Controversial road, ex-nurse arrested and more. Tuesday’s top Sun Herald stories

From a decades-long wetlands fight in Gulfport to a six-figure casino jackpot, Tuesday brought a busy news day across South Mississippi. Here’s a quick look at the top stories from the Sun Herald.

Here are key takeaways:

• Gulfport is moving ahead with a connector road that will destroy 98 acres of Turkey Creek watershed wetlands and open 380 more acres to commercial development. A federal judge dismissed an environmental lawsuit and Mississippi approved a permit, with final approval pending from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• A 40-year-old Gulfport man was arrested and charged with enticement of a child to produce a visual depiction of sexual conduct. Ian Vohn Pehnke is being held at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center on a $250,000 bond following a multi-agency undercover investigation.
• A 70-year-old former Mississippi registered nurse pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in federal court. Samuel L. Wilkinson faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines at his sentencing in September.
• A player from Tallassee, Alabama, won a $106,105 jackpot at IP Casino Resort in Biloxi on a $90 bet. It’s the 16th jackpot of $100,000 or more at a South Mississippi casino this year, with players collecting $4.2 million in big wins through May.
• Southern Miss baseball has a real shot at earning its first national top-8 NCAA tournament seed as it enters the Sun Belt tournament in Montgomery as the top seed. The Golden Eagles have more Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins than several higher-ranked RPI teams, including Texas, Alabama and Texas A&M.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.