Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WNIJ-Northern Public Radio

An aerial view of barges and container ships traveling down the Mississippi River in April 2022. Industrial plants line the river banks.

Does the Mississippi River have rights? A growing legal movement says yes

The Mississippi River flowed lazily under the Centennial Bridge, which connects Illinois and Iowa in the Quad Cities. Cars cruised past on a Saturday afternoon in early May, waving and occasionally honking at a long line of environmentalists who say the river is alive.

A black carp collected by USGS scientists from the Mississippi River.

Coastal Desk

Invasive black carp now thriving in the Mississippi River basin

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WNIJ-Northern Public Radio

The black carp, one of four invasive species of carp in North America, has made it into the Mississippi River basin.

Laurie Thomas sits on the front step of the mother’s home for the last 50 years Wednesday, September 28, 2022 in Freeport, Illinois. This past May, floodwaters rose to the first step and inundated the basement. The city of about 25,000 experiences frequent flooding from the Pecatonica River. The east side of the river, where many lower income and Black residents live is prone to flooding. MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Coastal Desk

To stay or to go: Increased flooding forces towns to make hard choices

Madeline Heim

Staying put in the face of flooding can be dangerous and is growing increasingly costly. Property taxes are the largest source of tax revenue for local governments in most states, but property value declines as flood risk increases. Local governments have doubled their infrastructure spending while federal funding remains relatively flat. The federal government covers about 40% of water and transportation construction, but states are left to maintain it.