Here’s a quiz: the nation’s most inland seaport exists in what state? There are pretty good odds you didn’t guess Oklahoma, but in fact the Port of Catoosa handles two and a half million tons of wheat, fertilizer, steel, and manufacturing goods each year.
From outside of Tulsa, these resources head down the Verdigris River, to the Arkansas River, then east to the Mississippi and onward to Pittsburgh and Chicago. From there, these goods can move up through the great lakes to New York, Europe, or anywhere in the world.
However, all of that has changed recently, reports StateImpact Oklahoma, a reporting project of NPR member stations. After recent rains, the port was shut down and is struggling to rebound. Oklahoma relies on the port for 8,000 maritime jobs and over a billion and a half dollars of private investment.
You can listen to StateImpact Oklahoma's story below:
