Bye-bye, Delta Queen?

The Delta Queen may have made its last stop in Huntington.

The U.S. Senate refuses to grant the DQ any further exemptions from a 41-year-old law that requires overnight passenger boats to be made primarily of steel. But the DQ's wooden superstructure has been treated with fireproof materials. It is never more than a mile from shore. And it has a better sprinkler system than (probalby) most of the buildings it passes by, including Huntington.

Unless the DQ gets its exemption, its owners plan a farewell tour next year. Will we get on the stick and arrange a stop in Huntington? Or will our illustrious tourism officials say it's more important to get bus tours in here or more important to get people from Florida to fly into Tri-State Airport and then drive three hours to the east for some whitewater rafting?