Joanne Richardson

Aerial view of the Hernando de Soto Bridge across the Mississippi River between Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas, USA. The bridge was opened in 1973 and carries six lanes of Interstate 40 across the river. View is from the Arkansas side to the east-southeast across the river to Memphis. Photographer Larry Donald, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

FeatureDecember 10, 2015

Knowing the Mississippi

We asked a diverse group of river people to respond to the prompt “How did you come to know the Mississippi River? What does it mean, to you, to know the Mississippi River?” We present below a few of the responses, in no particular order.

Mississippi River from overlook on campground road, Great River Bluffs State Park, Minnesota, USA. Photographer McGhiever. Used under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA.

FeatureDecember 10, 2015

Knowing the Mississippi

We asked a diverse group of river people to respond to the prompt “How did you come to know the Mississippi River? What does it mean, to you, to know the Mississippi River?” We present below a few of the responses, in no particular order.

History Legal Lower Mississippi River North America Planning / Policy Upper Mississippi River

New Orleans: Mississippi River and Crescent City Connection. Photographer Wally Gobetz. Image used under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND.

FeatureDecember 10, 2015

Knowing the Mississippi

We asked a diverse group of river people to respond to the prompt “How did you come to know the Mississippi River? What does it mean, to you, to know the Mississippi River?” We present below a few of the responses, in no particular order.

Arts History North America Planning / Policy Upper Mississippi River

The Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, where the river has gentle shores, before it enters its only gorge in south Minneapolis.

FeatureDecember 10, 2015

Knowing the Mississippi

We asked a diverse group of river people to respond to the prompt “How did you come to know the Mississippi River? What does it mean, to you, to know the Mississippi River?” We present below a few of the responses, in no particular order.

Arts Geography History Lower Mississippi River North America Upper Mississippi River

The PulseDecember 9, 2015

Collaborations & Systems Change

By Shanai Matteson

Innovate, change systems, start from our subjectivity, these are among the starting points for Shanai Matteson’s recent reflection on how art grounded in place and purpose can transform lives and communities. Shanai is co-director of the Works Progress Studio, much of the work of which directly involves issues pertaining to water.

Works Progress

Arts Engagement Minnesota

Sewer Overflow, Nicollet Island Commission.

The PulseDecember 9, 2015

Most flooding is not in the floodplain

By Olivia Dorothy

In Illinois, a state study shows that most urban flooding occurs outside the FEMA-designated flood zone. This counterintuitive fact arises from historical patterns of building and water infrastructure construction and management, which are designed to move water off land and into (aging and deteriorating) sewer systems as quickly as possible.

Nicollet Island Coalition

Civil Engineering Mississippi River Basin Planning / Policy

The PulseDecember 9, 2015

Women fishers voice concerns about the Tonle Sap in Cambodia

By Syna Chea

Women fishers in Cambodia are expressing concern about the impacts of dams on the Tonle Sap Lake, an impoundment in the Lower Mekong river delta.

Mekong Commons

Anthropology International International Development

The Plume Project tests the lights that will be used in an art installation opening Nov. 17 on on the steam plume on top of District Energy on Kellogg Boulevard in downtown St. Paul. (Courtesy of the Plume Project)

The PulseDecember 9, 2015

Artists’ plume of color will billow over downtown St. Paul sky

By Amy Carlson Gustafson

Artistic projects can have important roles in terms of changing the perceptions and assumptions of things we take for granted. Project Plume, beginning in November 2015 and running for around eight weeks, used the plume above the District Energy plant in downtown St. Paul, to call attention to the potential for increasing green energy usage.

Pioneer Press

Arts Upper Mississippi River

Gardner Marsh at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum is pictured in an aerial view during an autumn sunset on Oct. 5, 2011. On the horizon is the UW-Madison campus and downtown Madison skyline. The photograph was made from a helicopter looking northeast. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)

The PulseDecember 9, 2015

Small landscape changes can mean big freshwater gains

By Jenny Seifert

University of Wisconsin study finds that small adjustments in agricultural and “working” landscapes can have large benefits in improving water quality.

University of Wisconsin-Madison News

Biological Sciences Landscape Architecture Mississippi River Basin

Spring Flooding at the Bohemian Flats in 1897.

Primary SourcesFebruary 8, 2015

A Home Worth Fighting For: The Evictions at the Bohemian Flats

By Rachel Hines When University of Minnesota students walk across the Washington Avenue Bridge between the East Bank and West Bank campuses, they not…

Engagement History Upper Mississippi River