The 1901 Dodd Ford Bridge, a significant contributor to the development of Amboy, was slated for replacement by Blue Earth County. Federal funds were sought by the County for the project. This initiated section 106 and 4(f) reviews, which concluded that it would be prudent and feasible to renovate the bridge on site. However, more specific data is required about the historic bridge renovation program and costs. The grant money assisted in funding the hire of a consultant to examine costs and methods to restore and preserve the 1901 Dodd Ford Bridge.
To construct a portable stage that can be used for arts, cultural heritage, and Minnesota history programming at different fairground locations, and to commission a local artist to paint a mural depicting fair related activities.
To improve lighting in the the building that houses horticulture and FFA projects at the Dodge County Free Fair. Funds will also be used to construct a mobility ramp, allowing fairgoers with mobility restrictions to access exhibits showcasing local work.
Nitrogen is a serious problem in Minnesota's Mississippi River Basin and the Dodge Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will address this problem through saturated buffers. Nitrates have been linked to adverse health effects, and nitrogen is the leading cause of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Agriculture drainage through the use of tile drainage systems have been identified as the number one leading source of nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin.
The Cedar Cultural Center will 1) hire an expert on auditing overall fundraising strategies and systems; 2) work with staff to create an annual fundraising plan; 3) coach staff to build a culture of philanthropy; 4) coach the board on funding responsibilities; 5) create a job description for a Donor Relations Officer to implement recommendations; 6) carry out database migration.
This training will be for State employees who have purchased this new type of discharge measuring equipment. This training is needed to ensure that accurate and complete discharge measurements are made which is supplied to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Consulting firms, Local units of government, federal government and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) modelers.
Partners: Adath Jeshurun Foundation and the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. Adath Jeshurun Congregation is the oldest Jewish Conservative Congregation in Minnesota. This project will ensure that 127 years of archival material will be carefully preserved, cataloged and made available for exhibits, education and scholarly research so that Minnesota Jewish ways of life will be known today and for generations to come.
This project will provide timely surface water quality data from waters of concern to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
(MPCA). This data will be analyzed and compared to historic data from the same sampling locations. All locations are in the
Douglas County portion of the Long Prairie River Watershed. Sampling locations include nine lakes: Burgen (21-0049-00), Jessie
(21-0055-00), Blackwell (21-0151-00), Mill (21-0180-00), Crooked (Northwest) (21-0199-01), Crooked (East) (21-0199-02), Irene
To feature three days of dance programs highlighting dance styles from seven different historical periods. These demonstrations will be part of the 125th anniversary celebration of the Douglas County Fair. Dance programming will offer historical background of each dance in addition to demonstrations.
Three radio theatre scripts were produced using the synthesized oral histories of Douglas County's elder residents. The oral histories had been gathered earlier as part of the Minnesota Historical Society's oral history project to preserve the stories of Minnnesota's Greatest Generation. The topics for the scripts were: the Great Depression, World War II and the post-war economic Boom. Each script was vetted by knowledgeable content experts and the information presented is historically accurate.
This project will provide timely surface water quality data from waters of concern to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). This data will be analyzed and compared to historic data from the same sampling locations. All locations are in the Douglas County portion of the Chippewa River Watershed. Sampling locations include six lakes: Little Chippewa, Devils, Moon, Moses, South Oscar, and Stowe; and one stream site: County Ditch 60.
This project replaced bridge #4 on the Douglas State Trail. A grant from the Federal Recreation Trail Program contributed funding towards this project, and leveraged the Legacy funding.
The goal of this protect is to protect the water quality of the Mississippi River at Winona, MN through the installation of a downtown Winona parking lot rain garden.
The downtown Chanhassen stormwater best management practice (BMP) retrofit assessment project will reduce watershed phosphorus loads to Rice Marsh Lake and improve the water quality in downstream Lake Riley, impaired for excess nutrients. This project will identify innovative BMP retrofit opportunities that target soluble phosphorus and promote infiltration and groundwater recharge within this highly-developed area. The downtown Chanhassen BMP retrofit assessment project will be performed in partnership with the City of Chanhassen.
There are currently more than 21,000 miles of drainage ditches and many thousands of miles of subsurface tile located throughout Minnesota and overseen by over 100 different local drainage authorities. Historically public records of these drainage systems have been maintained primarily in hard copy following differing protocols depending on local requirements. However, this antiquated approach limits the usability and accessibility of public drainage records creating various challenges for drainage management efforts.
At the public drainage system scale, Faribault County will develop comprehensive Multipurpose Drainage Management Plans that focus on traditional and innovative conservation practices to reduce on-field and in-channel peak flow and erosion with enhanced water quality and wildlife habitat benefits. Planning will occur in conjunction with an established Redetermination of Benefits (ROB) schedule or as initiated through the petition process.
This project will identify and prioritize opportunities to implement a multipurpose drainage management plan that will provide adequate drainage capacity, reduce peak flows and flooding and reduce erosion and sediment loading, improving water quality to the West Branch Rum River.
Numerous County ditch systems in Pennington County end at a natural drainage prior to outleting into a river or other watercourse and these outlets can be in a very erosive state. The goal of this project is to inventory these systems to determine needs and prioritize projects for implementation.
Mine stockpiles are unproductive due to soil deficiencies of organic matter, nutrients, and soil organisms, which are essential to supporting healthy plant growth, diversity, and succession. Waste products, including biosolids, composts, and dredged materials, have the potential to be used to address some of these deficiencies and make the lands productive again.
The karst topography of southeast Minnesota increases the possibility of drinking water supplies becoming contaminated with high concentrations of nitrates. To address this risk in the region, there needs to be an increase in the use of nitrogen best management practices and agronomic rates of nitrogen need to be fine-tuned to balance production with environmental degradation. In addition, potential point sources of nutrient contamination in groundwater need to be addressed wherever possible. This project will have three components that will address these needs.
The Otter Tail River serves as the main drinking water supply for the city of Fergus Falls. The community recognizes it as a valuable resource which needs to be protected. The lower reach of the Otter Tail River is listed as being impaired for turbidity(muddiness).
The Drinking Water Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) program identifies environmental contaminants for which current health-based standards currently do not exist or need to be updated, investigate the potential for human exposure to these chemicals, and develop guidance values for drinking water. Contaminants evaluated by CEC staff include contaminants that have been released or detected in Minnesota waters (surface water and groundwater) or that have the potential to migrate to or be detected in Minnesota waters.
This project will provide cost-share funds to landowners in vulnerable groundwater areas for the incorporation of cover crops in their crop rotation and to provide education related to nitrogen BMPs through field trials and Nutrient Management Plans. An anticipated 100 producers in highly vulnerable areas, will plant 3,000 acres of cover crops resulting in preventing potentially 19,800 pounds of nitrate from leaching into groundwater.
