Sunken Former Iowa Riverboat Nearly All Visible on Mississippi

A once beautiful Iowa riverboat casino that was nearly completely submerged in the waters of the Mississippi River is now totally visible again, due to the low water level of the river.

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According to WQAD, the Diamond Lady Riverboat Casino was christened in Bettendorf by Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White on April 1, 1991. Unfortunately, Iowans didn't get to enjoy the Diamond Lady for long.

About a year later, both the Diamond Lady and Emerald Lady were moved to Biloxi, Mississippi River due to stringent regulations on gaming here in Iowa. After only a couple of years, both boats were put out of service in 1994.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered the Emerald Lady, destroying the boat. Three years later, in 2008, the Diamond Lady was taken to the Mississippi Rivers backwaters in Memphis. Just last year she began to sink.

The Diamond Lady is on private property, but apparently, that hasn't stopped thieves from taking parts of the ship, especially now that it's more easily accessible.

The Diamond Lady Casino is one of several things that's been revealed along the Mississippi River over the last year or so.

Last October, we told you about a sunken World War II ship, the USS Inaugural, that was exposed by low water levels in St. Louis, Missouri.

Last month, we told you about how low water levels on the Mississippi River south of St. Louis were impacting a place called Tower Rock. Typically an island in the middle of the river, people were able to walk to it.

Though rain today and this weekend will have a minor impact on the Mississippi River, it remains very low. In Dubuque, it was under 5 feet late this morning and is expected to rise to around 6 feet early next week.

Further downstream, in St. Louis, the river reached -3.09 feet on October 24. That's the 27th-lowest level the river has ever reached. It's expected to reach 2.7 feet on Friday, November 11.

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Source: Sunken Former Iowa Riverboat Now Nearly All Visible on Mississippi River

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