Coleman Meets With 'Mississippi Mayors' In Washington

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Mayors of cities and towns along the Mississippi River are pushing federal leaders to invest in programs to help their communities.

Their plan urges Congress and President Donald Trump to continue E-P-A, FEMA and Department of Transportation programs along the river. The coalition of 75 mayors is asking for an investment of nearly $8 billion dollars to restore the river's floodplains and ecosystems.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman was in Washington, D.C. for the meeeting.

"It creates 100,000 jobs, continues 1.5 million jobs, sustains our ecological assets to power our economy, mitigates for hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster impacts and generates $24 billion in economic activity," Coleman said.

The mayor are also asking to modernize the lock system along the river.