Cape represented in river initiative

The Mississippi River, which defines the eastern boundary of Cape Girardeau, is one of our great assets. Yet most residents take the great river for granted and hardly notice its presence when they are in the downtown area. I continue to marvel at the number of tourists and visitors who go out of their way to come to the downtown area, seek out the Broadway or the Themis Street gate, and stand in awe as they watch the mighty Mississippi River flow downstream.

I recently joined an organization named the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative and attended its second annual meeting in June in St. Cloud, Minn. This start-up organization is being funded the first four years through the Walton Family Foundation. There are 50 mayors along the river that are members. All 10 Mississippi River states are represented with members from Bemidji, Minn., to New Orleans.

The four primary activities and purposes of the organization are: 1. Education of citizens, the business community and elected officials. 2. Establishing best-practice approaches to problem solving. 3. Developing cooperation among cities, mayors and state/federal governments. And 4. Developing leadership and actions to address the challenges along the river.

The group has been co-chaired in 2013 by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Memphis, Tenn., Mayor A.C. Wharton.

America's watershed covers a majority of our nation and is among the largest watersheds in the world. Waters from the Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, White and Red rivers all flow into the Mississippi River. The Upper Mississippi River watershed covers a large area of the Northern United States

There were many interesting presentations during the two-day meeting as we talked about economic growth and job creation, improved cooperative management of the river during flood and drought conditions, protecting and enhancing the ecosystems, providing recreational opportunities and creating community foundations in cities along the river.

One particularly interesting session was a presentation about container shipping on the Mississippi River. The New Orleans port has doubled container shipments in the last five years and Memphis has seen significant growth in this area in recent years. There is a huge potential for growth as the widened Panama Canal comes online in the coming years. The keys for success in container shipping are volume, distances, committed users, reliability and infrastructure funding. Our future Interstate 66 east-west corridor between Paducah, Ky., and Cape Girardeau also is critical to the future of this industry.

Another session that got my attention was one relating to Community Foundations. There are 18 Community Foundations along the river corridor. The state of Missouri does not have one of these foundations. The largest foundation is in Dubuque, Iowa, with $45 million in assets. The Central Minnesota Foundation awarded $6 million in grants in 2012. I believe this is a future opportunity area for Cape Girardeau.

A news conference was held the second day of the meeting during which the mayors and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers read and signed a Memorandum of Common Purpose as it relates to the Mississippi River System. This will establish and perpetuate an era of cooperation and collaboration between the cities and the Corps of Engineers to protect, sustain and enhance the attributes and economic vitality of the river.

I am pleased and excited to be a part of this organization and look forward to our city of Cape Girardeau becoming a major participant in future years.

Harry E. Rediger is the mayor of Cape Girardeau.