Midwest Mayors Stay Positive Amid Mississippi River Flooding and Evacuations

Residents along the Upper Mississippi River are evacuating their homes or stacking sandbags in preparation for near-record flooding caused by the rapid melting of a huge snowpack in northern Minnesota. Some residents in Wisconsin have already left their homes, while others are stockpiling sandbags. Emergency officials have not issued mandatory evacuation orders, but some residents have decided to evacuate. The Mississippi River is expected to reach the third-highest level ever recorded in Iowa when it crests on Saturday. Crews in Dubuque, Iowa, have closed 13 of the city’s 17 floodgates and started up four permanent pumping stations and three temporary pumps to suck water over the floodwall and back into the river.