Mississippi River Institute Completes Successful School Year
Looking out over the Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul, Minn., it’s hard to miss the trademark No. 2 pencil and ruler spuds and custom steel rebar railings of the Mississippi River Institute (MRI). The floating classroom, owned and operated by Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), is docked at its new location of St. Paul after a successful school year educating students on the Mississippi River in St. Louis for the fall 2024 semester, and in Memphis, Tenn., this spring.
The MRI partners with maritime businesses and companies, as well as ecological organizations, to provide high school and college students a day to remember aboard the classroom barge. The MRI offers towboat tours, presentations and interactive activities during workforce development days to showcase the multifaceted nature of the river and the diverse number of careers the Mississippi River supports.
The MRI spent the winter and spring months in Memphis, educating more than 400 students of varying ages and career interests, teaching them all the career paths the Mississippi River has to offer. Students heard from industry professionals of all backgrounds, including agriculture, ecology, management, finance, engineering and more.
“Our whole goal is to allow these students to be connected to the river through these jobs,” said Rachel Loomis, MRI’s manager. “If they don’t know about it, they won’t be able to pursue it. It gets them thinking in new and different perspectives.”
Archer-Daniels Midland Company (ADM), ARTCo, American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), Wepfer Marine, Cargill Inc., the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are just a few of the maritime businesses and organizations whose representatives spoke to students aboard MRI in Memphis during the spring semester. Other companies local to the region, such as the City of Memphis Harbor Unit and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, offered presentations as well.
“We even had a commercial fisherman provide us with invasive carp,” Loomis said. “He provided it already fileted, and we had somebody in culinary arts fry it up for students. So, we were still keeping that conservation and ecological focus of the river and appreciating the river for what it is besides its economic value. It was just so cool to bring that aspect of the outside world to our classroom.”
Memphis-area students gave the MRI positive reviews.
“I enjoyed the topics we talked about,” one student said. “It gave me a new thing to be interested in that I never thought I would be.”
Another student stated, “My experience with Living Lands & Waters was deeply exciting. I learned about careers in areas I didn’t previously think about, but now I know most every job is connected to our rivers!”
While MRI was busy with workforce development, the Living Lands & Waters “floating headquarters,” made up of living quarters and garbage barges, made appearances at river cleanups on the Wolf River and McKellar Lake in Memphis. With the help of volunteers and sponsors, LL&W removed 141,642 pounds of garbage from Memphis waters.
The Mississippi River Institute’s programming is made possible by a multitude of sponsors who have supported Living Lands & Waters through the years, and Wepfer Marine served as MRI’s main point of contact for barge support while in Memphis.
“Wepfer Marine has been a sponsor of ours since 2013,” Loomis said. “They not only helped us with the logistical and safety side of things while we were in Memphis, but they also provided us with guest speakers and towboats for towboat tours for the students, so that was an awesome experience. We’re not just talking about these careers. We’re showcasing them, too.”
Marquette Transportation, another Living Lands & Waters sponsor, helped the classroom barge get to Memphis safely. American River Transportation Company (ARTCo) brought MRI to St. Paul from Memphis, using three different towboats over the 10-day journey. Upper River Services will be MRI’s go-to for support during its time in St. Paul.
Though school is out for the summer, MRI will remain busy. When the barge is not being used to spark the interest of students, it plays host to dozens of community events. According to Loomis, more than 50 events have already been scheduled aboard the Mississippi River Institute barge for the summer and fall months in St. Paul.
Companies interested in bringing representatives and professionals aboard MRI as guest speakers or holding an event on board should contact Loomis at rachel@livinglandsandwaters.org or complete the inquiry form available at www.mississippiriverinstitute.org.
Thirty schools have already been confirmed for workforce development days aboard the MRI barge when the school year begins in St. Paul. Classes range from welding, engineering, agriculture and general career exploration. The barge will remain in St. Paul until early November. From there, MRI will be transported back to the Quad Cities until the spring 2026 semester.
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Featured photo caption: Wepfer Marine, Inc. gave MRI workshop students a towboat tour while in Memphis, Tenn. (Photos courtesy of Living Lands & Waters)
