More Money for the Mississippi Whitewater Park.  With some help from our friends Martin Sabo and Jim Oberstar, the feds are finally beginning to notice our proposal to restore rapids at Lower St. Anthony Falls.  In October, $400,000 was appropriated to the Army Corps of Engineers to advance the study and planning for the park.  We hope that will be enough to get a good start on actual park blueprints, soil borings, etc.  There was also approval of a $10 million (!) "Authorization" for construction of the park.  Yes, $10 million, over half of what the park is projected to cost to build.  Now, be aware that an Authorization is not the same as an actual Appropriation (i.e. that's when the money can actually be spent).  But authorization is normally a necessary predicate to an Appropriation, which typically comes a year or two later.  This federal appropriation would require a 35 percent match from the state.  With that much money, plus several million from NSP (now your good friend Xcel Energy), it looks like the park could actually be built in a few years. It may be built by the Army Corps of Engineers, which does usually end up costing more than your average contractor; but the COE builds things to stay.  In fact, the folks at the Army Corps have been just wonderful. They have embraced the Mississippi Whitewater Park idea and are genuinely helpful and excited about the idea of "Bring Back St. Anthony Falls," even if only in part.

As to NSP/Xcel Energy, the company continues to want to walk away from its abandoned industrial site at the Lower St. Anthony Falls without paying anything to put back what it took away and exploited for almost 100 years, at the same time that they are seeking a license to generate hydropower at the Upper Falls for another 30-50 years (which is virtually a license to print money).  This is the same company which paid $80 million for naming rights to the new civic center/hockey arena  in St Paul and $30 million for naming rights to the addition to the Minneapolis Convention Center!  Eight to ten community and national groups are about to Intervene in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing proceeding, asking that FERC force NSP/Xcel to pony up several million to help restore rapids at the lower falls.  We've offered to let them off the hook more cheaply if they would just cooperate; but you can usually count on these companies to do the wrong thing in such a situation. 

PLEASE, write Sabo, Oberstar, Ramsted (he' s already said he likes the idea), Kennedy, McCollum, Gutknceht, Wellstone & Dayton (who'd I forget?) and all the rest of Minnesota's delegation, telling them that they were SOOOO smart to vote for such an important project of STATEWIDE significance (St. Anthony Falls is the only geological feature of any significance on the entire Mississippi River). Write your local legislators too.  And Jesse.

Speaking of Jesse, another group which has been very enthusiastic has been the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.  Write Deputy Commissioner Steve Morse and Commissioner Al Garber to tell them how important it is that they continue to advance the restoration of rapids at Lower St. Anthony Falls.  Tell them it should be a State Park.  Which reminds me, the Parks & Trails Council has also been great, as has the Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Friends of the Mississippi, MCA, ACA, AWA, etc, etc........

Lots more stuff happening.  Just not enough time to write it all down. Call the office if you can contribute,  651-224-7687  (don't call if you just have more ideas about what someone else can do; we have plenty to do ourselves; but could sure use some help, like just organizing some files...). 

Keep talking up the idea.  It WILL happen.

(Bill Tilton)