The Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission, the panel newly tasked with coordinating river stewardship for eight Northwest Indiana counties, convened for the first time yesterday. The Indiana General Assembly created the Commission earlier this year to succeed the Kankakee River Basin Commission (KRBC), which served the region for over four decades. Following record flooding in 2018, the Indiana legislature responded by empowering a streamlined commission with long-term funding for flood control, erosion mitigation, and economic and natural resource development. The Kankakee and Yellow River Basins are home to some of the world’s most productive farmland, historic communities, and tens of thousands of Indiana residents. Demonstrated increases in flood events have cost the state and local communities millions in repairs, emergency responses, economic disruption, and threats to regional revenue bases.