MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – There is something about being on the water that makes Devin Brown feel at home.

Soon, her passion for paddling the mighty Mississippi will go the extra mile. 

“I’m really excited to actually get on the water and start the journey. I’m just really looking forward to the freedom of being on the river,” said Brown.

Brown fell in love with the river during a business trip to the Twin Cities back in 2012.

She decided to change careers and move to Minneapolis from New Jersey to take advantage of the area’s easy access to water.

Brown also took up kayaking and teaches classes tailored to Black and brown people who may not always feel welcome in the great outdoors.

“I have been called racial slurs on the river. Most recently, I was doing a race in Mora, Minnesota and someone just outwardly yelled ‘You don’t belong here’. And for them, I absolutely belong here,” said Brown.

Now Brown will attempt to become the first Black woman to kayak the length of the Mississippi, from the source to the sea, on her own.

She hopes the 2,300-mile adventure from Lake Itasca to the Gulf Of Mexico will inspire other people of color to connect with nature.

“The visibility of this trip is important, so that I can show little Black and brown girls that we belong in nature and to do things that people don’t think are for Black people,” said Brown. 

Brown says the trip will also be a spiritual journey, where she can blaze a trail on the water, one stroke at a time.

“I know that there’s a version of myself out there on the river that I’m meant to meet. I’m really excited to meet the next version of myself to do more for my community, to get more people into nature and on the river,” said Brown.

Brown plans to embark on her journey down the Mississippi at the end of the month.

If you’d like to donate to her mission, click here.

CHARLESTON, Mo. (KFVS) – A growing number of people in southeast Missouri worry about putting food on the table.

That’s according to new numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The department’s annual “Map the Meal Gap” report showed food insecurity in southeast Missouri jumped from 14.5 percent in 2023 to more than 17 percent in 2024.

According to the Southeast Missouri Foodbank, higher food prices are driving that increase. The national average cost of a meal is up nearly $3.50 in the food bank’s coverage area.

That report also broke down food insecurity by county in the Show Me State, and seven southeast Missouri counties landed in the top 10.

According to the report, Mississippi County ranks 7th in food insecurity and second in child hunger in Missouri.

We talked with local leaders about how they’re tracking the issue as summer break begins.

“It’s important for us to be a village,” said Lester Gillespie, CEO of Fresh Start Self-Improvement Center in Charleston.

Wednesday, May 15 marked the last day of his winter food program where he feeds up to 200 kids five days a week. The Summer Food Program begins on Thursday.

Gillespie said he’s here to help parents in need.

“It’s not so much we give out a handout. We give it, we give a hand up and I really love the fact that our parents are trying to do the best that they possibly can do under the circumstances,” he said.

Veronica Dunigan is a member of the Fresh Start organization. She said providing children with breakfast and lunch makes a difference.

“A lot of times the parents, they run out of food or either they’re working and they don’t get a chance to come home at all. Some time to feed their children, like during the summer time they’re at work all day,” Dunigan said.

And it fills a real need in this community.

“The parents feel good that their kids are somewhere and they can release them to the program and that’s what I see this program I’ve done and, and I see this continue to do and I pray that it continues to grow more and more,” she said.

Gillespie hoped talking about food insecurity in his county and across the state brings more awareness.

“I really appreciate the fact that we’re putting a light on this. We’ll bring it to full attention throughout our community and allow other people to get involved in any way they want because it is a problem,” Gillespie said.

According to Gillespie, the program provides food to children up to 18 and offers transportation to his program at the C. F. Bowden Civic Center in Charleston, Mo.

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