Return to the river

The Mississippi River hasn’t been the same since then-Rep. Jim Oberstar helped kill off the big paddlewheelers on the river because of safety issues.

It was a party in Saint Paul when one of the big boats finally made it to the port from exotic destinations below.

But they’re back… sort of.

The new Queen of the Mississippi stopped in Winona yesterday, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports.

It’s like the old days; when the boat arrives, a city — and its news crews — turn out…

CBS4 – WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

The voyage from St. Louis was to end at Lambert’s Landing in St. Paul, but the river has been closed in Hastings because of the floating of the new span of the Highway 61 bridge that began today.

The ship was christened last month in Nashville.

Still, it’s not the old Queen, which was sold for scrap by a Chinese firm.