Celebrate World Nature Day
Conservation Benefit Variety Show for FMR! July 28

Latest News

South St. Paul stands strong to preserve open space

South St. Paul City Council

Cheers to the South St. Paul City Council! (Photo courtesy southstpaul.org.)

FMR would like to thank the South St. Paul City Council and celebrate their recent decision to preserve a city-owned 5-acre site as open space. The site is located near the Mississippi River and adjacent to the Mississippi River Trail scheduled to be constructed in 2017. The council rejected a push to change the largely tree-covered site into a paved industrial railroad storage area.

This is a big win that maintains the city’s commitment to a more public and green riverfront for future generations!

By Alicia Uzarek
October 2016

Crown Hydro is back, but can it stand up to a new and exciting civic proposal?

The newly proposed Falls Park and Visitor Center

A new proposal for the downtown Minneapolis riverfront, the Falls Park and Visitor Center (above) seems to be gathering momentum. However, a 20-plus-years-old effort to build a hydroelectric power plant in this area has re-emerged. Image courtesy of VJAA.

Amidst strong community opposition, Crown Hydro continues to pursue its proposal for a new hydroelectric plant near the Stone Arch Bridge. One group is fighting back with an alternative idea to use the now-closed St. Anthony Falls Lock as an interpretive center and meeting space.

By Irene Jones
October 2016

'State of the River Report' release a hit

State of the River Report 2016 media attention

FMR and our local unit of the National Park Service released the updated State of the River Report to acclaim in late September. Heralded for its approachable and engaging style, the report highlights the status and trends of 14 key indicators of river health. It was warmly received by the media, with quality coverage from local and some national news outlets.

Now, State of the River authors Trevor Russell and Lark Weller are hitting the road to present report findings to stakeholder groups across the state. And to help readers make use of the report, we’ve created three companion guides for residents, teachers and policymakers to take the most important actions to support a healthier Mississippi River. 

By Trevor Russell
October 2016

Seeds for stewardship: Volunteers collect native prairie seed at Heritage Park

Habitat restoration volunteers collecting native seed in the prairie.

A flourishing prairie. Dozens of volunteers. Fall colors. Heaps of seed collected for future restoration efforts. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped collect native seed — and to photographer Rich Wahls for capturing such a lovely morning working for the river!

By Adam Flett
October 2016

'An Evening Celebrating the Mississippi River' a record success!

Guests with FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark.

From left, Maya and Peter Tester, FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark, and Michelle Beeman. Photo by Anna Botz.

Thanks to more than 250 river lovers, we raised over $175,000 to protect, restore and enhance the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities at our biggest party of the year!

October 2016

A writhing mass of … Indiangrass seed?

When things move that shouldn’t it’s a cause for investigation. The self-seeding motions of a pile of volunteer-gathered Indiangrass seed caught this FMR ecologist by surprise.

By Karen Schik
October 2016

KARE 11: The State of the River in 90 seconds

September 2016

Senator Katie Sieben joins FMR Board of Directors

We are pleased to announce that Katie Sieben has joined the FMR Board of Directors. Katie grew up just steps from the Mississippi River in Newport and until recently served as a leading environmental legislator in both the Minnesota House and Senate. 

September 2016

Whose view? From where? — September 2016

Many of you correctly identified this month's view, which offered a lovely combination of newly restored wildlife and pollinator habitat and a great view of the urban skyline.

September 2016

Earthworms invade our forest floor

A field assistant prepares to collect a nightcrawler for analysis as part of an earthworm sampling project in Minnesota forests.

A field assistant prepares to collect a nightcrawler for analysis as part of an earthworm sampling project in Minnesota forests. Photo: Alex Roth

When people think about phenology, the study of natural phenomena and cycles, they usually look up. We tend to focus on events like bud break, bird migration, leaf fall, etc. But what about the changes going on beneath our feet? Looking down once in a while may help you familiarize yourself with the buzz of activity underfoot, including the effects of one particularly damaging invasive species: earthworms.

By Alex Roth
September 2016

Pages