FMR Updates

Thank you for making The River Connects a success!

October 7, 2019

If you want to relive our fall event (or in case you missed it), we made this collection for you. See all GIFs from our photo booth. Find a playlist of river songs that our keynote speaker Nick Spitzer from American Routes presented. Take a tour of our work from the eyes of a heron. Read stories of river connection from our members and friends. See photos of our 200+ attendees coming together to protect and restore our river. >>

Welcome Ashley, farewell Amy (and congrats Sophie)!

October 3, 2019

As summer shifted to fall, we welcomed a new administrative assistant Ashley O'Neill Prado. And Sophie Downey stepped into a new volunteer and outreach coordinator role as we bid farewell to our long-time volunteer coordinator Amy Kilgore. >>

Why Minnehaha Academy's new building blends in with the Mississippi Gorge

by Irene Jones

October 2, 2019

It's not often that a heated community debate about development along the Mississippi River Gorge leads to a building that fits well into this picturesque landscape, but the new addition to Minnehaha Academy does just that. It fits in so well that it's actually hard to see the new building from the parkway! This success story shows how river development can blend in with its surroundings, why it should, and why your voice is crucial in the process. >>

Northern Metals shuts down ... finally

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

October 2, 2019

It may have taken years, but Northern Metals has finally shut down its polluting riverfront metal shredder. Even so, North and Northeast Minneapolis residents aren't seeing any reparations for the continued environmental and health damage. >>

The end of ethanol: Future-proofing Minnesota’s cropland

by Trevor Russell

October 1, 2019

The electric vehicle transition will happen, and it has huge implications for American farms (not to mention opportunities for water quality). In the electrified world of 2050, demand for corn ethanol will have plummeted, and the agricultural economy will be nothing like the one you know today. If we invest in innovative clean-water crops now, we can improve the long-term outlook for our state’s rural economic prosperity and for our river. >>

Stormwater's hidden perils

by Peter LaFontaine

September 28, 2019

As our climate changes and water infrastructure ages, the challenges of water management are becoming more severe. Ultimately, our changing climate means that Minnesota faces more — and more powerful — storms, leading to sewage emergencies, mega-storms, sandbagged lake houses and twelve billion-dollar price tags. >>

Good news, bad news in the fight to stop invasive carp (2019)

by Irene Jones

September 26, 2019

A new deterrent system installed 50 miles north of our border with Iowa is a promising effort to stop invasive carp in Minnesota. But a dozen invasive carp were found in the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers this year, further evidence that these destructive fish are growing in numbers in our state. Can we stop them before it's too late? >>