MIDMISSISSIPPI RIVER OPENS TODAY FOR SEASON

  The Mississippi River is now open for
  barge traffic up to the Twin Cities in Minnesota after repairs
  were completed and the first barges moved upstream through Lock
  and Dam 20 near Quincy, Ill at 0600 CST today, an Army Corps of
  Engineers spokesman said.
      About 14 to 15 inches of ice were reported between locks
  three and four on the upper Mississippi River, but other
  sections were generally free of ice, the spokesman said.
      Midwestern weather has been so mild that barges probably
  could have kept loading at Mid-Mississippi River terminals
  through the winter, if Lock and Dam 20 had not been scheduled
  for repairs, he said.
      The Peoria and La Grange locks on the Illinois River are
  still scheduled to close July 13, for two months of repairs.
  

