Environment

Scott Ellison talks about Kentucky’s newest high school varsity sport—Bass Fishing.

The Nature Resources Conservation wants to turn flood lands in Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Ballard, and Graves Counties into wetland wilderness. Owners of easily-flooded crop or woodlands in those counties may be eligible to receive compensation for up to $3895 per acre of crop land and up to $1948 per acre of woodland while still retaining ownership. Western KY Project Director Shelly Morris says this is part of a nationwide effort to restore wetland habitats along the Mississippi River.

The US 68/KY 80 bridge over Lake Barkley at Canton is open again to traffic this morning following a strike by a fourteen barge tow early this morning.  The U.S. Coast Guard reports the Motor Vessel EVT was pushing the empty barges downriver when a gust of wind forced a controlled landing against one of the bridge piers.  The collision was severe enough that the lead barge was taking on water.  Kentucky Transportation spokesman Keith Todd says the Cabinet dispatched an inspector who reported no structural damage to the bridge.

Two men are missing after a pontoon boat capsized on the Tennessee River around 11 this morning. The Grand Lakes Rescue Squad responded to the call after the boat was torn apart below Kentucky Dam. One man was rescued and taken to an area hospital. WPSD reports that crews from 7 different agencies are still searching for the two missing men.

There have been twenty-one confirmed deaths in Kentucky after tornadoes tore through the state on Friday. Seven of those deaths were in Morgan County, where the county seat, West Liberty, was leveled by the storms. Louisville resident Alex Wright is a doctor with Norton Healthcare Systems. West Liberty is his hometown, and his extended family still lives there. He headed to the town Saturday morning to see how he could help, and described the scene he saw driving through downtown to Kentucky Public Radio’s Erica Peterson.

The US 60/62 Mississippi River Bridge at Cairo will reopen tomorrow after being shut down for over a year. Officials say the bridge was closed to repair a deteriorated floor beam system damaged by an excessive number of overweight trucks crossing the span. The Illinois Department of Transportation says the bridge will reopen to all vehicles with a maximum gross weight of 40 tons and a maximum axle weight of 10 tons.