ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (September 28, 2023) — River Action is especially pleased to be gathering the river stakeholders in 2023. We are working in collaboration with experts and policymakers, non-profits, cities, educators, students, media, and scientists. We will convene at the 17h annual conference, ‘Building Community Around the River” at the Rock Island Holiday Inn, Rock Island, Ill., October 18 and 19, 2023, to focus on clean water challenges, partnerships that lead to change, engineering with nature, and transformative urban redevelopment.
Attendees will hear from our Keynote speaker, Colin Wellenkamp, Executive Director, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiatives; Chris Jones; author and retired IHR Research Engineer, University of Iowa; Reggie McLeod, Editor and Publisher, Big River Magazine; and Lewis Kuhlman, Environmental Planner, City of LaCrosse. Action Project. They will also hear from organizations, such as the US Army Corps of Engineers, UpStream, Riverside Global, University of Iowa, American Cruise Lines, Master Naturalist Programs, and many more.
A Student Charette on October 18 will focus on designing solutions to neighborhood stormwater runoff in LeClaire, Ia, led by Jim Patchett, Solutions in the Land. It will be followed by a student presentation of their designs.
Local field trips also are planned: Walk Schwiebert Park and the Davenport riverfront with Mark Schwiebert, Former Mayor of Rock Island and Kyle Carter, Executive Director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership as they share RiverVision plans past and future, take a boat tour on the Augustana Stewardship, or a narrated bus trip and walk on Muscatine’s Riverfront.
The conference will be held at the Rock Island Holiday Inn, Rock Island. For more information or to register for the conference, hosted by River Action Inc, visit RiverAction.org/UMRC.
