Evansville’s new mayor in talks over WWII ship

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Evansville’s new mayor is negotiating with a nonprofit group in hopes of renewing a contract to keep a restored World War II troop landing ship moored in his Ohio River city.

The Evansville Courier & Press reports Mayor Lloyd Winnecke began cultivating a relationship with the group that oversees the LST 325 several months ago. The city’s 10-year contract with the USS LST Ship Memorial Inc. expires in 2015.

But Winnecke and board president Ken Frank both say it’s not too early to start talking.

The National Park Service says the LST 325 is one of the few surviving American vessels that went ashore on D-Day.

Evansville built a new municipal dock for the boat in 2005 at a cost of almost $3 million.