I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
July 3, 1996
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
Twelve people showed up at the Farden Town Hall Tuesday to discuss issues relating to the operation of Mississippi Headwaters reservoirs.
This was the first in a series of eight meetings sponsored by the Mississippi Headwaters Board throughout July and August to collect information to be forwarded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
According to a MHB news release, dams at the outlets of the reservoirs control water levels to serve, both human and natural interests -- such as keeping water low for wild rice harvesting, high for fish spawning or low to reduce erosion and protect docks, while assuring a base flow of water to the Twin Cities.
That is what MHB is trying to find out by holding the input sessions, said Molly MacGregor, MHB representative, how much the dams on the Headwaters are affecting, negatively or positively, those who live on and make a living off the waters involved.
"We get a good voice from resorters and people who own boats," she said, "but fish do not necessarily have a vote. They don't have the same political clout us people do."
MacGregor said she was surprised at the number of people who attended Tuesday's meeting. She said the people this far up the water system are not as affected as those farther down the line. "I really didn't expect anyone above Cass Lake to show up," she said. However, residents of Lake Andrusia and Wolf Lake attended.
The strong message MacGregor said she took from the meeting was that erosion was a major problem for those who lived on Cass Lake this spring, and the residents said they felt the dams were part of the problem. The second message was that the people were negative toward the operation of the dams, which is surprising because people usually are in favor of dam operations, she said.
Other issues participants discussed were dams adversely affecting water quality, the effects of the dams on fish spawning and the loss of the deep weed line, which also affects fishing.
The people attending were asked to fill out an MHB survey on uses of the Mississippi River and the reservoirs. MacGregor said the information would be compiled after the eight meetings and then forwarded to the Corps of Engineers for study.
She said the information was important because the Corps of Engineers has to follow the mandates of Congress, but the input given by the Corps can help change policies.
Later meetings are scheduled in Deer River July 8, Grand Rapids July 9, MacGregor July 10, Walker Aug. 11 and Pine River Aug. 12.
"Managing a river system," MacGregor said, "is really managing the people who use it."
Comments