Rarely good when national news reports from your town

It's rarely a good sign when the national news reports live from your town.

That thought struck me last night, when NBC NIGHTLY NEWS reported on the DROUGHT'S impact on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, with correspondent John Yang doing his stand-up report from DUBUQUE.

This summer's lack of water has dropped the river to low levels. The river is at 5.5 feet at Lock and Dam No. 11. The river stood at 9.87 feet at the Lock and Dam this time last year. 

The level is much lower downriver. The river gauge is about 2 feet in ST. LOUIS and could drop to zero by the end of July -- potentially halting river traffic.

There's no significant rain in the region's forecast, so national news reports based locally could become more frequent before the summer ends.