Mississippi River Flooding, 2011
The Mississippi River floods of April and May 2011 have reached historic proportions, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands of homes. As springtime snowmelt from the upper Midwest combined with a series of devastating storms across the southern United States, the river has overwhelmed levees and challenged flood control systems that have been in place since the 1920s. Controversial responses have included the destruction of a levee in Mississippi County, Missouri, saving the town of Cairo but flooding over 100,000 acres of farmland, and the opening of the Morganza Spillway in Louisiana.
For over a year and a half, Patrick Nunnally's River Talk blog has covered a wide variety of news and issues related to the Mississippi River. Along with updates about the flooding itself, Prof. Nunnally deals with environmental concerns facing the Mississippi all along its length and problems facing rivers across the U.S. and around the world. Watch an interview with Nunnally below.
Regular IAS correspondent Peter Shea, who holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Minnesota and is the director and producer of the Bat of Minerva, is interviewing a series of scholars with in-depth knowledge of Mississippi River history, culture, and society as well as those with specialized expertise in hydrology and disaster response.
May 16, 2011 - Robert Gilmer, a Louisiana native, recently received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, where his research has focused on American Indian and environmental history. He has taught courses on American Indian history, Treaty Rights and Natural Resources, and, in the fall of 2010, the Gulf Oil Spill.
May 20, 2011 - David Wiggins of the National Parks Service is the Supervisory Park Ranger for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in Minnesota.
May 20, 2011 - Pat Nunnally
May 20, 2011 - John Anfinson is Historian and Cultural Resources Specialist for the National Park Service, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Previously he was District Historian for the St. Paul District of the Army Corps of Engineers.