Louisiana Barges Idled by Drought Upstream on Mississippi

Matt Lagarde manages a fleet of towboats in Louisiana and watched with dread as a drought last year seared crops across the farm belt 1,000 miles upstream on the Mississippi River.

Now the effects of the worst dry spell in 70 years are making their way to the river’s delta, said Lagarde, 41, who has worked on the nation’s busiest waterway for half his life.