Hoping to be included in the Trump Administration's future spending on infrastructure, mayors from cities and towns along the Mississippi River are meeting in Washington. The group includes Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch and Roy Buol from Dubuque.
They're among the 75 mayors who belong to the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative.
Klipsch says their priorities include flood mitigation, improvements to locks and dams and bridges, and disaster preparedness, with an estimated cost of 7.9 billion dollars.
"We want to make sure that that large amount of, not only agricultural but other types of transportation of goods that happens for commerce, is maintained without any pause."
He says the importance of the river is clear - 60 per cent of US corn and soybean exports travel along it, and 40 per cent of overall US farm production. The Mississippi also supports thousands of jobs.
The mayors began meeting Tuesday, and will hold a press conference Thursday morning.
