DUBUQUE, Iowa — As Old Man River slowly awakens from its winter slumber, eagles work the edges of the opening channels and marina docks groan as the slow current wrestles the ice. Anglers — and an occasional whitetail deer — tread cautiously on the big river.
Just like any other early spring on the Upper Mississippi.
But April brings heightened concerns for the Mississippi River watershed, the world’s fourth largest. As state and federal officials prepare for the prospects of spring floods, last fall’s drought, which stalled commercial boat traffic on the mighty river, is never far from mind. The drought provided an expensive reminder of just how vital — and how vulnerable — the economic thoroughfare is.
