June 20th, 2019, Spectrum West, Wisconsin Public Radio

LPLA interview starts at 15min 40 sec!

By: Red Wing News Room, Red Wing Republican Eagle; March 12, 2019

By: Steve Gardiner, Rivertown Multimedia; February 5, 2019

By: The Leader Telegram, January 15, 2019

By: Minnesota Public Radio, January 13, 2019

By: Post-Bulletin, January 9, 2019

By: Dredging Today, January 9, 2019

By: ACOE, January 8th, 2019

By: Fox 9 News, January 8, 2019

By: Dredging Today, December 31, 2018

By: Republican Eagle, September 19, 2018

By: Shawn Giblin, WI DNR
Published in: Big River Magazine / July-August 2018

Our understanding of how rivers work and our interest in healthy rivers have advanced steadily and swiftly over the last century, thanks in part to work done on the Upper Mississippi. When today’s students learn about the Cuyahoga River in the 1950s and 1960s they have difficulty believing that the river was so polluted that it actually started burning. A 1969 article in Time described the Cuyahoga as a river that “oozes rather than flows” and in which a person “does not drown but decays.”

When I show students pictures from the 1930s of sewage mats on the Mississippi in the Twin Cities, many think that I am kidding them. I see disbelief in their faces when I read the passage from Cal Fremling’s famous book, Immortal River: “The fetid, fester- ing accumulation of raw sewage led the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to report that during August of 1927, forty-five miles of the river below St. Paul lacked sufficient oxygen to sustain fish life of any kind.” Schoolkids quickly understand that situations like these angered people and motivated them to demand solutions… (Download Full Article)

Star Tribune, 5/26/2018

By: Pam Louwagie

Rochester Post Bulletin, 4/5/2018

Author: Brian Todd, Post Bulletin

Red Wing Republican Eagle, 3/ 28/2018

By Rylee Main, Executive Director, Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

1. What is the restoration project?

The restoration project at the upper end of Lake Pepin is designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat in the areas most impacted by shallow, muddy water. Constructing new islands and extending peninsulas will protect vulnerable areas from wind to create pockets of clear, undisturbed water that support healthy beds of aquatic vegetation.

The project is viable because special federal funds are available to utilize dredge material from the navigation channel to construct the base of the islands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is covering 65 percent of the projects costs plus an expected $6 million for material transportation. Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance is responsible for fundraising the local cost-share, estimated between $3-5 million.

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Rochester Post Bulletin, 3/8/2018

Author: Mac Becco (formerly Consoer), Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

Like many waters in southern Minnesota, it is impaired by excess sediment and phosphorus, both of which threaten cascading impacts that could eventually lead to ecological collapse. Sediment accumulation is a particular concern since it is causing social impacts, such as reduced accessibility to upstream areas and adjacent communities.

A sustainable solution will require upstream mitigation, but local restoration is also necessary to manage the cumulative impacts and sustain current uses on the lake.  

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Red Wing Republican Eagle, 1/11/2018

Author: Sarah Hansen, RW Republican Eagle

A decade ago, neighbors living in the beautiful riverfront community of Wacouta began to notice that their island was growing.

Sediment had collected on its shores and was increasing the footprint of the small island in the bay. Down river, sediment collected in the bed of Lake Pepin as well.

By 2009 these concerned residents were heavily involved in the sediment runoff issue — so much so that they organized to form the nonprofit Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance. Since then, the aim of LPLA has been to save this beloved and geographically unique body of water from further pollution.

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Red Wing Republican Eagle, 3/10/2018

Author: Mac Becco (formerly Consoer), Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

As reported by Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, boat groundings in upper Lake Pepin reached an all-time high last summer. Some readers commented that the danger is most formidable for visiting and infrequent boaters. While accurate, the rest of us aren’t immune from the underlying ailment facing Lake Pepin. Sedimentation is nearing ecological and social tipping points that will be disastrous for everybody. It’s time for us to heed the warnings and mobilize together for action.

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LPLA Executive Director, Rylee Main, is the special guest on The Boating Show with Wolf Marine Inc. and Tetzlaff Yacht Sales. The episode provides a great overview of sources of sediment, local impacts, and ways to help.

Listen Here-->

KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News, 11/30/2017

Author: KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News

While the summer boating season has come to an end, it is still the topic of conversation around Lake Pepin - the iconic lake that forms the wide part of the Mississippi River near Red Wing. Boat groundings this summer were at an all-time high, with at least 30 boats needing rescue...

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Red Wing Republican Eagle, 11/28/2017

Author: Mac Becco (formerly Consoer), Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

Sedimentation continues to fill upper Lake Pepin and wreak havoc for boaters as groundings reach an all-time high. While the exact number of grounded boats is unknown, the local tow boat companies and the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office attest that this year may have set a record number.

With sedimentation rates 10 times above normal, low water levels this year created dangerous conditions for boat navigation with little room for error. The problem gains concern just as planning commences to strategically dredge areas that have filled in at the upper end of the lake.

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Author: Mike McKay, LPLA Executive Director, January 30, 2012

Published by: Star Tribune