Keely Brewer (The Daily Memphian)

It’s the second year in a row that extreme drought has caused a shrinking channel, forcing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge later in the season than normal.

A coalition of Mississippi River mayors wants a 10-state compact that would establish collective management of the waterway. At the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative’s (MRCTI) annual meeting this week in Bemidji, Minnesota, about 30 mayors unanimously voted in favor of pursuing a compact that would span more than 2,300 miles of river. It’s the first step of what could be a lengthy process.

Around 175 million tons of freight travels on the Mississippi River each year, and from the river’s headwaters to southern Illinois, a series of locks and dams guide barges through the journey.Traffic is only increasing, but the locks and dams have aged far past their life expectancy. Even functioning properly, they slow barges down, and shippers and commodity groups fear a worse infrastructure breakdown is on the horizon.

A coalition of more than 100 Mississippi River mayors are pushing for more investment in natural infrastructure, ecosystem restoration and disaster resilience. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) released its policy platform during their annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 1.

It was the ceremonial start to the second round of data collection that will help NOAA understand tornado formation in the Southeast — an understudied region where tornadoes cause more deaths than anywhere else in the country.

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.

Fish consumption advisories for the Mississippi River are issued at the state level, so different agencies can offer conflicting advice throughout the basin. The lack of clarity makes it difficult to make informed health decisions along the shared body of water, experts say — particularly for low-income subsistence fishers and people who catch and eat fish in multiple states.

President Biden signed an executive order in January 2021 representing the biggest federal commitment to environmental justice in the nation’s history. It’s intended to help communities like Lavigne’s achieve their clean energy goals and more, all while keeping the most vulnerable communities in mind.