Floodplain forests play a pivotal role in the river ecosystem – creating wildlife habitat, improving water quality, storing carbon and slowing flooding. But they’re disappearing.
Author Archives: Madeline Heim / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps member who writes about environmental challenges in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com.
Posted inEnvironment
Midwest states, often billed as climate havens, suffer summer of smoke, drought, heat
The lingering presence of wildfire smoke has made for an unusual start to summer across the Midwest. It also comes during a near-record drought crisping fields across the Corn Belt and the threat of hotter summers to come.
Posted inEnvironment
Wildfire smoke is new hazard in upper Midwest
Canadian wildfire smoke brought air quality alerts to the Midwest. Such episodes will grow more common as the earth warms, climate experts say.
Posted inEnvironment
Mississippi River shipping infrastructure is aging. Who should pay for the repairs?
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.
Posted inEnvironment
Mississippi River floodwaters swamp upper Midwest
A very wet winter is bringing major spring flooding along the upper Mississippi River. In some communities, the floodwaters are among the top three on record. Though the water is expected to crest and start receding in most places by next week, its impacts will linger.
Posted inEnvironment
Heavy, wet snow brings spring flooding risk to northern Wisconsin and Minnesota
Flooding outlook along the upper Mississippi River is “much above normal,” National Weather Service says.
Posted inEnvironment
Road salts wash into Mississippi River, damaging ecosystems and pipes
Chloride levels are increasing at all Wisconsin monitoring sites and across the Upper Mississippi River basin.
Posted inEconomy, Environment
Mayors call for federal assistance as Mississippi River reaches record lows
Impacts of dry conditions range from barge slowdowns to water main breaks caused by shifting dry ground.
Posted inEnvironment
To stay or to go: Increased flooding forces choices along the Mississippi River
As increased rainfall strains aging infrastructure, residents along the Mississippi River ask the same question: Do we pack up and move out?
Posted inEnvironment
A federal funding program has helped clean up the Great Lakes. Could it work for the Mississippi River?
The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative was introduced in Congress. It could help fight invasive species, complete restoration projects, improve water quality and protect against flood damage.
Posted inEnvironment
High water, prolonged flooding changing ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi, new report finds
Nearly 30 years of data show increasingly wet conditions in the floodplain that runs from Minnesota through Wisconsin and Iowa to Cairo, Illinois.