(blogmaster's note - this story published in the Bismark Tribune is referring to planning meetings regarded anticipated increases in dam releases due to a revised forecast of mountain runoff by the Corps of Engineers)
Originally published on May 12, 2011 in the Bismark Tribune
Click here for original link
By Brian Gehring
A meeting with seven national, state and local agencies Thursday to discuss high flows on the Missouri River and future projections for the river was structured in way that it was closed to the public.
A Bismarck Tribune reporter and photographer as well as a representative from Sen. Kent Conrad's office were denied access to the meeting that took place at the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services office at Fraine Barracks.
Greg Wilz, director of the division of homeland security for the department of emergency services, told the Tribune the meeting was for planning purposes only and not an "emergency meeting."
Friday, May 13, 2011
Lament of a River Town
(blogmaster's note: This great piece from the Yankton Press-Dakotan imagines what Yankton would be like in a year like this if there was no dam just upstream. We can all imagine what the Mississippi River flood might be like if there were no dams as well.)
Originally published on May 13, 2011 in the Yankton Press-Dakotan
Click here for original link
By Kelly Hertz
At least the kids were having a good time.
That’s what the man thought as he watched his young daughter and her friends, who had walked with him down to the river and now decided to stomp merrily through the mire covering Yankton’s Riverside Park on this gray spring day. The river had receded enough to let the kids play on the old vacant grounds. He kept close watch to be sure the youngsters never, ever got close to the rim of the water, which was still lapping across part of the park. He knew if they got into the clutches of that dark, swirling river, there was no telling what might happen.
He was sitting on a small hill of filled, dirty sandbags. They had been placed around Levee Street near Douglas earlier in the spring when the Missouri River waters were rising fast. The bags held, mostly. Fortunately, the river didn’t jam up with ice downstream; if it had, the bags might not have done the job.
Originally published on May 13, 2011 in the Yankton Press-Dakotan
Click here for original link
By Kelly Hertz
At least the kids were having a good time.
That’s what the man thought as he watched his young daughter and her friends, who had walked with him down to the river and now decided to stomp merrily through the mire covering Yankton’s Riverside Park on this gray spring day. The river had receded enough to let the kids play on the old vacant grounds. He kept close watch to be sure the youngsters never, ever got close to the rim of the water, which was still lapping across part of the park. He knew if they got into the clutches of that dark, swirling river, there was no telling what might happen.
He was sitting on a small hill of filled, dirty sandbags. They had been placed around Levee Street near Douglas earlier in the spring when the Missouri River waters were rising fast. The bags held, mostly. Fortunately, the river didn’t jam up with ice downstream; if it had, the bags might not have done the job.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
High River Levels Not Helping Local Boating Businesses
Originally published on May 10, 2011 in the Sioux City Journal
The high water level on the Missouri River is causing problems for some local businesses.
With all of this beautiful weather its finally boating season but on the contrary it's also flooding season where all the rivers in our area are above average which isn't savvy for some boating businesses.
Boating season is finally here for most of us. But for the Missouri River Boat Club the docks are still ashore and the boats are dry.
With all of this beautiful weather its finally boating season but on the contrary it's also flooding season where all the rivers in our area are above average which isn't savvy for some boating businesses.
Boating season is finally here for most of us. But for the Missouri River Boat Club the docks are still ashore and the boats are dry.
2011 Siouxland Clean-up News Articles and Video
(blogmaster's note: Following are news articles and video clips about our May 7, 2011 Missouri River Clean-up in the tri-state Siouxland area. For more info on this clean-up event, visit: http://www.riverrelief.org/event/siouxland-missouri-river-clean-up-2011/
River clean-up yields kilo of cocaine, police believe
Originally published on May 8, 2011, in the Sioux City Journal
Click here for original link.
by Michelle Linck
SOUTH SIOUX CITY - A block of white powder that appears to be cocaine or another illicit drug was no doubt the most unusual item found Saturday by volunteers pulling junk out of the Missouri River and off of its banks.
Sally Reinert, local coordinator of the annual Missouri River Clean-Up, said the South Sioux City police told her they believe the white "brick" discovered near the old Floyd River channel, is cocaine.
Sgt. Chris Chernock said a couple hours later that officers took the brick to the department's evidence room where they field-tested it for heroine, cocaine, methamphetamine - anything they could - but it didn't test positive for any of them. He said it could have been out in the weather too long for field testing, which isn't very sophisticated.
"We definitely believe it's some kind of illicit substance," Chernock said. "It's 2.9 pounds, and is wrapped repeatedly in layers of silver duct tape."
Chernock said a kilo, the usual way large quantities of illegal drugs are packaged, is 2.2 pounds and is typically wrapped in a clear membrane, as this brick was. The difference could be the weight of the duct tape, he said.
Chernock said South Sioux City police were called because the event was staged on that side of the river, but the brick was found near the old Floyd River channel in Sioux City. Sioux City police directed South Sioux to keep custody and continue their investigation. Police could only speculate that it may have been jettisoned from a vehicle going over the channel, fleeing police.
That "junk" was found at about 2:30 p.m. Unfortunately for the volunteer who found it, the "Most Unusual Find" contest had already closed, Reinert joked.
The winning "Most Unusual Find" was not something found every year, either. Reinert said a young man had found the full skeletal remains of a dog, complete with collar and tags.
"I'm going to call the owners," she said, "as soon as I can figure out what to say."
Reinert said about 85 volunteers showed up for the annual river clean-up event. She figured they had pulled about five tons of old tires and other junk from the river. "That's more than they got in Omaha," she said of that area's recent river clean-up.
Reinert said the amount of garbage pulled from the river is indicative of the number of volunteers.
State Steel will take all the metal and the rest of the items will go to L.P. Gill Landfill in Jackson, Neb., including the dozens of tires, which will be shredded and recycled.
Mighty Mo Gets a Spring Cleaning
Originally run on KTIV Channel 4 Sioux City, IA on May 7, 2011
Click here for original link.
-----------------------------
Siouxland Missouri River Cleanup
Originally run on KMEG Channel 14 - Sioux City, IA
Click here for original link
River clean-up yields kilo of cocaine, police believe
Originally published on May 8, 2011, in the Sioux City Journal
Click here for original link.
by Michelle Linck
SOUTH SIOUX CITY - A block of white powder that appears to be cocaine or another illicit drug was no doubt the most unusual item found Saturday by volunteers pulling junk out of the Missouri River and off of its banks.
Sally Reinert, local coordinator of the annual Missouri River Clean-Up, said the South Sioux City police told her they believe the white "brick" discovered near the old Floyd River channel, is cocaine.
Sgt. Chris Chernock said a couple hours later that officers took the brick to the department's evidence room where they field-tested it for heroine, cocaine, methamphetamine - anything they could - but it didn't test positive for any of them. He said it could have been out in the weather too long for field testing, which isn't very sophisticated.
"We definitely believe it's some kind of illicit substance," Chernock said. "It's 2.9 pounds, and is wrapped repeatedly in layers of silver duct tape."
Chernock said a kilo, the usual way large quantities of illegal drugs are packaged, is 2.2 pounds and is typically wrapped in a clear membrane, as this brick was. The difference could be the weight of the duct tape, he said.
Chernock said South Sioux City police were called because the event was staged on that side of the river, but the brick was found near the old Floyd River channel in Sioux City. Sioux City police directed South Sioux to keep custody and continue their investigation. Police could only speculate that it may have been jettisoned from a vehicle going over the channel, fleeing police.
That "junk" was found at about 2:30 p.m. Unfortunately for the volunteer who found it, the "Most Unusual Find" contest had already closed, Reinert joked.
The winning "Most Unusual Find" was not something found every year, either. Reinert said a young man had found the full skeletal remains of a dog, complete with collar and tags.
"I'm going to call the owners," she said, "as soon as I can figure out what to say."
Reinert said about 85 volunteers showed up for the annual river clean-up event. She figured they had pulled about five tons of old tires and other junk from the river. "That's more than they got in Omaha," she said of that area's recent river clean-up.
Reinert said the amount of garbage pulled from the river is indicative of the number of volunteers.
State Steel will take all the metal and the rest of the items will go to L.P. Gill Landfill in Jackson, Neb., including the dozens of tires, which will be shredded and recycled.
Mighty Mo Gets a Spring Cleaning
Originally run on KTIV Channel 4 Sioux City, IA on May 7, 2011
Click here for original link.
-----------------------------
Siouxland Missouri River Cleanup
Originally run on KMEG Channel 14 - Sioux City, IA
Click here for original link
‘Sensational’ runoff
Hydrologist: Runoff should be record-setting
Originally published on May 10, 2011 in the Minot Daily News
Click here for original link.
by Kim Fundingsland
(blogmaster's note: for a more downstream perspective, check out this link from the Omaha World-Herald: http://www.omaha.com/article/20110507/NEWS01/705079838/-1)
Originally published on May 10, 2011 in the Minot Daily News
Click here for original link.
by Kim Fundingsland
(blogmaster's note: for a more downstream perspective, check out this link from the Omaha World-Herald: http://www.omaha.com/article/20110507/NEWS01/705079838/-1)
RIVERDALE - The numbers are nothing short of staggering. In a spring where there seems to be too much water in virtually every drainage system, why should the largest reservoir in the Missouri River system be left out? The answer is, it won't be.
The volume of water expected to enter the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers and, eventually Lake Sakakawea, will almost certainly flow right through the record books. Even with a record amount of snowfall still sitting in the mountains of Montana, and Lake Sakakawea sitting several feet higher than it was a year ago, another major storm is poised to impact Montana and further influence a massive runoff.
The volume of water expected to enter the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers and, eventually Lake Sakakawea, will almost certainly flow right through the record books. Even with a record amount of snowfall still sitting in the mountains of Montana, and Lake Sakakawea sitting several feet higher than it was a year ago, another major storm is poised to impact Montana and further influence a massive runoff.
Friday, May 6, 2011
City panel considers Katy Bridge liability, agreement
Originally published in Boonville Daily News on May 3, 2011
Click here for original link.
by Sananda Sahoo
Boonville, MO - City Council members and a panel of legal and insurance experts discussed potential liabilities for the city if it acquired the Katy Bridge, in a work session Monday night.
Increase in barge traffic on the Missouri River since last year, and a navigable waterway meant the city needed to look closely at legal aspects of operating a park on the bridge.
The council members and the experts discussed legal, contractual and criminal liabilities, as well as ways to minimize the risks. They also deliberated on earthquake insurance and on a councilman's recommendation to have a second attorney besides city counselor Megan McGuire look into the liabilities of the bridge.
Click here for original link.
by Sananda Sahoo
Boonville, MO - City Council members and a panel of legal and insurance experts discussed potential liabilities for the city if it acquired the Katy Bridge, in a work session Monday night.
Increase in barge traffic on the Missouri River since last year, and a navigable waterway meant the city needed to look closely at legal aspects of operating a park on the bridge.
The council members and the experts discussed legal, contractual and criminal liabilities, as well as ways to minimize the risks. They also deliberated on earthquake insurance and on a councilman's recommendation to have a second attorney besides city counselor Megan McGuire look into the liabilities of the bridge.
High Missouri Dam Releases Could Hurt Fisheries
Originally published in the Dickinson Press on May 6, 2011
Click here for original link
by Associated Press
Fishery managers in North Dakota and South Dakota are nervous about anticipated high water releases from upstream dams on the Missouri River this summer.
The Army Corps of Engineers has said this could be a year of record runoff into the river system that stretches from the mountains in Montana to Missouri, where it empties into the Mississippi River. The Fort Peck, Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe upper basin reservoirs are all but full, and dam releases this summer are expected to be higher than they have been in 14 years, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Fisheries officials in the Dakotas are worried about the effect on rainbow smelt, a main food for game fish such as walleye, when summer releases hit the projected range of 49,000-54,000 cubic feet per second.
Click here for original link
by Associated Press
Fishery managers in North Dakota and South Dakota are nervous about anticipated high water releases from upstream dams on the Missouri River this summer.
The Army Corps of Engineers has said this could be a year of record runoff into the river system that stretches from the mountains in Montana to Missouri, where it empties into the Mississippi River. The Fort Peck, Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe upper basin reservoirs are all but full, and dam releases this summer are expected to be higher than they have been in 14 years, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Fisheries officials in the Dakotas are worried about the effect on rainbow smelt, a main food for game fish such as walleye, when summer releases hit the projected range of 49,000-54,000 cubic feet per second.
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