Thanks to all who attended the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board meeting last Wednesday.  For those of you who could not make it, it was another "love fest".  The Planning Committee unanimously passed Ernie Belton's motion to add our Intervention document to the Parks Boards' resolution to petition the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order NSP (Xcel) to do some real improvements to St Anthony Falls as a condition of a new license to generate hydro power at St Anthony Falls.

The full Parks & Rec. Board takes up the issue on September 27th (about 6:00 p.m.,  Grain Exchange Building, 4th & 4th, Mpls.  2nd floor).  I believe that will also pass unanimously.   We already have on board Friends of the Mississippi, American Rivers, American Canoe Association, American Whitewater, Mississippi Neighborhood Coalition, and maybe one or two I'm forgetting.  A couple more groups are taking it up.  

FYI,  Martin Sabo and Jim Oberstar are getting quite exited about the project, as is the Army Corps and the DNR, to name just a few.  There's still "miles to go before we sleep", but a very solid foundation is being laid to the plan to restore rapids at Lower St Anthony Falls.   You can each claim a little credit for that, but plan on doing lots more work.

The next board meeting is at Steve Smith's house at 7:00 pm on Oct 30.   

Bill Tilton, Chairman