In the LA Times: Story on Missouri River Flooding -- Related to the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

But amid all of these is a multibillion-dollar disaster it seems no one's talking about — a massive flood engorging the Missouri River Valley that began in June, stretched through more than a half-dozen states and may last until October.

Hundreds of thousands of acres have been flooded or damaged, including some of the nation’s best farmland along the river’s floodplains in northwestern Missouri, which were expected to yield gorgeous crops of corn and soy before the waters came. Iowa faces tens of millions of dollars to repair I-29, one of the state’s main arteries for interstate traffic. Damage to levees and dams could reach $1 billion.

A couple of comments:

• No one is talking about this disaster: it's occurring in fly-over country, and not enough votes to excite the national ticket; where there are a lot of votes, the votes are not in swing states;
• When I drove up from Texas to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago (and back again), I noticed that I had to take a detour and bypass I-29 through Iowa; I figured it was due to the floods, but I had no idea it was that bad;
• With regard to the US Army Corps of Engineers, click here;

But what an opportunity to put folks back to work repairing that interstate highway and all the other roads that were flooded. But the work will be held up for political reasons. There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... some dream of things that never were and ask why not.

Meanwhile, the newest presidential stimulus plan is all about teachers: renovate schools, and fund teachers' salaries. Okay. Very noble. As a substitute teacher, it is much appreciated.

The President will roll out a jobs package on Thursday that strives to lift the ailing economy through roughly $300 billion worth of tax credits, school renovation projects, job training for the unemployed, and a program to prevent layoffs of school teachers, according to a person familiar with the administration’s plans.

This school year has already started; this will do nothing for the economy for the next nine months, but if passed, the program will kick in next summer during the height of the campaign. I assume a lot of new schools and school additions will be named and renamed.