River Notes
Welcome to our "River Notes" Blog!
This is where we share intimate stories about the river cleanups, education programs, river races and more that Missouri River Relief staff and volunteers make happen.
This new space was started in August 2021. All of our old blog posts going back to 2007 are still found on our old Blogspot site.
The Clean Sweep 2026 - Shift 5 Summary
Date: 09/11/2026
Years ago Ryan McCoy picked up two phrases from Missouri River Relief. "See You on the River," and "We All Live Downstream." Twenty-three days into the Clean Sweep, he's thinking about what every bottle, can and container says about the people who left them.
The Clean Sweep 2026 - Shift 4 Summary
Date: 09/04/2026
A beached SeaDoo on Baltimore Island met its end by angle grinder. A beaver face-planted on Ryan's blue bag and lived to tell about it. Somewhere in between, Melanie Knocke figured out how to do laundry in a Folger's can.
The Clean Sweep 2026 - Shift 3 Summary
Date: 08/29/2026
We knew the camping options between Napoleon and Lexington were slim. We didn't realize how slim. What we found took some gardening, came with its own mosquito population, and turned out to be a pretty good place to work from.
The Clean Sweep 2026 - Shift 2 Summary
Date: 08/23/2026
The crew started Shift 2 with a cleanup along "Bucket Bend" and scouting out the island across Sibley ramp, and later hosting Evergy for a cleanup out of Cooley Lake.
The Clean Sweep 2026 - Shift 1 Summary
Date: 08/19/2026
The Clean Sweep crew hit the ground running with a river scout for our cleanup with WaterOne, then started working our way downstream.
Paddler Safety - Lessons Learned from Cold-water Capsize
Date: 03/28/2022
Lessons learned from a cold water capsize on the Missouri River while training for the MR340.
The Big Muddy Clean Sweep Trash Tally
Date: 10/25/2021
An insider blog about trash on the Big Muddy Clean Sweep: what we find, why, and what we do with it! Plus, the trash tally!
The Clean Sweep: "Back-to-Back Cleanups"
Date: 10/11/2021
We hosted 2 cleanups out of Rocheport, a cleanup/education event with Job Point out of Cooper's Landing, then the Clean Sweep comes to an end!
The Clean Sweep: "Sunset Oasis"
Date: 10/07/2021
17 volunteers arrived to help clean up Boonville's stretch of the river. We camped 6 miles downstream of the boat ramp.
The Clean Sweep: "Becoming Scavengers"
Date: 09/25/2021
Unfortunately canceling our cleanup in Glasgow, we scout and move 13 miles downstream to Jameson Island, secluded in nature more than ever.