For nearly a half century, every four years, the world’s eyes have focused on Iowa for the first decision in the election for the president of the United States. In that same period, Iowa has seen an unprecedented wave of nonwhite immigration, bringing diversity to a state settled mostly by Europeans.
Up and down the Mississippi River, new pressures are being put on America’s inland hydro highway, which helps deliver US goods and commodities to the rest of the world and allows trade flows to return. The strain on the river system is only becoming more acute with the impacts of climate change.