Friends of the Mississippi River

Saturday, August 9, 2008 — 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Wildflowers, green roofs, and hope for the future. If these things sound good to you, join Friends of the Mississippi River and the Metropolitan Council for a tour of both the Empire Wastewater Treatment Plant and the neighboring restored wet meadow. Read more…

Thursday, August 14, 2007 — 6:00-8:00 pm

Discover the beautiful native grasses and wildflowers of the largest intact prairie system in the Twin Cities. Explore wind-sculpted dunes overlooking the river and look for rare prairie plants with experienced guides. This is one of our most popular tours! Read more…

Thursday, September 11, 2008 — 6:30-8:00 pm

Carolyn Carr, an ecologist with Ecological Strategies, will lead an interpretive tour of the special Oak Savanna in the Mississippi River Gorge. Carolyn has years’ experience conducting educational and outreach programs to protect open space and restore natural areas, particularly in urban areas, and has been an integral part of the work in this section of the River Gorge. Read more…

Saturday, September 20, 2008 — 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Volunteer in your community to help clean up the parkland along the Vermillion River as part of an organized watershed-wide Vermillion River clean up at three sites throughout the watershed. Volunteers are needed to help pick up litter along the Vermillion River during the low water levels of autumn, helping to beautify this trophy trout stream. Read more…

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 — 6:00-8:00 pm

Help weed and care for native lakeshore and prairie plantings in this Hastings city park. Read more…

This exciting resource can help you plan a memorable green tourism experience. Check it out! Read more…

A local volunteer impatient with the use of the Mississippi River as a dumping ground has an ingenious new way to facilitate cleanup of ugly trash and debris. Read more…

Local businesses are giving generously to back the successful volunteer work of the Gorge Stewards. Read more…

The 14 June 2008 Star Tribune featured an editorial on the Twin Cities’ own national park — The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area — which for all of its charms has managed to escape the notice of many locals. Read more…

A 92-year-old landmark linking blufftop and riverside was damaged this spring and has been dismantled, but a replacement is in the works. Read more…

This training for registered SHEP volunteers will prepare you for the monitoring field season. Read more…

Near-record corn planting, brought on partly by the ethanol industry’s appetite for the crop, is being linked with expansion of a low-oxygen zone dangerous to marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more…

This year, you can paddle it or pedal it — and either way, you’ll help protect the magnificent Mississippi River. Read more…

We’ll miss Claire O’Neill, an intern who worked with incredible efficiency and was undaunted by the most physical of river challenges.

  Read more…

If you love the Rice Creek watershed, here’s a way to get your feet wet while contributing to a better understanding of the creek’s health. Read more…

The proposed constitutional amendment on the state’s November ballot would deliver tangible benefits for the health of the Mississippi River. Read more…

FMR gives a warm hello to two bright young people contributing to river protection this summer. Read more…

A Saint Paul riverfront landmark for decades is coming down and Xcel Energy is considering new uses for the land that could have important community benefits. Read more…

After a forty year career in river conservation, Dan McGuiness is stepping down from his postion at the Audubon Society’s Upper Mississippi River Campaign, but he’s not through working on behalf of his great love — the Mississippi River. Read more…

Visit the new Gorge Stewards blog to learn about a prairie restoration project and the volunteers who made it possible. Read more…

With the Challenge coming up July 26 and 27, we’re still in need of volunteer energy for a couple of three-to-four-hour shifts. The reward is in part free admittance to festivities at Fort Snelling on the evening of July 26. Read more…

Watch out for little ones whose ground nest nurseries are sometimes difficult to spot. Read more…

A new FMR fund honors the steady commitment Roger Roffler made to the beauty and enjoyment of the Mississippi River. Read more…

An extra bit of generosity will mean big things for our budget, thanks to a McKnight Foundation challenge grant. Read more…

The Minnesota Environmental Fund is holding its 2nd Annual 10,000 Reasons Why photo contest. Read more…

The Minneapolis Park Board so far hasn’t satisfactorily explained how and why a large pile of dirt ended up in the Deer Pen area of Minnehaha Falls Park, burying a former waterfall and channel of the Mississippi River. Read more…

We thank an intern who's done enormous good advancing the 2008 Mississippi River Challenge. Read more…

Waste Management Inc. and government agencies are trying to reach agreement on what to do about 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated dirt from the Minneapolis ballpark site that the company improperly deposited beside the Minnesota River last summer. A fix could cost $1 million or more. Read more…

Thursday, July 17, 2008 — 6:00-8:30 p.m.

Enjoy a hands-on seed identification and collection training while enjoying a rare example of a sand gravel prairie. July 17, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Read more…

Four states are joining Minnesota in testing for toxic PFCs in the Mississippi River. The compounds’ presence in well water has caused widespread concern about drinking water quality and health implications in the Twin Cities metro. Read more…

FMR is looking for classrooms or community groups in Saint Paul to participate in our Storm Drain Stenciling Project. Complete kits are available free of charge from us, and a representative will meet with your group to explain the threat of non-point source pollution and the purpose of the project. Read more…