Twin Cities locks and dams

Over the coming years, Twin Citians will face a momentous decision: Should we remove dams on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and St. Paul?

FMR staff and River Guardians are actively engaged in this issue and others surrounding the locks and dams in the metro area. Updates are below.

The case for and against lock and dam removal

September 20, 2022

Removing two metro locks and dams would reconnect 39 miles of river through the Mississippi's only gorge, which is in the heart of the Twin Cities. But is dam removal the best scenario for our metro river? Here's what we need to consider. Read more

Meet our Twin Cities locks and dams

September 14, 2022

See a map of our three Twin Cities locks and dams, a timeline of when and why they were built, and find out why we may not need them anymore. Read more

What we heard on this summer's lock and dam tours

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

August 8, 2022

This summer, FMR and our partners talked with over 600 community members about the future of our Twin Cities locks and dams. We led more than than 20 focus-group tours that brought many people to the river in new ways. Here's what we heard. Read more

Join us for lock and dam focus group tours

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

May 1, 2022

Learn more about the big study that will consider the future of two locks and dams in the heart of the Twin Cities. Read more

A photo showing the river almost emptied to the river bottom as part of a draw down by the Army Corps.

An update on the future of St. Anthony Falls

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

February 4, 2022

There's a lot happening around St. Anthony Falls. Here's the latest on the Army Corps' disposition study, upcoming events about the future of the lock area, and that mysterious underwater wall. >>

Saving St. Anthony Falls (partner event)

January 14, 2022

Dam removal brings "river giants" back to Minnesota waterways

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

December 6, 2021

A recent Star Tribune article celebrated the return of paddlefish, sturgeon and other river species as a result of dam removal projects across the state. Could this kind of restoration be possible for the metro Mississippi? >>