More than 100 shipping boats are still stuck in the commercial harbor at Winona Minnesota. Judy Bodway, Winona's assistant city manager for economic development, says flooding down the Mississippi River has shut down many of the locks and dams limiting the traffic allowed. These barges normally bring products to like road salt from the south, unload the shipment, then reload grain to send back down. Shipping grain is being severly stifled from the closures.
It's just the latest blow for industries that rely on the link from Wisconsin to Minnesota. The shipping season has slow start due to the long winter. In June the area's only bridge over the Mississippi River was abrupty shut down due to corrosion. Products coming from Wisconsin to Winona that are due to be shipped by river are being delayed.
Bodway is hopeful by the end of this week or next week the lock system will reopen allowing full commercial traffic on the river.
