
Scientists say they expect to start seeing an increase in canopy cover and new tree growth within a few years of the project’s anticipated completion in 2028.
Unlike the state’s controversial $3 billion river diversion project intended to combat coastal land loss, the Maurepas project has received widespread support from elected officials and local communities.
The Maurepas project is primarily funded by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, a multi-state and federal program managing settlement funds from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that devastated the Gulf Coast.
The Maurepas project benefits from an innovative partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is building an adjacent 18.5 miles (30 kilometers) levee system to protect several southeast Louisiana parishes. The Corps will count 9,000 acres (36 square kilometers) of Maurepas Swamp restoration towards offsetting environmental damage caused by the new levee construction, meaning it can direct additional federal funds towards the diversion program.
“For every dollar the state can save here, they have more to invest” in other coastal restoration projects, said John Ettinger, director of policy and environmental compliance with Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.
And conservationists say the Maurepas reintroduction project highlights the importance of coastal protection and wetlands restoration going hand in hand in a hurricane-prone region.
“You’re going to have a healthier ecosystem on the outside of that levee, which means you’re going to have a better buffer for storm surge and it’s going to allow the levees to be more effective,” said Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Program senior director. “This is how we need to be thinking at large about what’s possible and how we can how we can do more effective conservation by working with nature.”
A Mississippi family whose 1-year-old child was killed when police fired into a moving car offered evidence on Wednesday that they say challenges the officers’ account that they were in danger when one opened fire.
A second autopsy requested by the family of Kohen Wiley showed the baby was shot from the side of the car, not the front, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said. Wiley’s mother, who is Black and was in the passenger seat, says her friend was driving away from the officers, while the officers initially said the car was heading toward them.
The June 14 shooting has outraged community members and prompted protests in the small town of Senatobia, where residents point to a string of troubling encounters with police in recent years. Crump said the child was killed after police were called to a Walmart parking lot about diapers that may have been shoplifted.
“We are here because the lack of transparency, and we’re going to try to continue to demand transparency,” Crump said. He spoke from the pulpit of Senatobia Church of Christ, surrounded by more than a dozen people, including the baby’s grandparents, some of them holding “Justice for Baby Kohen” signs.
On display were photos of Wiley’s body provided to the family-retained pathologist and a photo of the vehicle with the passenger window shattered and what an apparent bullet hole in the windshield on the passenger side.
“They (the officers) reported they witnessed two adults and this child getting into the vehicle but yet he saw fit to shoot into a moving vehicle when he knew a baby was there,” Crump said. The woman was critically wounded, authorities have said.
“They want us to believe that it was a life or death situation,” he added. “They told us that, but they have not showed us that.”
The family is demanding that police body camera and dashcam video, as well as Walmart surveillance video, be made public.
A spokesperson for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry, declined to comment Wednesday, saying in an email that the case remains an open and ongoing investigation.
In an initial account of the shooting, state investigators said: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”
Kohen’s mother has said she believes her friend paid for the diapers. The killing has drawn comparisons to other instances of other Black people who lost their life in cases of accusations of petty criminal offenses, such as the murder of George Floyd.
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 June 30, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from June 30 drawing
02-11-17-29-30
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 30 drawing
Midday: 9-2-2, FB: 6
Evening: 0-0-8, FB: 8
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 30 drawing
Midday: 4-3-6-6, FB: 6
Evening: 7-6-5-5, FB: 8
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 30 drawing
Midday: 07
Evening: 02
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.
Mississippi State Hospital now has a new director.
Following the retirement of 36-year veteran administrator James “Bo” Chastain, the behavioral health facility has announced Brandon native Amy Carruth as its director. Carruth was hired from within after having spent the last 14 years in several key roles, including deputy hospital administrator and director of quality assurance.
Throughout her tenure, she has led policy development, strategic planning, and organization-wide quality improvement initiatives, helping strengthen operations and support high-quality patient care across the hospital.
Recognized for her expertise in Joint Commission standards, Carruth has guided Mississippi State Hospital through multiple accreditation surveys while leading continuous improvement efforts across the organization. She has also helped modernize organizational workflows, implement evidence-based quality improvement practices, and strengthen accountability through data-informed decision-making, officials say.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carruth coordinated infection prevention efforts, implementing evolving safety standards, developing operational procedures and supporting the rollout of employee vaccinations. Her leadership helped position the hospital to continue delivering care while adapting to unprecedented challenges.
In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Carruth has served as the designated institutional official for the medical center’s psychiatry residency program, overseeing graduate medical education and supporting the development of future psychiatrists.
Before joining Mississippi State Hospital in 2012, Carruth served in leadership positions with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System, and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, where she gained extensive experience in public administration, organizational leadership, and strategic planning.
“At the core of Mississippi State Hospital’s mission is the belief that every person served here deserves compassionate, high-quality care,” Carruth said. “I’m proud to be a part of this agency and our mission, and I look forward to continuing the legacy of providing hope, safety and recovery to Mississippians in need.”
Mississippi State Hospital a publicly funded behavioral health facility operated under the direction of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. It is located on 350 acres in Rankin County near Pearl and Brandon, and is colloquially known as Whitfield.
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