DOCSLIB.ORG

September-October 2007 Best Backwater Eco-Tours

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
September-October 2007 Best Backwater Eco-Tours Exploring the Mississippi from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities September-October 2007 Best Backwater Eco-Tours Restaurant Reviews Walk to a Magical Bluff www.big-river.com AT C LLIIA BELLE BBO CRU UU E S AAM UI JJ W EE SSE E A TT S OO TH A S N IN A Real Steam-Powered Paddlewheel! The Julia Belle Swain Steamboat, all decked out in red, white and blue bunting, provides a sentimental journey on a real steamboat cruising the Mighty Missis- sippi. The picturesque Julia Belle offers back-to-yesteryear public tours, private charters, and special theme cruises on the portion of the Mississippi that Mark Twain called the prettiest. Escape from the hurried world and go back to a more genteel time.The sound of the calliope and the whistle blowing brings back a voice of America’s past. The dining salon and mahogany bar provide meal and beverage service in the gracious manner of a bygone era. Come aboard for a local cruise with great food or just a short refreshing sight- seeing trip. Day trips depart from La Crosse, Wis. to Winona, Minn.; Wabasha, Minn.; Lansing, Iowa; or Prairie du Chien, Wis. Don’t wait to explore the many possibilities on the beautiful Mississippi! Reservations are required. Call 800-815-1005. For schedules online: www.juliabelle.com Day trips Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Cruises Weddings Company Outings Reunions, etc. Great River Steamboat Company, 227 Main Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 (608) 784-4882 Toll-free 1-800-815-1005 www.juliabelle.com September-October 2007 / BIG RIVER MAGAZINE 1 C OVERING THE U PPER M ISSISSIPPI SIN C E 1 9 9 3 September-October 2007 TM FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 22 Remembering Prairie du Chien’s 5 From the Riverbank Fourth Ward Thank you to two good friends. A man remembers his childhood on St. Feriole By Reggie McLeod Island, in a neighborhood that no longer exists. By Jeff Lessard 7 River News Bridge collapses, casinos move, pelicans nest. 24 Turkey Vultures Like eagles and hawks, these soaring birds ride 21 Know Your River thermals over the river bluffs. Barge and recreational boat traffic is down. By Pamela Eyden By Reggie McLeod 28 Backwater Tours 60 Big River Places: Maiden Rock Small eco-tours can get you out to places you Walk out for an extraordinary view, but watch for can’t see from overlooks or bigger boats. snakes, drop-offs and poison ivy. By Pamela Eyden and Trudy Balcom By Reggie McLeod Treasures Along the River — 34 Fountain City Houses If you look around, you’ll find several intrigu- City Page Ads ing historic houses that reflect river history. 45 By Kate Halverson Discover the delights of Upper Mississippi communities. Grilling Up Good Times at the 39 Advertiser Index Trempealeau Hotel 58 Where did I see that ad…? A favorite river restaurant has upscaled its menu. By Pamela Eyden 41 Bogus Creek Cafe You can dine alfresco on a tree-shaded patio in this Stockholm, Wis., restaurant. On the cover: Voyaging up Big Slough By Molly McGuire near Lansing, Iowa. (Eric Dykman) 42 Picnic in the Park in Guttenberg Pick up a lunch, kick back and head to Gutten- berg, Iowa’s, mile-long riverside park. By Becky Sisco Wild Rose Timberworks Wild Rose Timberworks Traditional timber construction Traditional timber construction for homes, barns, and shelters. for homes, barns, and shelters. Wild Rose Timberworks Wild Rose Timberworks Located in Decorah, Iowa Located in Decorah, Iowa (563) 382-8500 or (563) 382-6245 (563) 382-8500 or (563) 382-6245 www.wildrosetimberworks.com www.wildrosetimberworks.com Wild Rose Timberworks Wild Rose Timberworks • 40' - 50' Slip Rental Visit The NATIONAL EAGLE CENTER • Full Service Gas Dock • Marine/Gift Store Open Seven Days A Week • Mechanical Services 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Visit our new building and meet our eagles Harriet, Angel and Columbia Join us for our Grand Opening Celebration • Inside/Outside Winter September 29th Storage on Site • Protected Harbor bordered by Mississippi NATIONAL EAGLE CENTER Traditional& Sabula Lakes timber construction Traditional timber construction 50 Pembroke Street, Wabasha, MN 55981 • Rent our FLOATING COTTAGEfor homes, barns, and shelters. for homes, barns, and shelters. 651-565-4989 For more National Eagle Center information: ISLAND CITY HWildARBOR RoseSABULA ,Timberworks IOWA 563-687-2825 Wild Rose Timberworks www.nationaleaglecenter.org WWW.ISLANDCITYHARBORLocated in Decorah,.COM IowaM ILE 534.7 RBD Located in Decorah, Iowa (563) 382-8500 or (563) 382-6245 (563) 382-8500 or (563) 382-6245 www.wildrosetimberworks.com www.wildrosetimberworks.com 4 BIG RIVER MAGAZINE / September-October 2007 FROM THE RIVERBANK THANKING TWO GOOD FRIENDS OF BIG RIVER Reggie McLeod Editor/Publisher e always enjoy getting com- River office to help us out every week. ever I got together with Tom or Rick, I pliments on Big River Mag- And he promised to bring donuts! brought a few questions, and I always Wazine, but we seldom take Rick was diagnosed with pancre- left their company feeling a little the time to explain that many people atic cancer last fall. He was 62 when smarter and more confident about our whose names do not appear in the he died on June 16. work on Big River. I know I thanked magazine have gone out of their way We wrote about Tom Kelley in them for their help. I doubt that I to help those of us who do get the the “River People” feature in Janu- thanked them enough. F credit. Two people who have been ary 2006, where we told about some very generous by sharing their ideas of his work in the Twin Cities to pro- and encouragement with me over the tect the river and ensure that people years have died since the last maga- could enjoy it. What we didn’t say is Big River™ zine went to press. that Tom is the second cousin of an Back when Big River was just a old friend of mine, and that he gave Big River Magazine (ISSN 1070-8340) is pub- lished six times a year by Open River Press with newsletter Rick Colvin wrote me a my friend and me the last of many assistance from Riverwise, Inc., 70 1/2 E. Fourth note saying that he enjoyed the pub- boats he owned, The Turtle, a clunky St., PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987; (507) lication, and he offered to help in any old houseboat that you could attach 454-5949; fax: (507) 454-2133; email: [email protected]; way he could. He also mentioned that wheels to and tow, not that we ever website: www.big-river.com he was executive director of Mayo tried it. Part of the deal was that Reggie McLeod .........editor/publisher Medical Ventures, the spinoff of Tom could come down to Winona Molly McGuire ........managing editor Mayo Clinic that publishes the Mayo and use it whenever he wanted, but Pamela Eyden ..........news/photo editor Health Newsletter as well as other poor health prevented him from ever periodicals and books. doing that. Contributing editors It didn’t take me long to see the Before he gave us the boat, he took Marc Hequet .........Twin Cities opportunity there, and since I took us out on the river in St. Paul a couple Becky Sisco ............Dubuque, Iowa Rick up on his generous offer, I have of times and showed us around. He Maureen J. Cooney ..office/sales received a lot of good advice and and his companion, Kathy Stack, gave Kathy Delano ...........sales/design encouragement. I also learned about me a lot of insight into recent river Jenni McCool ...........bookkeeping/subscriptions some of Rick’s connections with the history and St. Paul politics. Tom Patricia McGuire .....bills & renewals assistant river: that after law school he became talked wistfully about some of his Subscriptions are $27 for one year, $49 for two an FBI agent based in New Orleans, favorite spots on the river — some of years or $4.95 per single issue. Send subscrip- tions, single-copy orders and change-of-address and the first guy he tried to arrest which are down here in my neighbor- requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN jumped into the Mississippi to escape. hood — probably wondering whether 55987. He told me that when he and his he would ever visit them again. He Second-class postage paid at Winona, MN. wife, Irene, spent weekends in Waba- and Kathy often went out of their way POSTMASTER: send change-of-address sha, Minn., she would wake up from to make us feel that Big River was requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN a sound sleep when a tow passed by, doing something important. 55987. so she could spot it and log it in her Tom, who was 81, died on July 19. Big River Magazine, Volume 15, Number 5, copyright September 2007. Reproduction in Little Tow-Watcher’s Guide. He told me I have never been very good at whole or in part without written permission of that after he retired at the beginning asking for advice, though I think I the publisher is prohibited. of this year, he would come to the Big have slowly gotten better at it. When- Contacts (800) 303-8201. For information about stories, columns and River News, contact Reggie McLeod, Pamela Eyden or Molly McGuire ([email protected]). For information about placing an ad in Big River or for information about selling Big River Magazine contact Kathy Delano or Maureen J. Cooney ([email protected]). We must receive ads by Sept.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER POOL 9 OVERVIEW Resource Description and General Response Considerations
    UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER POOL 9 OVERVIEW Resource Description and General Response Considerations The PoolBackground 9 Spill Response Plan CD was developed to address the long-standing concerns about spills of oil and hazardous substances onto National Wildlife Refuge System lands along the Upper Mississippi River. The Pool 9 Overview document provides information on project background, geographic description of Pool 9, response considerations, and planning tools included in the CD. Due to long-standing concerns about spills of oil and hazardous substances affecting National Wildlife Refuge properties and associated sensitive resources on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, US Coast Guard, US Army Corps of Engineers, other agencies, and private sector interests, with the assistance of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, have developed a set of planning and response tools for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge. The goal of this effort has been to foster communications, enhance spill contingency planning and preparedness, and to develop site-specific protection strategies that assist responders in prioritizing tactics and recommending strategies and locations to protect the Refuge and the public from releases of oil or other substances. This overview document provides a description of Pool 9 and its sensitive resources. It also provides general considerations for response. For more information, see the Site Specific Response Strategies Maps and the Pool 9 Incident Action Plan included on the Pool 9 Spill Response Plan CD. Location of Pool 9 Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) is the area between Lock and Dam 8 (river mile 679), at Genoa, Wisconsin, and Lock and Dam 9 (river mile 648), near Lynxville, Wisconsin.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction and Overview 7.5 MB Project.Pdf V17C Application Filing Requirements Part 2.00
    PSC REF#:150042 Public Service Commission of Wisconsin RECEIVED: 06/29/11, 8:42:52 AM June 29, 2011 Ms. Sandra J. Paske Secretary to the Commission Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 610 North Whitney Way, P.O. Box 7854 Madison, WI 53707-7854 Mr. David Siebert Director, Office of Energy Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 101. S. Webster St P.O. Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707-7921 Joint Application for Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Utility Permit Hampton – Rochester - La Crosse 345 kV Transmission Project PSCW Docket No. 5 CE 136 Dear Ms. Paske and Mr. Siebert: Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 196.49 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 112, Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin corporation (Xcel Energy), Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland), and WPPI Energy (WPPI) (collectively, the Applicants), submitted an application in the above referenced docket on June 29, 2011 via the Commission’s Electronic Regulatory Filing System for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, to construct a 345 kV line from Alma to a new transmission substation near Holmen. The Application contains the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Utility Permit Application as Appendix T. The Application incorporates all of the information provided during the completeness review in response to Commission staff requests. Attached is a list of files that were included in the electronic submittal. Under cover of this letter, we are separately delivering 25 copies of the Application to the Commission office and 2 copies to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources offices.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleozoic Lithostratigraphic Nomenclature for Minnesota
    MINNESOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PRISCILLA C. GREW, Director PALEOZOIC LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC NOMENCLATURE FOR MINNESOTA John H. Mossier Report of Investigations 36 ISSN 0076-9177 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Saint Paul - 1987 PALEOZOIC LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC NOMENCLATURE FOR MINNESOTA CONTENTS Abstract. Structural and sedimentological framework • Cambrian System • 2 Mt. Simon Sandstone. 2 Eau Claire Formation • 6 Galesville Sandstone • 8 Ironton Sandstone. 9 Franconia Formation. 9 St. Lawrence Formation. 11 Jordan Standstone. 12 Ordovician System. 13 Prairie du Chien Group. 14 Oneota Dolomite. 14 Shakopee Formation. 15 St. Peter Sandstone. 17 Glenwood Formation. 17 Platteville Formation. 18 Decorah Shale. 19 Galena Group • 22 Cummings ville Formation. 22 Prosser Limestone. 23 Stewartville Formation • 24 Dubuque Formation. 24 Maquoketa Formation. 25 Devonian System • 25 Spillville Formation • 26 Wapsipinicon Formation 26 Cedar Valley Formation • 26 Northwestern Minnesota. 28 Winnipeg Formation • 28 Red River Formation. 29 Acknowledgments • 30 References cited. 30 Appendix--Principal gamma logs used to construct the composite gamma log illustrated on Plate 1. 36 ILLUSTRATIONS Plate 1 • Paleozoic lithostratigraphic nomenclature for Minnesota • .in pocket Figure 1. Paleogeographic maps of southeastern Minnesota • 3 2. Map showing locations of outcrops, type sections, and cores, southeastern t1innesota • 4 3. Upper Cambrian stratigraphic nomenclature 7 iii Figure 4. Lower Ordovician stratigraphic nomenclature • • • • 14 5. Upper Ordovician stratigraphic nomenclature 20 6. Middle Devonian stratigraphic nomenclature. • • . • • 27 7. Map showing locations of cores and cuttings in northwestern Minnesota • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 29 TABLE Table 1. Representative cores in Upper Cambrian formations •••••• 5 The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national orgin, handicap, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Around V ISION: Our Safe, Connected System Is Economically and Environmentally Sustainable for All Modes of Transportation
    CHAPTER 6 GETTING AROUND V ISION: Our safe, connected system is economically and environmentally sustainable for all modes of transportation. February 25, 2019 97 RED WING 2040 COMMUNITY PLAN on identifying, planning for, and guiding future year To review the full Red Wing 2040 Transportation Plan Introduction transportation decisions and improvements. The visit the Online 2040 Document Library. People get around and through Red Wing in different planning process views transportation in terms of the ways, and the term “Getting Around” in the Red Wing movement of people and goods, not just vehicles. Community Engagement 2040 Community Plan encompasses all the ways While the process analyzes specific transportation A summary of input collected from the community is people get from one place to another: by foot, bike, modes, it stresses the interrelationships between included on the following two pages. car, truck, bus, boat, or wheelchair. In Red Wing, modes and facilitates the integration of the various we’ve made great steps to ensure in the future that transportation components into a system that all people are able to get where they are going safely efficiently and cost-effectively meets the mobility and efficiently. needs of the area’s citizens, businesses, industries and Over the last few years, major projects like our the traveling public. Highway 61-Main Street renovation, Levee Road The three primary objectives of the 2040 and Trail project, West Avenue reconstruction, and Transportation Plan are: Twin Bluff Road roundabout have added safety and aesthetic beauty to our town, and we look forward to » To provide a guidance document for city staff continuing that tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER POOLS 5, 5A, and 6 OVERVIEW Resource Description and General Response Considerations
    UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER POOLS 5, 5a, and 6 OVERVIEW Resource Description and General Response Considerations The Pools 5, 5a, and 6 Geographic Response Plan CD is developed to address the long-standing concerns about spills of oil and hazardous substances onto National Wildlife Refuge System lands along Upper Mississippi River. The Pools 5, 5a, and 6 Overview document provides information on project background, geographic description of Pools 5, 5a, and 6, response considerations and planning tools included in the CD. Background Due to long-standing concerns about spills of oil and hazardous substances affecting National Wildlife Refuge properties and associated sensitive resources on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota PCA, Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, US Coast Guard, US Army Corps of Engineers, other agencies, and private sector interests, with the assistance of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, have developed a set of planning and response tools for UMR Pools 5, 5a, and 6. The goal of this effort has been to foster communications, enhance spill contingency planning and preparedness, and to develop site-specific protection strategies that assist responders in prioritizing tactics and recommending strategies and locations to protect the Refuge and the public from releases of oil or other substances. This overview document provides a description of Pools 5, 5a, and 6 and its sensitive resources. It also provides general considerations for response. For more information, see the Site Specific Response Strategies Maps (link) and the Pools 5, 5a, and 6 Incident Action Plan (link) included on the Pools 5, 5a, and 6 Geographic Response Plan CD.
    [Show full text]
  • Biological Opinion Route 161 Reconstruction and Widening Project Cross Lake, T17 R4, Aroostook County, Maine U.S
    BIOLOGICAL OPINION ROUTE 161 RECONSTRUCTION AND WIDENING PROJECT CROSS LAKE, T17 R4, AROOSTOOK COUNTY, MAINE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE MAINE FIELD OFFICE OLD TOWN, MAINE Written by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Maine Ecological Services Field Office March 13, 2007 3 Table of Contents Introduction and Consultation History.....................................................................1 Concurrence..............................................................................................................1 BIOLOGICAL OPINION.........................................................................................2 1. Description of the Proposed Action.......................................................................3 2. Status of the Canada lynx......................................................................................3 2.1. Canada lynx........................................................................................................3 2.1.1. Species Description..........................................................................................3 2.1.2. Life History.......................................................................................................4 1. Threats……………………………………………………………………4 2.1.3. Status and Distribution.....................................................................................7 1. Status in Maine………………………………………………………… 7 2. Habitat requirements…………………………………………………… 9 3. Mortality…………………………………………………………………12 4. Status of the bald eagle…………………………………………………..14 4.
    [Show full text]
  • City of Winona Riverfront Revitalization Plan August 2007
    PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY City of Winona Riverfront Revitalization Plan August 2007 Acknowledgements City Council Riverfront Subcommittee Mayor Jerry Miller Mike Cichanowski st Allyn Thurley (1 Ward) Dave Derks nd Gerry Krage (2 Ward) John Finn rd Deb Salyards (3 Ward) Deb Leaf th George Borzyskowski (4 Ward) Leone Mauszycki Thomas G. (Tim) Breza (At-Large) Stacey Mounce-Arnold Debbie White (At-Large) Steve Nagel Cherie Robinson Planning Commission Glen Schumann Dale Boettcher Jeff Van Fossen Steve Briggs Jerry Van Hoof Pamela Eyden Tony Wasinger Games Gromek Richard Jarvinen LaVerne Olson Craig Porter Arlene Prosen Brian Russell Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Chris Baudhuin Tim Breza (City Council) Steve Briggs Sean Burke Mike Cichanowski Larry Laber Bernadette Mahfood Mary Malloy Gabriel Manrique Adopted by City Council: August 6, 2007 Cindy Marek Stacey Mounce-Arnold Rachelle Schultz Consultants Jeff Van Fossen URS Corporation Alta Planning and Design Contents 1. Introduction Historical Precedent................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 A Complementary Vision Emerges......................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Comprehensive Plan and the Riverfront Revitalization Plan ...................................................................................................... 2 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Federal Register Volume 32 Number 95
    FEDERAL REGISTER VOLUME 32 NUMBER 95 Wednesday, May 17,1967 • Washington, D.C. Pages 7327-7380 (Part II begins on page 7371) Agencies in this issue— Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Civil Aeronautics Board Commerce Department Consumer and Marketing Service Customs Bureau Federal Aviation Administration Federal Communications Commission Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Federal Maritime Commission Federal Power Commission Fish and Wildlife Service Food and Drug Administration Internal Revenue Service Interstate Commerce Commission Land Management Bureau National Bureau of Standards National Park Service Securities and Exchange Commission Social Security Administration Tariff Commission Detailed list of Contents appears inside. No. &5—Pt. I----- 1 Subscriptions Now Being Accepted SLIP LAWS 90th Congress, 1st Session 1967 Separate prints of Public Laws, published immediately after enactment, with marginal annotations and legislative history references. Subscription Price: $12.00 per Session Published by Office of the Federal Resister, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration Order from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 E E D E D 1 1 WSW D E P IC T E D Published daily, Tuesday through Saturday (no publication on Sundays, Mondays, or i T J i r | | / l l I E l f on day after an official Federal holiday), by the Office of the Federal Register, N ational * - Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration (mail address N ational Area Code 202 O/WITtO ^ Phone 962-8626 Archives Building, Washington, D.C. 20408), pursuant to the authority contained in the Federal Register Act, approved July 26, 1935 (49 Stat. 500, as amended; 44 U.S.C., Ch.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix F – Detailed Alternative Descriptions from Final (June 2011) Wisconsin CPCN Application
    Appendix F – Detailed Alternative Descriptions From Final (June 2011) Wisconsin CPCN Application 2.1 Engineering Information Information Requirements for Electric Transmission Lines and Substations This Technical Support Document (TSD) follows the format and guidance contained in the Application Filing Requirements for Transmission Line Projects in Wisconsin (Part 2.00), Version 17C (Application Filing Requirements [AFR], issued by the PSCW, WDNR and DATCP (November 2009). 2.1. Engineering Information 2.1.1. Type and Location of Line Construction Required The Applicants propose to construct a new 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line between Hampton, Minnesota; Rochester, Minnesota: and La Crosse, Wisconsin and two new 161 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines in the Rochester area. The new facilities are needed to meet local community load serving needs in the La Crosse, Wisconsin; Winona, Minnesota; and Rochester, Minnesota areas, to maintain the reliability of the regional electrical system and to support generation outlet. More specifically, the areas in Wisconsin benefiting from the project are Buffalo, Trempealeau and La Crosse Counties, including the communities of Alma, Buffalo City, Fountain City, Arcadia, Galesville, Trempealeau, Holmen, Onalaska, La Crosse and the surrounding rural areas. In this Application the Applicants seek approval from PSCW and WDNR to construct the 345 kV line and associated facilities that would be located in Wisconsin termed the La Crosse Project or Project. The 345 kV line is proposed from the Mississippi
    [Show full text]
  • Executive Summary
    ST. CROIX RIVER CROSSING PROJECT SUPPLEMENTAL FINAL EIS ABSTRACT The Problem The Stillwater Lift Bridge is a critical crossing over the St. Croix River between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Built in 1931, the Lift Bridge is an historic transportation structure, important for its innovative engineering, but also as a symbol of Stillwater and the St. Croix valley. The bridge’s unique function as a Lift Bridge, with frequent raising to allow boats to travel the St. Croix River, is also a source of traffic congestion in Stillwater and Houlton, Wisconsin, as traffic backs up to wait for the bridge to lower and resume vehicular traffic. But traffic congestion is not only attributable to the Lift Bridge. The constrained street network in downtown Stillwater, and topographic constraints on the Wisconsin bluff, also contribute to traffic congestion and severely limit any opportunities to improve approach roadways to the Lift Bridge. Traffic on the Lift Bridge has continued to grow, with increased tourism in the St. Croix Valley, and a growing population on both sides of the river. After 70 years of service, the Lift Bridge has aged and has structural, operational, and maintenance issues. The limitations of a two-lane historic bridge, the demands of raising and lowering the bridge, and ongoing maintenance and operations have raised concerns about safety on the bridge as well as on the approach roadways, which are also at capacity and have no room for expansion or improvement within the current constraints. Over the last three years, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) , in cooperation with a Stakeholder Group, have studied four “build” alternatives and a “no-build” alternative to find a safe and efficient river crossing over the St.
    [Show full text]
  • Sp Ir It Am E R Ic
    Cover 1/19/11 12:59 PM Page 1 SPIRIT SPIRIT of AMERICA On Spirit of La Crosse: On Spirit of America: History buffs will like these SPIRIT This is the America that glimpses into the past. Spirit of speaks in many voices: La Crosse is made up of short colloquial and profes- chapters written by the of sional, religious and secu- Writing for Publication and lar, fictional and reminis- Photography classes at cent, verse and prose, all Western Wisconsin Technical of them heartfelt, direct. It of College. Its sixty-five of is the America that counts chapters offer what the writers its blessings and shoulders AMERICA call “a grassroots history” [of] AMERICA its burdens, struggling and everything from the city’s dying in far places, stretch- romance with lumber to the ing out a hand at home to court system, nineteenth- needy neighbours or century farming to banking eccentric visitors. It is the institutions. America that its countless —MARY ANN GROSSMANN friends abroad remember BOOK CRITIC and love. ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS — JOHN H. WHALE, AUTHOR OF THE HALF-SHUT EYE AND PUT IT IN WRITING FORMER TEACHER AND From religion to bordellos, it JOURNALIST (FORMER CORRE- is a fascinating book for any- SPONDENT OF THE LONDON one who wants a concise look SUNDAY TIMES, HEAD OF BBC RELIGIOUS TV, EDITOR OF at this interesting town. THE CHURCH TIMES) Important, too, is the fact that it is edited ...and written by The images in Spirit of all local people ...your ‰ America communicate on friends and neighbors. ‰ —BETTY HYDE, REVIEWER two significant levels.
    [Show full text]
  • Bridge Scour Monitoring Methods at Three Sites in Wisconsin
    In cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Marathon County and Jefferson County Highway Departments Bridge Scour Monitoring Methods at Three Sites in Wisconsin Open-File Report 2005–1374 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Bridge Scour Monitoring Methods at Three Sites in Wisconsin By John F. Walker and Peter E. Hughes In cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Marathon County and Jefferson County Highway Departments Open-File Report 2005–1374 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2005 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS--the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. iii Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]