Ragsdale and his on-board crew of 17 are here because the once-mighty Mississippi River is in crisis: Recent years have seen severe, months-long droughts take hold across a vast swathe of America ...

The Mississippi River upriver from New Orleans, La. Thursday, May 8, 2025. Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas are to the right. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune) ...