A simple river with mighty implications, the Mississippi River’s influence, beauty and lore are legendary in our community.

Draining more than 40 percent of the continental United States, the river is integral to our nation’s ecosystem, too.

Water from as east as New York and Pennsylvania, as west as Montana and Wyoming and as north as Canada makes its way into the Mississippi River basin and past our community’s front porch.

The river is what caused our community to exist, and it’s what keeps it here today. The river should be celebrated and revered more in our area.

From the beautiful Mississippi River views to the amazingly efficient commercial transportation connected by the Adams County Port, the river has a number of benefits for our community.

But the river’s great uses also come with the annual threat of flooding, too.

Statistics show the river seems to be flooding more in the last several decades than it did previously. That is not good news for those living behind the protection of manmade levees.

But that should not be unexpected either, experts say. Those unintended consequences come as a routine part of man’s trying to tame earth’s wrath.

We hope leaders will continue to look at ways to keep life and property as safe as possible around the river, even if that ultimately means we need to develop it less and simply enjoy its beauty more.