Frederica Freyberg:
In Wisconsin, we are fortunate to be surrounded by huge bodies of water, including the mighty Mississippi. Parched states out west like Arizona with their own rivers drying up are eyeing our water to pump their way. Concern over such diversion is prompting action to prevent it. This month, 30 mayors representing 10 states voted in favor of forming a Mississippi River compact. La Crosse Mayor, Mitch Reynolds, is among the mayors leading the effort and he joins us now. Thanks very much for being here.
Mitch Reynolds:
Well, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure.
Frederica Freyberg:
So what would a Mississippi River compact do?
Mitch Reynolds:
It’s really modelled after the Great Lakes Compact and it’s really meant to protect the Mississippi River as a water resource for now and for generations to come. So we have to maintain the Mississippi River as not only as something that’s beneficial for our communities up and down the Mississippi River, but also for our entire nation. When you think about the number of states that the basin drains, it’s 32 states that the basin drains and there’s 40% of the ag products in the nation will be — will go — will travel down the Mississippi River, and so for us to create a compact is really just a sensible way to ensure that the Mississippi River stays as a significant water resource, a natural habitat resource, a navigation resource, an economic resource for generations to come.
Frederica Freyberg:
So I know that the concerns are around diversion to states that sorely need water, but would it really be feasible to pump or divert the water out west?
Mitch Reynolds:
You wouldn’t think so. I mean, you would think that it would be just incomprehensible to take a pipe and run it across the United States of America to the southwest and say, “Here’s your water,” but we do that for oil and arguably water is the more significant resource than oil is. I would argue that. So I’m not putting it past anybody. We have a lot of people that say, “Well, this will never happen.” Well, it may never happen, but it might happen. So why not create a compact to ensure that it doesn’t, and not only a compact to ensure that diversion is not an option, but also make sure we’re acting in unity to protect the resource. And I think that that’s something that, again, the entire nation has an interest in.
Frederica Freyberg:
Absolutely. So it’s fashioned on the Great Lakes Compact. We know that took years to enact. What’s the timeline here?
Mitch Reynolds:
Well, hopefully sooner, quicker than years, and I think that because there is that model there with the Great Lakes Compact, and of course, the Great Lakes Compact is two nations, obviously, too, so it’s not just the United States. It’s Canada as well. We have 10 states and we need our state legislatures to champion this and to approve that, we need the federal government to approve it, but I think that we already have that precedent of the Great Lakes Compact. It feels like this is a much more doable proposition.
Frederica Freyberg:
What do you know —
Mitch Reynolds:
So again, timeline – exact timeline, I’m not sure, but I think it should be quicker.
Frederica Freyberg:
What do you know about the legislatures’ sense of whether they would support this?
Mitch Reynolds:
Great question. I guess we’re early on in this process. I can’t imagine that legislatures in these 10 states would say, “No, we’re not protecting the Mississippi River.” It is the life blood of all of these states. It’s hard for me to believe that that would not happen, but maybe, and that’s what our — the job of — like the group that I’m in, the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, I’m one of the new, national co-chairs of this group, one of the things we’re doing and we’re trying to work towards is to make sure that the state legislatures, our federal representatives understand just how significant and important this is. So if there is hesitation, then we can try to convince them otherwise.
Frederica Freyberg:
Still, you at this juncture, seem really fired up about this.
Mitch Reynolds:
Oh, yeah. Are you kidding? This is significant. The city of La Crosse, and virtually every city along the Mississippi River, the past and the current, the present and the future, all of it is — all of it is — is basically formed by the river with our relationship to the river. The Mississippi River, it is a significant part of our community, who we are, who we’re going to be in the future. We need to protect this as a resource and, you know, for me and for my children for generations to come. I think it is just — it is critical for our city, for all of the cities that — up and down the Mississippi River from Bemidji to the mouth, we are — it is profoundly necessary for us to protect this as not only a resource for our communities, but as a national resource as well.
Frederica Freyberg:
We leave it there. Mayor Reynolds, thanks very much.
Mitch Reynolds:
Thank you.
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News Stories from PBS Wisconsin
02/03/25
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Jane Graham Jennings, Chairman Tehassi Hill

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