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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Public Affairs Office
332 Minnesota St., Suite E1500
St. Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 290-5807
Fax: (651) 290-5752
cemvp-pa@usace.army.mil 

 

Corps to host open house in Red Wing onboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI

Published July 26, 2016
The Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI

The Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will host an open house onboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI in Red Wing, Minnesota, Aug. 4 from 5-7:30 p.m. It will be parked at the city’s landing, 430 Levee Road.

The vessel will be in the region as part of the Mississippi River Commission’s Low Water Inspection trip. The open house will provide information about the importance of the Mississippi River System and the diversity of uses and users along the waterway. Tours of the Motor Vessel Mississippi will also be available.

Attendees are asked to leave backpacks and large satchels in their vehicles. People who do bring small purses and handbags on board will be subject to inspection prior to boarding. The main deck on the MV Mississippi and the public hearing room have limited handicapped accessibility.

The Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI was built in 1993 by Halter Marine and is the fifth Corps of Engineers towboat to bear the name. The towboat is 241 feet long and 58 feet wide with three diesel engines providing 6,300 horsepower. The vessel spends more than 90 percent of its time as a working towboat for Memphis District moving barges, equipment and supplies on the river. It is also used by the presidentially appointed Mississippi River Commission for making its inspections of the Mississippi River and to host public hearings and events.

The St. Paul District is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year as it traces its origins to 1866, when Congress authorized the Corps of Engineers to establish a 4-foot navigation channel on the Upper Mississippi River. Maj. Gouverneur K. Warren, a West Point graduate widely acclaimed for his leadership at Battle of Gettysburg, was tasked with establishing the district and conducting preliminary surveys of the main river and its tributaries. Warren arrived in St. Paul and opened the first district office in August 1866.

The nearly 600 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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Release no. 16-066