2026 Upper Mississippi River Conference Schedule
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Conference Meet-up and Appetizers | Location TBD
Wednesday, November 4th, 2026
7:00 – 8:30 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast and Check-in | Atrium/MRH Entrance
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. | Welcome Remarks | Mississippi River Hall
- Kathy Wine, Executive Director and Founder, River Action
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Keynote Session | Mississippi River Hall
"Title TBD"
- Dr. Aaron Thompson, Landscape Architect and Horticulturist, Purdue University
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Networking Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Water Quality Panel
"Title TBD" (Moderated by Scott Tomkins)
- Rachel Curry, Agricultural Educator, IL Extension Office
- TBD, Nutrient Specialist, IA American Water
- Dr. Emily Jenkins, Engineering Manager, Farnsworth Group
12:15 – 1:00 p.m. | Boxed Lunch | Atrium
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Field Tour
Robb Ewoldt's Sustainable Farm Field Trip ($15) - "Title TBD"
- Robb Ewoldt, Regenerative Farmer/Director, United Soybean Board
4:00 - 6:30 p.m. | Break & Dinner Set-up
6:30 - 8 p.m. | "Title TBD" - Plated Dinner and Presentation | Main Ballroom
(Moderator TBD)
Presentation description to come.
- Andrea Knepper, LCSW, Founder, Chicago Adventure Therapy
Thursday, November 5th, 2025
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast and Check-in | Atrium/MRH Entrance
8:00 – 9:15 a.m. | Journalism Panel | Mississippi River Hall
"Title TBD"
- Reggie McLeod, Editor and Publisher, Big River Magazine
- Deb Anslem, Executive Director, Iowa Newspaper Association
- Noah Glasgow, Journalist, North Scott Press
9:15 – 9:30 a.m. | Networking Break | Atrium
9:15 – 9:30 a.m. | Next Gen Scholars Arrive
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Next Gen Summit Welcome and Environmental Career Panel | Main Ballroom
12:15 – 12:30 p.m. | Student Regroup and Recap | Separate Schedule
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Regular Attendees - Breakout Sessions
Breakout 1: "Title TBD - Innovative Stewardship" (Moderator TBD)
- Speakers TBA
Breakout 2: "Title TBD - AI" (Moderator TBD)
- Kamyar Enshayan, , Former Director, UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE)
- Everett Hamner, , Literature, Film, and Science Professor, WIU
12:30 – 2:00 p.m. | Networking Luncheon | Main Ballroom
"Title TBD"
- David Cwiertny, Director, University of Iowa Environmental Policy Research Center
2:00 – 3:15 p.m. | Break Out Sessions
Breakout 3: "Friends of the River: Community Action at Work" (Moderator TBD)
- Margaret Frisbe, Executive Director, Friends of the Chicago River
- Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River
Breakout 4: "Title TBD - Recreation" (Moderator TBDa>)
-Speakers TBA
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. | Networking Break
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Closing Plenary Session | Main Ballroom
"Title TBD"
- Chris Jones, Hydroscience Research Engineer, Iowa Water Center
4:30 p.m. | Adjourn
REGISTRATION NOT YET OPEN
CLICK HERE to download the 2025 printable brochure.