LAKE QUALITY

Residents provide input on incorporation during Northern Township event

TJ Rhodes — Fri, 09 May 2025 18:09:52 GMT

BEMIDJI — On Wednesday, Northern Township hosted its second town hall in the last month and a crowd of roughly 300 filled the Beltrami County 4-H building with curiosity about the proposed wastewater treatment facility, the incorporation process and neighboring Bemidji's involvement.

Northern Township Attorney Mike Couri and Administrator Chris Lahn presented before welcoming attendees to a microphone for a public comment period.

Here, attendees were encouraged to share comments, ask questions and express support or opposition without concern for a time limit.

One notable voice was Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince. Prince stressed that he spoke as a citizen and not for the Bemidji City Council.

"When I walked in here, I saw a lot of faces I knew," he said. "Why? Because we send our kids to the same schools. We cheer at the same football games. We shop at the same stores. We're neighbors. We were neighbors before this; whatever the outcome is, we will be neighbors after."

He asked the Northern Township Board to rescind its bid of incorporation. In turn, the city would rescind its bid to annex, allowing the two sides to reenter wastewater negotiations.

"The reason I'm asking you (to reconsider) is that none of us can predict what the outcome of a court case will be," Prince continued. "The choices that get made at the council and the town board won't just change what's going to happen in our community for a week, or a month, or a year, we're talking about changing our community for generations. If that's not worth a pause to take a little extra time to see whether or not we can figure this thing out, then I don't know what is. I think our community deserves that and I think they expect that from us.

"I really hope we get a chance to talk again before we end up at court and allow one person, one judge, to decide the future for all of us."

Prince's comment is a microcosm of the entire situation.

The topic sparked when Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge learned that its septic system was failing in 2021. Ruttger's reached out to Bemidji, asking to connect to existing infrastructure. Ruttger's, in Northern Township, is the reason both Bemidji and the township initially entered negotiations in 2021.

Bemidji and Northern Township failed to come to an agreement that would have connected some Northern Township homes in 2023. Northern Township decided to use secured federal grants to construct a new wastewater facility.

Then, on April 14, 2025, Northern Township issued a notice of intent to incorporate to become a city. This would establish boundaries and prevent further annexation to ensure the wastewater plant can be paid in part by a set taxpayer base.

Bemidji responded with a notice of intent to annex on April 21, 2025. This would annex two portions of the township that need wastewater services along Lake Bemidji, including Ruttger's. The city's petition, if successful, could interrupt or cancel the new wastewater facility and prevent Northern Township from incorporating.

Bemidji hoped that Northern Township would reenter negotiations. However, it seems that Northern Township will not shift course, meaning both sides will publish a petition with the state 30 days after it was issued, resulting in a combined trial with one ruling.

The Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings adjusts boundaries in cases of annexation, detachment or consolidation. The boundary adjustment law is in Chapter 414 of the Minnesota statutes. Once Northern Township files its petition, the state will have 30 days to assign a judge. A ruling will come within one year. An appeal could follow, though standards are high and unlikely to yield a different result, according to Couri.

Challenges to incorporation are uncommon, making this case unique. The last township to incorporate was Empire in 2023. Empire actually gathered support from neighboring cities.

Town hall

All of the moving pieces made the additional town hall necessary. Residents used the time to share questions and opinions on incorporation, annexation, the proposed wastewater facility and negotiations with Bemidji.

Why not reenter negotiations with Bemidji?

The township believes the city will not negotiate without annexation.

"I just want to take a quick second here to respond to the mayor," Northern Township board member Michael Kelly began. "I just want everyone in here to know that this town board (has) recently — November (and) January — tried to set up additional meetings with the city ... In those recent meetings with them, (we) were told there's no policy change; no extension of services without some form of annexation. And so nothing changed."

"We'd be better off incorporating now, while we still have the federal grant and can install sewer service at a cost cheaper than we believe the city can," Couri said at a different time during the meeting.

What happened in closed or impromptu meetings can not be verified. However, the council passed a resolution to issue an intent to annex. The resolution states that Bemidji would rescind its petition if Northern Township did the same. If this happened, negotiations would ensue for municipal boundary adjustments, "including but not limited to an orderly annexation agreement."

Will residents have a voice or a vote in the process?

Sort of. Residents will not vote on incorporation or the proposed wastewater facility. However, if incorporated, the township board would be absolved and residents would vote to form a Northern City Council. A council would consist of four councilors and one mayor.

This means no annual meetings and a truth and taxation hearing every December. Job functions and personnel would not change. A future council could divide Northern into wards, but the first council would consist of at-large councilors.

Additionally, a trial will feature a public comment. Northern Township plans to provide details for this town hall when they become available.

Would taxes increase following incorporation?

Couri and the board believe the tax levy will fluctuate as normal, but will not be increased. He stated that incorporation does not require tax hikes, but additional city services could raise taxes.

"There is nothing in the statute that says when you become a city, you have to raise your taxes," Couri explained. "It's the city council that you elect that decides, 'Are we going to provide more services? Are we going to raise your taxes to do it?' It's entirely dependent on the people you elect."

Beltrami County property taxes could increase county-wide, due to economic pressure from both the federal and state governments, however. If the county does raise the tax levy, this would impact the entire county, not just Northern Township.

What will the assessment fee for the wastewater project cost?

Assessments are only for the proposed wastewater treatment project and will only be assessed to the residents who are in the project area. The assessment fee does not correlate with incorporation.

The total assessment is estimated at $5 million. This will cost $165 per equivalent benefited linear foot (EBF). The average township property clocks in at 85 EBF, meaning the average property-applicable resident will be assessed $14,025, or a $55 monthly fee for 15-20 years.

What will the incorporation process cost?

Couri estimates the incorporation process will take around eight or nine months and will cost around $200,000 to $300,000. This includes legal fees, among other costs. Couri stated it will cost more because it is being contested. Northern Township must pay this, regardless of the outcome.

Couri stated that taxes are not expected to increase due to these costs.

He also believes that if the township successfully incorporates, it will secure Local Government Aid, something not available for townships. This is estimated to be a six-figure number, which would help pay the incorporation cost.

What will happen to fire services if Northern incorporates?

“The township has a contract with Rural Fire Service, along with a number of other communities that are part of that,” said Couri. “(Northern has) a contract with the city of Bemidji Fire Service, that will not change. That contract will stay in place. The same response that you have now, you'll have then.”

This also applies to contracted sheriff services provided by Beltrami County.

Are local townships affected by this?

No, but that could change. If Northern becomes a city, local townships that share a border could be annexed in the future. Couri mentioned that this is extremely rare.

Would Northern Township addresses change if incorporated?

Physical addresses would not change. Township homes addressed to Bemidji would change to Northern. Future mail addressed to Bemidji would not be lost. Couri believes that over time, these discrepancies would dissipate.

Is the wastewater project a requirement to incorporate?

No. Couri does feel that incorporation solidifies the tax base, which is expected to bear some of the cost.

What is the estimate to connect to the Bemidji facility, independent of Northern Township?

Northern Township can not estimate what it would cost for residents to connect to Bemidji infrastructure without reentering negotiations.

Would it make more sense to connect to the Bemidji wastewater plant?

"Bemidji already has a city treatment plant. ... It seems to me that it makes more sense and is more efficient to utilize that plant," said a Northern Township resident, who asked the board to reenter negotiations.

The Northern Township perspective is that Bemidji would not negotiate without annexation and that constructing a new facility is both cheaper and easier. Again, it is impossible to compare unless both sides work together.

Is it possible to reclaim previously annexed Northern Township land?

Couri stated that Northern Township land annexed by Bemidji, "is the city of Bemidji, and it's going to stay that way."

Who does not support incorporation?

During the May 5 Bemidji City Council meeting, two township residents spoke in opposition to incorporation. Their main concern was an increase in taxes. The two also believed that connecting to the Bemidji wastewater facility is more practical.

Bemidji mentioned some residents have come to the city to share similar sentiments. Northern Township mentioned dissent as well, stating it is a small minority.

Who supports incorporation?

Incorporation is supported by Minnesota House 2A Rep. Bidal Duran, R-Bemidji, who is helping the township secure more grant funding, according to Lahn.

It is also supported by Beltrami County GOP Chair Doug Henry. Henry spoke during the town hall right after a speaker who received negative crowd feedback.

“This meeting is deteriorating and this has gone on long enough. We need to make a decision ... I have one other comment: why is the city of Bemidji so anxious not to have us incorporate? Well, that's pretty obvious,” Henry implied while drawing verbal support from the crowd.

Northern Township Board Chair Jess Frenzel ended the event by asking for participation. He first asked for folks who support annexation to raise their hand — only a handful of attendees did so. Frenzel then asked folks who support incorporation to raise their hand — a majority of folks raised their hand.

A Lakeland PBS poll on Facebook did the same thing, and saw split support from 152 votes.

Both of these informal surveys only represent a sample size and are not representative of the entire township.

To stay updated with potential future town halls, visit northerntownship.com. Additionally, folks can ask questions or share feedback at info@northerntownship.com or (218) 751-4989. Administrator Chris Lahn can be contacted directly at (218) 444-1857.

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Final clarifier project continues at Bemidji's Wastewater Treatment Facility

TJ Rhodes — Tue, 06 May 2025 16:22:06 GMT

BEMIDJI — Wastewater treatment facility projects are becoming a hot-button topic of discussion each week in Beltrami County.

And Bemidji is now on the verge of completing a final clarifier project at its wastewater treatment facility, located between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji.

The project was approved in January 2024, but has been in the works for much longer.

"Essentially in 2018, 2019, the city was experiencing pretty expansive growth," explained City Engineer Sam Anderson.

Thus, in 2018, the Bemidji City Council authorized planning for additional wastewater testing. The council then authorized a system capacity evaluation. These actions led to a 2018-19 report that found 11 of 12 wastewater treatment facility process systems could handle future city growth, excluding the final clarifiers.

"The two existing final clarifiers have enough hydraulic capacity when both are in operation," Anderson wrote in a project proposal letter in 2024. "However, when one clarifier is taken down for service, the system does not meet the redundancy requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

"The report recommended that the city plan for the construction of a third final clarifier."

Following preparations, the city orchestrated a $12,832,600 project budget comprised of a $4.4 million grant and utility bonds.

And at the Jan. 16, 2024, city council meeting, councilors approved a bid from Rice Lake Construction at a cost of $11,374,600, with a total project cost of $12,017,600 — including engineering design, construction inspection and admin costs.

The final clarifier project broke ground in spring 2024 and has kept pace with the original timeline.

Substantial completion is expected by August — the clarifier will become operational at this time — and final completion is expected by October. Between the two dates, Rice Lake Construction and the city will have time to address any lingering issues or to-do list items.

This process has been detailed nearly every month via city newsletters.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the project should conclude on time.

Once implemented, the third final clarifier will fulfill the state's redundancy requirements. It will also aid in potentially providing more services to the growing region.

Local impact

A pre-treatment process removes large debris before depositing effluent — liquid waste or sewage — into a final clarifier, a large sedimentation tank that settles and separates solids to reduce turbidity for subsequent treatment processes.

Final clarifiers are a necessary step in the wastewater treatment process to cleanse municipal wastewater before it discharges into local waterways.

The state regulates discharge to further preserve water quality.

Bemidji holds one of the strictest phosphorus discharge limits in Minnesota at .3 milligrams per liter, which is among the lowest in the country, according to the Bemidji city website. These limits aid the First City on the Mississippi in protecting the river as it travels southward.

The Bemidji facility, constructed in 1985, set a new course for the area, which once earned the infamous "first polluter on the Mississippi" nickname. It has earned multiple awards for its contribution to water management in the area since.

The Bemidji facility features roughly 80 miles of piping with 31 lift stations to alter pipe elevation, collecting effluent throughout the city. It operates at roughly 60% capacity and is designed to manage future growth.

"After this project, based on that capacity report, the system or plant itself should have a lot more capacity to take on any kind of future growth the city could have for the next 10 to 20 years, pretty easily," Anderson said.

This expansion could be enacted sooner, rather than later.

Bemidji issued a notice of intent to annex portions of Northern Township to manage wastewater treatment needs in the area.

However, Northern Township is preparing to build a new wastewater facility, kitty-corner from the Bemidji facility on the east side of Lake Bemidji.

Potential negotiations could ensue.

Either way, a third final clarifier at the Bemidji wastewater treatment facility ensures the city of Bemidji has the necessary infrastructure to expand in the future.

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Northern Township responds to Bemidji, will not reenter wastewater negotiations

TJ Rhodes — Mon, 05 May 2025 20:55:41 GMT

BEMIDJI — Northern Township has announced it will not be reentering wastewater service negotiations with the city of Bemidji. The township has instead opted to follow the process to incorporate with the state.

Northern Township cites financial commitment, an operational timeline, resident directive and "practical governance" as deciding factors in the decision.

"The Board’s decision is grounded in cost effectiveness and service delivery — not in animosity toward Bemidji," Northern Township's response letter reads. "Redirecting the project now would waste public funds and jeopardize environmental protections for Lake Bemidji."

Northern Township secured grant funding in 2022 to connect to Bemidji's city infrastructure. These initial negotiations fell through in 2023. Now, the township plans to use this grant funding to construct a new wastewater facility. The township plans to start construction in 2026 to keep pace with a Beltrami County State Aid Highway 20 reconstruction project, which will save the township roughly $1 million if done at the same time.

Incorporation and the new wastewater facility align with a township sentiment to avoid annexation, according to the township board and Administrator Chris Lahn.

These are reasons why Northern Township rejected a chance to negotiate with Bemidji once again.

Now, both sides will file a petition with the state. Petitions can be filed 30 days after issuing a notice — Bemidji's petition should follow Northern's by one week. In turn, the state will have 30 days to assign a judge and one year following the initial petition to issue a ruling.

Both sides noted that the two petitions will likely be paired together, resulting in one ruling.

The ruling will depend on a few key things. The general question will ask if Bemidji is better equipped to extend services or if Northern Township is better equipped to incorporate to provide its own services.

Either Northern will drop the township title and earn city status, or Bemidji will be allowed to annex portions of Northern, preventing incorporation.

Image and PDF Viewer

Click the image above to view the full PDF document.

The wastewater facility timeline could play a key role in the ruling.

If the state makes an early ruling in Bemidji's favor, the need for a new wastewater facility would diminish. This could affect construction efforts.

However, if the state does not issue a ruling until the end of its allotted time, the wastewater facility would be under construction. This would bolster Northern's claim that it is offering more city services for residents.

Until the state hears both sides, it is impossible to know what the official ruling will look like.

Northern Township does note that it will continue to work and coordinate with Bemidji on most issues in the future that do not include annexation.

To further detail the incorporation process and the new wastewater facility, Northern Township is set to host another town hall at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds 4-H building. This town hall will allow residents to speak, differing from an April 22 town hall at Bemidji State University. All are welcome to attend.

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Minnesota lakes have lost 2 weeks of ice cover in 50 years

Jimmy Lovrien — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — In his 40 years as a fishing guide, Jeff Sundin of Grand Rapids has seen the lake ice season shorten firsthand.

“Without a doubt, the last several years, the arrival of cold weather in the fall definitely seems later than it used to be,” Sundin said, adding that there are still recent examples of years with good ice coverage.

Data backs that up.

Ice coverage on Minnesota lakes has declined by an average of 10 to 14 days over 50 years, with ice-in dates about nine days later and ice-out dates moving four to five days earlier, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported in 2021.

The why — climate change — is known. Minnesota winters are warming quickly. Duluth has seen winter temperatures rise 6.4 degrees between 1970 and 2020.

“Overnight minimum temperatures in the winter have gone up. We’ve seen that throughout the state,” said Pete Boulay, a climatologist at the DNR. “And if you don’t have the cold air around, you’re not going to form ice.”

But the effects of shorter lake ice duration? That hasn’t been studied as much.

A research review published last month in the journal Science, co-authored by Ted Ozersky, an associate biology professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth and interim director of the Large Lakes Observatory, seeks to begin filling that knowledge gap.

There’s no one reason for the lack of winter lake research.

Ozersky said researchers may not have ice safety training, and equipment and techniques are often not designed for the cold.

Researchers often spend winters inside teaching, with the fieldwork season beginning in the spring, he said.

“And finally, I think historically, there has been this sort of self-reinforcing cycle of ignorance, where people are not doing winter work,” Ozersky said. “There are not studies about winter and lakes in the literature, so people assume that winter is sort of unimportant and boring, and they don’t do these studies.”

At its most basic, even the date when ice forms on a lake — and stays all winter — is harder to come by than ice-out dates.

Boulay once recorded historic ice-in dates for Minneapolis’ Lake of the Isles from the back of a cupboard in a mansion’s servant’s entrance.

“They’re tearing down the house and they say, ‘Get over here quick and write these down.’ … I should have just taken the cupboard with me,” he said.

Ozersky said the review seeks an audience of not just scientists but also interested members of the public.

“We’re still sort of in early stages of trying to catch up with summer research,” he said. “But we felt that at this point, there is enough to start saying some general things about what loss of winter means for lakes.”

Among the review’s conclusions:

Loss of lake ice will mean fewer winter kills on smaller lakes, meaning fish could establish themselves in once-fishless lakes, disrupting existing communities of invertebrates and amphibians. More open water means more lake-effect snow and rain downwind of larger lakes, such as the Great Lakes. Ice cover increases a lake’s carbon retention and ice-covered lakes stay cooler all year, slowing methane production. Less ice means warmer lakes throughout the year, and warmer water fuels the potential for harmful algae blooms. Ice can protect a shoreline from waves and erosion, and the loss of ice may mean more property damage, turbidity at water treatment intakes and eutrophication — excessive nutrients that can cause fish kills and algae blooms — near the lakeshore.

However, the loss of lake ice and its environmental effects can also have cultural and societal consequences.

Going forward, Ozersky said he expects research into lake ice to include additional social scientists “to try to understand how people are perceiving this and how people are experiencing these changes.”

In the meantime, Sundin said he’ll try to retain memories of robust winters spent ice fishing.

“The best we can do is track and remember the stories to tell our grandkids,” he said.

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Native plants, lots of patience: How a Stearns County couple restored a damaged lakeshore

Kirsti Marohn / MPR News — Sun, 01 Sep 2024 11:58:00 GMT

COLD SPRING, Minn — Mary and Richard Gallea can still remember the former owner of their lakeside cabin telling them he spent six or seven hours a week mowing the lawn.

The Galleas understood quickly that wouldn’t work for them. They’d bought the cabin on Great Northern Lake as a weekend getaway and had zero interest in cutting more grass.

“For a weekend guy, that was like, ‘Nope,’” Richard Gallea recalled.

So, the next question was what do you do with all that lawn? The answer came when they applied for a permit to replace a crumbling retaining wall, and a Stearns County official asked if they’d ever thought about restoring their lakeshore to a more natural state.

Twenty years later, the Galleas’ property is a lush sweep of native plants that help slow and absorb water running off the house and driveway, keeping phosphorus and other pollutants out of the lake. A few mowed paths remain, but they take only about 45 minutes to cut.

It’s the kind of transformation environmentalists say is vital to saving Minnesota’s impaired lakeshores. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources estimates nearly half the state’s natural shorelines are gone.

Observers say much of that loss is due to the building of large homes with manicured lawns, patios, rock riprap and trees cleared to provide a better view of the water — a suburbanization of lake life that took hold over the past few decades and is polluting many lakes.

As the Galleas showed, the damage can be repaired, but it takes time for the efforts to fully bloom. It also requires the will to do it.

“A lot of people, frankly, their ideal vision of shoreline property is Pebble Beach,” Richard Gallea said, referring to the famed California golf course on the Pacific Ocean. “It’s a mowed golf course-quality lawn, a fire pit right down on shore, which always makes me cringe.”

‘What can I do about this?’

When the Galleas decided to go natural, they hired a landscaping company in 2006 to remove the retaining wall built from old railroad ties, restore their lakeshore’s original slope, and fill it with native plants.

“It was kind of exciting, because we got a list of plants that we could choose from,” Mary Gallea said.

They made some rookie mistakes the first few years. They overwatered the drought-tolerant plants and sometimes struggled to distinguish native plants from invasive weeds. But they kept expanding their native plantings, which now encompass almost their entire property.

Now, their yard is covered with flowering plants and prairie grasses that explode with color and change with the seasons. In 2015, they retired to their lake place year-round and spend time puttering in the gardens and taking evening walks along the winding paths.

“The birds are very happy,” Mary Gallea said. “We’ve got lots of pollinators. We grow milkweed. We’ve got monarch butterflies and lots of bees. So there are a lot more benefits to it than not.”

The Galleas are fierce advocates now for natural shorelines. Mary Gallea became a master gardener. Richard Gallea is active in the Sauk River Chain of Lakes Association and tries to convince others to follow their lead. He’s had mixed success.

He said he tries to help homeowners see how what they do on their shoreline impacts the health of the lake, including nutrient runoff, water quality and algae growth.

“They don’t always make that connection between the choices they’re making on shore and that” pollution, he said. “And that’s where we can jump in and try to connect that dot.”

Most restoration efforts are less ambitious than the Galleas’, said Greg Berg, a shoreland specialist with the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District. But combined, they have helped improve the water quality of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes, he said.

Many people think what they do with their small lot doesn’t matter to the lake’s overall health, Berg said, but the nutrient runoff from all those properties adds up.

“It’s cumulative, and it makes a difference,” he said.

Native plants also provide critical habitat for pollinators and other species. And their deeper roots help hold the soil in place, and reduce erosion — a problem that gets homeowners’ attention, Berg said.

“People start to lose their land, and that’s value to them. That’s tax dollars they’re paying on that property,” Berg said. “That’s where they maybe will call me and say, ‘What can I do about this?’”

Not everyone’s a convert

Cost-share funding for homeowners who want to restore shoreland is available from soil and water conservation districts in most Minnesota counties, usually passed down from the state Board of Water and Soil Resources. Some watershed districts and lake associations also offer financial help.

The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District paid 75 percent of the $24,000 cost of the Galleas’ restoration project, leaving them to pay just $6,000.

Since the Galleas’ restoration, Stearns County has added a requirement that owners who receive funding for a project must agree to a permanent deed restriction, to ensure that the natural shoreline remains intact. Not many other Minnesota counties have that requirement, Berg said.

After a project is complete, Berg said his staff checks on the property periodically to answer questions and help the homeowners with any issues. Usually they’re satisfied with the results, he said.

“There’s very few that we hear grumbling from,” Berg said. “I would say that it’s probably the first couple of years, just getting on top of it and keeping the weeds at bay. But beyond that, once it establishes, that’s OK.”

The Galleas used both native seeds and plant seedlings, known as plugs. A restoration project can be successful using either one, although the seedlings will bloom faster, Berg said.

“We generally put some plugs into the plantings in the areas where it’s going to be the most visual, so people get more instant gratification,” he said. “Then if somebody comes by or a friend is over, they might not ask quite as strongly, ‘What did you do to your place?’”

Not everyone on Great Northern Lake shares the Galleas’ perspective. Two houses down, the shoreline is a stark contrast, lined with a manicured lawn and rock retaining wall.

Richard Gallea described the varied reactions of people who cruise by their place in a boat.

“I’d say half of them, or two-thirds maybe, are captivated by what they see,” he said. “The other third are kind of like, ‘What a sloppy shoreline that is.’”

On the other hand, people who drive or walk by often ask if they can see their yard. And the Galleas have hosted tours of their property for hundreds of people interested in shoreline restoration.

“People are intrigued by it,” Mary Gallea said. “Some might be turned off by it. But it takes all kinds.”

Just like growing native plants, the couple says changing people’s attitudes toward natural lakeshore takes time. They plan to keep spreading the message that native landscaping is good for lakes.

“We’re pretty evangelical about it,” Richard Gallea said.

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Possible blue-green algae bloom spotted on Minnesota's Little Floyd Lake

Anne Sara Bien-Aime — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:16:17 GMT

BECKER COUNTY, Minn. — After a report of possible blue-green algae in a Becker County lake, local water experts are urging animals and people to stay away.

A possible blue-green algae bloom was spotted on Little Floyd Lake before a storm last week.

The Pelican River Watershed District reported that the bloom has disappeared, but they said the conditions on the lake are ripe for further blooms.

Blue-green algae looks like thick green paint or pea soup. It carries toxins that can make people and animals sick.

Kim Laing with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said the agency has policies in place to determine if a body of water is harmful. Laing also added the agency is working on ways to prevent future algae blooms.

"We keep nutrients from going into the lakes. So nutrient management rain gardens, any way we can slow the water off landscape and let it filter out," Laing said.

Laing advised those who see blue-green algae to report it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the "Bloom-Watch" app.

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Traveling exhibit on the importance of water coming to Pine River

Travis G. Grimler — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 12:57:00 GMT

PINE RIVER — Pine River will be one of five communities to host an exhibit highlighting the importance of water and life around lakes with the opening of the "We Are Water" exhibit Thursday, April 27, at Happy Dancing Turtle's Old Main in Pine River.

The program seeks to demonstrate the many ways water impacts life on many levels. The exhibit will be in Pine River through June 19.

"So it's both a traveling exhibit and community engagement events happening all around the science, history, story, culture and relationships of water specifically in Minnesota," said Jenny Hill, Happy Dancing Turtle public relations and communications specialist.

We've interviewed lots of people locally and are hoping to have people who come to the exhibit tell local water stories as well.

"We've interviewed lots of people locally and are hoping to have people who come to the exhibit tell local water stories as well," she said.

“Bringing people together around an issue they care about is how the humanities can be put into action. When Minnesotans learn from each other about the water where we live, we can make decisions that account for the complexity of our world,” said Kevin Lindsey, CEO of Minnesota Humanities Center.

The exhibit will be at the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District until April 24. After its time in Pine River from April 27-June 19, it will move to the Somali Museum in Minneapolis from June 22-Aug. 14, to the Roseau County Historical Society from Aug. 17-Oct. 9 and the Stillwater Public Library/Artreach St. Croix from Oct. 12-Dec. 4.

We have school kids who are interviewed, and citizens of all ages and all walks of life to get people who work with water, like through the DNR, and then people who are avid kayakers. So we tried to get a good cross section.

In Pine River, an opening and reception event will take place from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, April 27, after which the exhibit will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Local contributors to the We Are Water exhibit include Eagle View Elementary �� teacher Deanne Trottier, fourth grader Mason Parry from Pequot Lakes, Pine River Public Works Director Mike Hansen and Happy Dancing Turtle program specialist Nora Woodworth.

"We're kind of spread out geographically within our local watershed," Hill said. "We have school kids who are interviewed, and citizens of all ages and all walks of life to get people who work with water, like through the DNR, and then people who are avid kayakers. So we tried to get a good cross section."

These contributors are among 2,300 stories that have been shared with the exhibit since it started in 2016. Stories include mysterious discoveries underwater, recent water related construction projects, lake life and more.

"The ultimate goal is to build community around water and awareness of water, the role it plays in our lives and our livelihood, and what each individual person can do to preserve our water," Hill said.

"But then also how this community can act to make sure our water is around and clean. The phrase they use is ‘drinkable, fishable, swimmable water for many generations,’” she said.

The program was first developed by the Smithsonian around 2015. It later changed to become the We Are Water Minnesota traveling exhibit.

The ultimate goal is to build community around water and awareness of water, the role it plays in our lives and our livelihood, and what each individual person can do to preserve our water.

There are other events surrounding the program in Pine River. Happy Dancing Turtle is holding a water photo contest through April 23. Finalist photos from the contest will be on display for judging during the exhibit.

People’s choice voting will open at an event Saturday, May 13, and finalists from the photo contest will be announced, Hill said.

The May 13 event will also feature a chance for water testing for those who bring a sample of their own water.

Individuals and groups may also schedule trips to see the exhibit.

Those who visit the exhibit will have the chance to put a pin on an 8- by 8-foot map of the Pine River Watershed to mark where their favorite water is.

Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.]]>