News & Opportunities

Karen Voss and Brian Munzlinger will be seated as Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC) commissioners at its April 14 meeting at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri.

Karen Voss was elected to serve as a MAPC commissioner by the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port District (MAIAPD) board at their March 4 meeting. She serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Ursa Farmers Cooperative Company, where she has dedicated nearly 25 years of her career. She has played a crucial role in managing the company’s river assets, successfully navigating challenges such as enduring floods, optimizing barge transportation, and collaborating with the Small Business Administration, the Corps of Engineers, and the National Flood Insurance Programs. Voss earned her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification in 1997 and graduated from Quincy University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Additionally, she spent seven years in higher education administration at John Wood Community College. Voss grew up on a farm in Adams County Illinois.

Brian Munzlinger, of Williamstown, was appointed by Missouri Governor Mike Keogh on March 13, 2025. He is a lifelong farmer and former state legislator with extensive experience in agriculture, trade, and infrastructure policy. He served as a Missouri State Senator from 2011 to 2019 and a State Representative from 2003 to 2010, where he chaired the Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Resources Committee. Munzlinger also served on the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole from 2019 to 2024. He is an active member of several agricultural and rural policy-based organizations including the Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Corn Growers Association and the NEMO Grain Processors Co-op board. He earned his Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Voss replaces Mike McLaughlin who fulfilled two six-year terms, the legal terms limit, where he served in all offices. He continues to serve as chairman of the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port District based in Quincy, IL. The MAIAPD serves 11 Illinois counties and is an integral part of MAPC. MAPC commissioners from Illinois must serve on be elected by the MAIAP board.

The Mid-America Port Commission, located in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River basins, exists to increase economic development in rural and underserved areas in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri through improved river infrastructure and increased use of the inland waterways.

MAPC has 9 commissioners with three each from the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The three state’s governors each appoint a commissioner while the others are appointed locally.

MAPC commissioners include Blake E. Roderick, Chairman (IL); Douglas Aeilts, Vice Chairman (MO); Mike Norris, Secretary/Treasurer (IA); H.O. Brownback, and Karen Voss (IL); Emily Benjamin and Rachel Lindeen (IA); and Norris Hinton and Brian Munzlinger (MO). Commissioners Brownback, Norris, and Munzlinger are governor appointees. The other six commissioners are appointed by county boards or commissions in their respective states.

At its Sept. 9 meeting, the Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC) seated two new commissioners from Iowa. Elected were Emily Benjamin and Rachel Lindeen. They replace Denise Boyer and Shelley Oltmans who left the board earlier this year.

Benjamin is vice- president at Lee County Economic Development Group. Her duties are to ensure that proper programming, operational controls, reporting procedures and people systems are in place togrow Lee County EDG effectively and ensure financial strength and operating efficiency.

Benjamin brings prior experience including agricultural sales and marketing, non-profit leadership and community development. A Lee County native, she sees the residents as the area’s greatest asset and is passionate about engaging in partnerships that highlight as well as improve upon all assets which Lee County has to offer.

Lindeen is the executive vice-president of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance since February 2023. She has over 10 years of experience in the Chamber of Commerce and economic development world. A native of Mount Pleasant, Lindeen has been living in working in southeast Iowa for most of her professional career. She is responsible for providing highly visible leadership and building a strong reputation for the organization in all issues related to economic development, business development and community vitality for all of Henry County, Iowa. She oversees the daily activities for the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, Area Development Commission and Henry County Tourism.

The Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC) was born out of the 1997 Tri-State Summit meeting in Keokuk, Iowa. Recovering from the Great Flood of 1993 was at the top of the minds of leaders from western Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri when they committed to create a three state multi-capable public organization centered on river, port and economic development.

In 1999, the legislatures of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri adopted like-kind enabling legislation to create the Mid-America Port Commission. The compact was the first three state agreement of its kind in the United States.

The MAPC Board is made up of nine members representing the 26 counties in the three states forming the MAPC service area (Illinois, Iowa and Missouri). Each state governor appoints a commissioner with the other two appointed by county boards/commissioners.

MAPC commissioners include:

Blake E. Roderick, chairman (IL)
Douglas Aeilts, vice chairman (MO)
Mike Norris, secretary/treasurer (IA)
H.O. Brownback and Mike McLaughlin (IL)
Emily Benjamin and Rachel Lindeen (IA)
Norris Hinton and Kelly Waymon (MO)

Commissioners Brownback, Norris and Waymon are governor appointees. The other six commissioners were appointed by county boards or commissions in their respective states.

Hannibal, MO. – Corey Mehaffy, Executive Director of the Hannibal Regional Economic Development Council (“HREDC”) announced today that his office was notified that the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (“MHTC”) has approved the Marion County Port Authority’s request to establish the Marion/Ralls Regional Port Authority.

On July 28^th 2020, the Marion County Port Authority Board of Commissioners in cooperation with the Marion and Ralls County Commissioners, executed an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement to establish a Regional Port Authority. Approval of the new Port Authority is subject to MHTC review, as provided in Chapter 68 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, as amended (the “Port Authorities Act”), which governs port authorities. The “Marion/Ralls Regional Port Authority,” is a separate political subdivision of the State of Missouri and it authorized to exercise port functions within its boundaries, the territorial limits of Marion County and Ralls County.

According to Mehaffy the new Regional Port Authority will promptly file for a fictitious name. “As we did with NEMO Economic Development Council, the Marion/Ralls Regional Port Authority will apply for the fictitious name of Hannibal Regional Port Authority. “The Hannibal brand is strong and known around the world,” he added. “The Commissioners intend to leverage the strength of that brand moving forward.”

“I am grateful to our Port Board of Commissioners and to the Ralls and Marion County Commissions for their vision, and willingness to partner in this endeavor. I am also grateful to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for their approval of our request,” said Mehaffy.

The Marion County Port Board of Commissioners includes Corey Mehaffy, Brian Caldwell, Brock Fahy, Gerry Maas, Rusty Adrian, Doug Krigbaum, Gordon Ipson and David Lomax. To learn more about the Marion County Port Authority, visit their webpage at https://hredc.com/marion-county-port-authority/

HREDC works to promote financial investment in Hannibal and Palmyra; and Marion and Ralls Counties. For more information on the organization, please visit their website at www.hredc.com.

Marion and Ralls Counties are located in the recently USACE designated Mid-America Port Commission Port Statistical Area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced the approval of the Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC) Port Statistical Area (PSA). This is the largest port statistical area on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. It includes 189 miles of the Upper Mississippi River and 69 miles of the Illinois River. The Mid-America Port Commission is the only 3-state port commission in the U.S. It includes six (6) Iowa counties, nine (9) Missouri counties and eleven (11) Illinois counties. The MAPC includes over 59 public and private terminals on the two (2) rivers. Public port authorities within the MAPC include the Southeast Iowa Regional Economic and Port Authority, Lewis County (MO) Port District, Marion/Ralls County (MO) Port District, Pike/Lincoln County (MO) Port District and the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port District (IL). In addition to the help received from the Navigation Data Center of the Corps of Engineers, the Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals Association provided strong support.

A port statistical area is primarily a way the Corps of Engineers helps rank ports based on the amount of cargo shipped or received. Based on a recent 5-year average, the MAPC ranks in the top fifty (50) U.S. ports. This ranking will give the economic development organizations throughout the MAPC legislative boundary a major new marketing tool.

While the port statistical area is not used by the Corps of Engineers to prioritize navigation infrastructure and operations and maintenance projects, it assists the region improve its rankings for operating and maintenance funding of river projects by helping the Corps of Engineers gather more accurate shipping data throughout the MAPC area. One responsibility of the port statistical area is to inform the Corps of Engineers of changes in terminal ownership along with new or decommissioned terminals and docks.