Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk

A novel type of insurance pool, parametric insurance, is designed to rapidly fund emergency response after natural disasters such as flooding.

One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.

Starting in late April, two major broods of cicadas will crawl out of the soil and head to treetops to sing and mate — the first time they've emerged at the same time in more than 200 years.

Thousands of miles of oil and natural gas pipelines already crisscross the country. Now, many more are being proposed to carry things like hydrogen and carbon dioxide as ways to combat climate change.

As snowfall in the upper Midwest melts with rising temperatures, it will bleed into parched waterways in Iowa and beyond, helping restore stream flows decimated by drought. But, could also carry the risk of flooding downstream.