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Corps plans sill to halt salt water in river Officials monitor flow rate amid drought
BY ALEX LUBBEN
Staff writer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that it will build an underwater sill to keep salt water from moving up the Mississippi River, the fourth-straight year in which the structure has been needed to protect upriver water systems. The barrier will be constructed near Myrtle Grove in Plaquemines Parish. Due to a deepening drought, the Mis-
sissippi’s flow rate has fallen and that is allowing salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to travel north. The Corps has built the sill every year since 2022. Prior to that year, the agency had only built a sill in the river three times: in 1988, 1999 and 2022. Under normal conditions, the steady flow of fresh water down the river keeps salt water in the Gulf. But in times of extreme low water, the rate at which the water flows downriver slows, and salt water, which is denser than fresh water, will creep upriver in a wedge shape along the river bottom. The sill is designed to halt it. The construction prompts flash-
backs for residents in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, who in 2023 flocked to grocery stores to stock up on bottled water as the saltwater wedge approached drinking water intakes. Salt water poses a risk to municipal water systems, which are not designed to handle it. But for now, officials say New Orleans’ water system is not at risk. “We are monitoring the situation along with the Corps of Engineers,” said Ceara Labat, a spokesperson for the Sewerage & Water Board. Farther south in Plaquemines Parish,
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges move silt to an ä See SILL, page 4A underwater sill in the Mississippi River in 2023.
ARCH ENEMIES
La. teachers investigated for posts about Kirk Social media comments about killing of activist draw scrutiny
BY PATRICK WALL and ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writers
Archbishop Rummel takes the field for Friday’s game with Archbishop Shaw in Marrero.
STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN MCCUSKER
Archbishop Shaw and Archbishop Rummel squared off Friday in Marrero in their annual battle for The Megaphone, a symbolic trophy awarded to the winner. Rummel topped Shaw 29-0 to claim The Megaphone. ä More high school football coverage in Sports, 8C-9C
Archbishop Shaw cheerleader Callie Flick waves during Friday’s game against Archbishop Rummel.
The Archbishop Shaw band is backlit by the setting sun before kickoff on Friday.
Several Louisiana teachers have come under fire for social media posts related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with some facing district investigations and intense online criticism. Four educators in Ascension Parish were placed on leave this week while district officials investigated their online posts, a teachers union representative confirmed. In Caddo Parish, a School Board member put out a Kirk call for evidence of district employees celebrating Kirk’s killing, while some online commenters demanded that a local teacher be fired for her remarks on social media after Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on a college campus in Utah this month. Last week, a Southern University law professor was suspended for allegedly posting disparaging remarks about Kirk on social media. Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said he welcomes investigations into any school system employees who made “inhumane comments” about Kirk’s death. “Anyone who celebrates the assassination of Charlie Kirk has no place educating Louisiana students,” he said in a statement. Across the country, teachers and professors — along with firefighters, government employees, journalists and others — have been suspended or lost their jobs in recent days for criticizing Kirk online or appearing to make light of his death.
ä See TEACHERS, page 4A
Closed party primaries may shorten ballots in Louisiana next year BY ALYSE PFEIL
for Louisiana’s closed party primary races that begin in April, candidates for U.S. House and Senate Voters may find the list of can- who aren’t Democrats or Republididates is much shorter than in cans have more work to do to get years past when casting a ballot on the November ballot. in the 2026 midterm elections next Democratic and Republican canNovember. didates can sign up to run for office That’s because, under new rules in January by filling out a candidaStaff writer
WEATHER HIGH 93 LOW 73 PAGE 8A
ELECTION 2026
ated “no party” candidates, Green Party members and Libertarians — are required to qualify through the state’s little-used nominating cy form and paying the qualifying petition process. To qualify by nominating petifee for the race. It’s $3,500 for the Senate and $1,500 for the House. tion, a candidate goes out and colAll other candidates for those lects handwritten signatures and races — for example, unaffili- identifying information from a
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required number of voters. Senate candidates need at least 2,500 signatures, with 250 of those coming from each congressional district. House candidates need 750 signatures from within the district.
ä See PRIMARIES, page 4A
13TH yEAR, NO. 39