The Upper Mississippi River is an important cultural and natural feature of our communities. Many of the ninety towns along the Upper Mississippi River came about because of their location on the river's banks. Over time our riverfront communities grew and made use of the river for transportation of goods. We built homes and businesses along it, and both disposed of sewage into it and received drinking water from it. Now the river and the world are changing. As a result, we need to make some important choices for the future.
Riverfront Communities Yesterday and Today
 Main Street in the 1950s was the place to be. In my town we had banks, barber shops, clothing stores, hardware stores, social clubs and restaurants. We did not have to travel several miles to buy a pair of shoes or a new automobile. Our children went to local schools and there was a real sense of community there. A larger farm population meant more customers and a strong, diverse tax base.
Because of the declining farm economy and the shift from small businesses to large corporate chains, many of our businesses have closed. The new ones that have sprung up on the edge of town are part of those large national chains. We are no longer a community of business and shop owners with a strong retail and manufacturing base. Today, less than 600,000 people are employed in the manufacturing sector along the river.
 The riverfronts of many communities, once home to businesses, parks, and fine homes, have become polluted brownfields and, in some places, have since been abandoned. We now send our shoppers, our students and our incomes to large regional centers. We have lost investments of time, people, and dollars back into our communities. Today, more than half of our basin's population lives in major metropolitan areas.
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• Renewing the economic health of downtown areas and riverfronts.
