By Michael Phillis and Jim Salter
Associated Press
Community leaders along the Mississippi River worried that dry southwestern states will someday try to take the river's water may soon take their first step toward blocking such a diversion.
Mayors from cities along the river were expected to vote on whether to support a new compact among the river's 10 states at last week's annual meeting of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, according to its executive director Colin Wellenkamp. Supporters of a compact hope it will strengthen the region's collective power around shared goals like stopping water from leaving the corridor.