Mayors from cities and towns along the Mississippi River are taking action on natural disaster response. This week they launched a new initiative to improve immediate disaster relief. They’re also lobbying lawmakers to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, a cooperative of more than 100 river communities between Minnesota and Louisiana, held its annual meeting this week in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. The mayoral gathering came on the heels of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and after months of threats from President Donald Trump’s administration to roll back FEMA’s role in natural disaster response.
“Emergencies and crises — they are indeed happening more often,” said Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota. “And so we all need to be prepared.”
This year, the Mississippi River corridor experienced flooding and drought. Tornadoes devastated communities in Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. On May 16, the St. Louis-region experienced a category EF3 tornado, which reached wind speeds of up to 152 miles per hour and resulted in five deaths and widespread destruction.
Stacey Kinder, the mayor of Cape Girardeau, Missouri — which also saw two tornadoes touch down this year – said her state has suffered.
“Yet, in the face of over $2 billion worth of losses since March, just for Missouri, the future of FEMA and the U.S. disaster mitigation and response apparatus remains in considerable flux,” Kinder said.
Earlier this year, Trump said that FEMA could be phased out in favor of individual states carrying the burden of natural disaster response. Although his administration has reversed course on outright abolishing the agency in recent months, Trump officials are still working on an overhaul. The FEMA Review Council, which was created by an executive order, is supposed to make recommendations to change the agency by mid-November. Meanwhile, an Associated Press analysis found major disaster declarations are taking longer under Trump than historical averages.
In response to FEMA’s uncertain future, the MRCTI announced a new program to deliver assistance to its members “within 72 hours of a disaster event,” said Kinder. That aid could include food, water, hygiene supplies, and other immediate needs, according to Ethan Forhetz, a spokesperson from Convoy of Hope.
MRCTI’s executive director, Colin Wellenkamp, said in surveys mayors have consistently said they need help during the first 36 to 72 hours after a disaster, for which there’s rarely money in their budgets.
The initiative is being done in partnership with Convoy of Hope, a Missouri-based non-profit. The organization provided food and supplies after the May tornado in St. Louis. It helped respond to more than 50 U.S. disasters in 2024, according to its website.
“By working together before disasters strike, we can reduce response time, position resources where they're most needed, and make sure families receive help quickly and with dignity,” said Stacy Lamb, the non-profit’s vice president for disaster services. “This partnership isn't just about responding, but it's about building resilience.”
MRCTI did not disclose how the partnership will be financed.
The program is available immediately for partnering cities and towns and surrounding communities.
“Convoy is committed to working with any city along the Mississippi River, and beyond, during times of disaster,” Forhetz said.
Melisa Logan, the mayor of Blytheville, Arkansas, said the partnership is designed to “fill the largest gap in U. S. emergency response called capacity.”
The MRCTI is plugging other responsiveness holes, too. At this year’s meeting, mayors announced a new dashboard to more easily monitor water levels in the river and drought, to better predict and communicate the state of the basin.
In addition, MRCTI announced that it is working with legislators on the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act of 2025, also known as the FEMA Act of 2025. The bill would make FEMA report directly to President Trump as an independent agency. The bill’s stated aims are to speed up aid delivery to both states and individuals and reward state preparedness.
MRCTI mayors also want to see a mitigation piece to the bill, including a grant program for projects that address regional disaster vulnerabilities.
“So there's a lot of moving parts with FEMA right now,” Wellenkamp said. “Where all those moving parts are going to land? Don't know, but as the mayors pointed out, we know what we have as our priorities and that is the systemic reduction of risk over large landscapes.”
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.