During recent extreme flooding events in Southwest Wisconsin, local residents would maze around a hodge-podge of forecasting information, trying to gain an understanding of what is happening in real time.

With a year of unprecedented flooding in Iowa nearly behind us and our nation witnessing the horrific devastation of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and southern states, it's clearer now, more than ever, that we need common-sense reforms that help our communities address the increasing threat of flooding.

Year after year, large scale flooding events continue to destroy parts of the Upper Midwest. In the last few years, areas in Western Wisconsin have been some of the hardest hit.

Iowa may be known as a swing state, but Iowa City, home of the state’s flagship public university, has a reputation as liberal.