The McKnight Foundation has committed more than $1.2 million to 11 organizations
working to reduce runoff polluting Mississippi River tributaries and the Gulf of Mexico.
The grants were among 122 totaling $11,588,185 approved by the Foundation's board
of directors at its quarterly meeting in Minneapolis.

Recent scientific studies have found that runoff from Midwestern farms and cities is a
major source of pollution in the Mississippi River, its tributaries, and the Gulf of Mexico.
In response, the Foundation has pledged $1.2 million to 11 organizations to raise
public awareness about water pollution, advocate more effective clean-water programs,
encourage better farm practices, and restore riverside marshes and woodlands that can
filter pollution. "Millions of our downstream neighbors depend on the Mississippi River
and the Gulf of Mexico for clean drinking water, commercial fisheries, and family
recreation," said Cynthia Boynton, President of The McKnight Foundation. "We in the
Midwest need to help keep the river healthy for their use as well as our own."

The grants will encourage practical, local solutions to pollution in Midwestern rivers and
will support efforts to ensure that the heaviest polluters help clean it up.

Mississippi Monitor, January 1999