The much talked about and frequently overstated U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) sponsored spring rise on the Missouri River arrived this week in Missouri. The rise is represented by the small bubble that peaked on the 24th at Leavenworth and the 25th at Kansas City. Preceding the USACE event is a much larger spring rise sponsored by the wacky, irreverent environmental group known as Mother Nature. That group, using an untested method that some refer to as a "rain dance", also plans a small rise for this week that will likely mask any remains of the USACE pulse in downstream river reaches.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon unsuccessfully sued to have the rise stopped. And current Missouri Attorney General Chuck Koster, who wants to be Missouri's next U.S. Senator, called the spring rise a "man-made flood" and warned that, "we're risking the lives and livelihoods of Missourians" with this event. Their overreaction is likely due to a sincere desire to cultivate friends, allies, and large political contributions from Farm Bureau members but Koster was probably right about one thing when he said that "the benefit may be non-existent."
Just to be on the safe side, residents still are urged to seek higher ground.