[Keith Norrington]

The M/V MISSISSIPPI V, flagship of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is currently on a low water inspection trip for the Mississippi River Commission. Earlier this week the huge towboat visited Red Wing, Minnesota; Davenport, Iowa and Hannibal, Missouri. According to the USACE news release, remaining visits are as follows:

August 15 - 9:00 AM - Alton, IL (Mel Price Lock and Dam)
August 18 - 9:00 AM - New Madrid, MO (City Front)
August 19 - 9:00 AM - Memphis, TN (Mud Island)
August 20 - 9:00 AM - Greenville, MS (City Front)
August 22 - 9:00 AM - Houma, LA (Cenac Towing Dock)

Meetings are open to the public and tours of the boat are sometimes offered. The M/V/ MISSISSIPPI, built in 1993, is 241 feet long and 58 feet wide. She carries a crew of 36. The hearing room, where the Mississippi River Commission meetings are held, can seat 115 people. The boat has 22 staterooms to accommodate guests.

The MISSISSIPPI is the fifth vessel to bear the name. Her immediate predecessor, MISSISSIPPI IV, is now "high and dry" at Vicksburg, to become part of the new Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center, now under construction. The Str. MISSISSIPPI III, decommissioned in 1961, is the restaurant boat BECKY THATCHER, currently for sale at Marietta, Ohio. The roof bell on the MISSISSIPPI V has been carried on all of the MISSISSIPPI steam and diesel boats, dating back to 1882.

If you have the opportunity to tour the MISSISSIPPI, by all means go, for the boat is state-of-the-art and absolutely awesome!