Mississippi River

Back-to-back years of drought have left the Mississippi River's water levels low. It's part of more frequent extremes on the river, which affects the barge industry and farmers who need to ship their grain.

It’s a newer consideration for environmentalists, who previously thought that river systems were relatively benign and don’t contribute many greenhouse gas emissions.

Dryness in the Great Plains began spreading east this year, affecting much of the Midwest and endangering crops, livestock and river shipping. Recent rains have been a god-send, but will it be enough to loosen the years-long drought?

A growing legal movement to grant natural entities like rivers and forests legal rights is gaining traction in the U.S., and environmentalists are now setting their sights on the Mississippi River.

A new report from the Environmental Working Group found targeting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's conservation funding to the Mississippi River region would have huge benefits to water quality and the climate.

The dead zone encompasses thousands of acres in the Gulf each summer and results in a significant impact to marine life.

Barges are moving along the Mississippi River much more slowly and with lighter loads as they try to get corn and soybean harvest to ports.

Climate change is forcing communities in the Mississippi River Basin to deal with constant flooding on farmland and the places they call home. Plus: Missouri’s state commission designated to advocate for Hispanic communities disappeared 14 years ago, but Latino residents say there's an even greater need for it now.

Rinker Buck has combined history and adventure since he was a teen. His latest expedition highlighted the role of the flatboat in opening the western frontier.

Federal and state agencies spend millions of dollars every year to keep destructive invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, at least 25 destructive species — like water fleas and bloody red shrimp — are inching closer to the Mississippi River Basin.

The invasive fish species known as Asian carp now goes by “copi,” in an effort to get more of them out of Midwestern waterways and onto the dinner table.

The wind energy industry is now facing a new challenge: what to do with old wind turbine blades when it’s time to replace them. The answer is found at a recycling plant in a historic Mississippi River town 90 miles north of St. Louis.