The governors of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri met with the Army Corps of Engineers last week to talk about preventing future flooding along the Missouri River.
The governors, all Republicans, agreed that the river needs to be managed differently. Governor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska says they've asked the Corps to communicate with them about future solutions,"this is something where we think as states we need to be more actively involved with regard to how we're managing the Missouri River to avoid this sort of flooding going forward in the future. All of us believe that we oughta be prioritizing people and communities to make sure we're keeping them safe."
The Army Corps of Engineers has been criticized for the way it manages the river - including making the southwest Iowa town of Hamburg lower a levee in 2011.
The recent flooding has caused billions of dollars in damage, especially to agriculture, in the three states plus Kansas.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly was scheduled to join the others, but ran into travel issues. She will be part of the conversations going forward.