Officials assisting residents with finding new housing
Blogmaster's Note - At Missouri River Relief's 2010 river clean-up in St. Joseph, we delivered a bunch of trash bags to the extremely nice folks living at St. Joseph's Tent City, right on the banks of the river by the old railroad bridge. They filled those bags with trash and asked for more. This is another bit of sad news.
Originally published by St. Joseph News-Press on March 26, 2011
Click here for original link
by Kim Norvell
Kenneth Paxton, who has lived on the river adjacent to Tent City for more than a year, was busy cleaning up some of the trash left in another encampment Friday afternoon. Mr. Paxton will soon be leaving his own tent as have all but two other Tent City residents. The Social Security Administration will pay for a motel room, Mr. Paxton says, until permanent housing can be found.
The official answer as to who owns the territory inhabited by homeless men and women remains unclear. However, the process of finding permanent housing for Tent City residents has been expedited, because the Union Pacific railroad believes the land belongs to them.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Concerns raised about Missouri River Reactors
Concern is in reactors’ design
Originally published on March 27, 2011 by Omaha World-Herald
Click here for original link
By Nancy Gaarder
Midlanders don’t have to look far to find the type of nuclear reactors that are in crisis in Japan.
Nebraska and Iowa each has one similar to the Japanese reactors that released significant radiation after being damaged by an earthquake and tsunami.
Are the Midlands’ reactors — Nebraska’s largest and Iowa’s only one — vulnerable to similar releases during an extraordinary crisis?
The two Midlands reactors that rely on the design in question are Cooper Nuclear Station and Duane Arnold Energy Center.
Originally published on March 27, 2011 by Omaha World-Herald
Click here for original link
By Nancy Gaarder
Midlanders don’t have to look far to find the type of nuclear reactors that are in crisis in Japan.
Nebraska and Iowa each has one similar to the Japanese reactors that released significant radiation after being damaged by an earthquake and tsunami.
Are the Midlands’ reactors — Nebraska’s largest and Iowa’s only one — vulnerable to similar releases during an extraordinary crisis?
The two Midlands reactors that rely on the design in question are Cooper Nuclear Station and Duane Arnold Energy Center.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Weekend river cleanup nets everything and kitchen sink
Here's a few links of news stories about the Confluence Trash Bash on Saturday, March 26. The massive urban cleanup was organized by Confluence Partnership, St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District, St. Louis Audubon and a long list of partners. Missouri River Relief took 32 volunteers out on the Missouri River to clean-up two sites. One of these sites was an abandoned farm dump on the Cora Island Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge. We've been working on cleaning up that site for three years.
Here's a link to the Fox Channel 2 story on the cleanup
The St. Louis Post Dispatch published this following story on March 27, 2011.
Click here for original link
by Blythe Berhard
Volunteers picked up everything and the kitchen sink at the annual Confluence Trash Bash river cleanup Saturday at Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Ben Duncan, 10, won the prize for weirdest article of trash for spotting a ceramic sink in the bushes off Hall Street near the Mississippi riverfront in north St. Louis.
The fourth-grader came with his Cub Scout pack to get dirty and collect junk. The boys scaled their hill of garbage bags and discarded tires to pose for pictures before public works staffers hauled it away.
"It's fun because we do stuff that guys like us like to do," Ben said.
Here's a link to the Fox Channel 2 story on the cleanup
The St. Louis Post Dispatch published this following story on March 27, 2011.
Click here for original link
by Blythe Berhard
Volunteers picked up everything and the kitchen sink at the annual Confluence Trash Bash river cleanup Saturday at Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Ben Duncan, 10, won the prize for weirdest article of trash for spotting a ceramic sink in the bushes off Hall Street near the Mississippi riverfront in north St. Louis.
The fourth-grader came with his Cub Scout pack to get dirty and collect junk. The boys scaled their hill of garbage bags and discarded tires to pose for pictures before public works staffers hauled it away.
"It's fun because we do stuff that guys like us like to do," Ben said.
Yankton’s ‘Great Flood’
130th Anniversary Of Flood Highlights Threat River Once Posed
Originally published in Yankton Press Dakotan on March 26, 2011.
Click here for original link.
by Nathan Johnson
As the waters of the Missouri River rose, dozens of people could be seen clinging to the steep roof of John Nelson’s brick house.
Hours earlier, the residents of Green Island had been singing a Psalm led by the Rev. Charles Seccombe, hoping that the rising water would recede. But it had not.
Despite the fact that Nelson’s house sat on high ground, the villagers found themselves being forced to the attic and then through a window onto the roof.
Fortunately, rescuers arrived by boat to take the frightened individuals to safety and avoid any fatalities.
The scene played out 130 years ago this weekend, during what became known as the Great Flood of 1881. While the extent of its devastation has been exaggerated in some accounts, there is no doubt it was a tremendous event that changed the course of local history.
S.D. hasn't seen a flood like 1881
Vermillion moved to higher ground after the deluge
Originally published on March 22, 2011 in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Click here for original link.
by Jill Callison
Blogmaster's note: This article published on the 130th anniversary of this massive ice gorge flood of Vermillion and Yankton. It doesn't note that the reason such a flood is unlikely these days (other than the fact people moved out of the floodplain) is that the Gavin's Point Dam was built not far upstream, completed in 1957. The resilience of these communities is inspiring.
In its March 24, 1881, edition, the Dakota Republican noted that the Missouri River had risen 6 feet during the week but had not flooded.
A few days later, the newspaper's office in Vermillion was gone, swept away by a flood. The Dakota Republican would not print again until July 1, 1881.
That came after Vermillion residents had voted to move the town of more than 600 residents to higher ground, Vermillion historian Tom Thaden says.
"The original site was right next to the Missouri," he says. "Now we're pretty much in the same area, just on the bluff rather than below it."
Originally published on March 22, 2011 in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Click here for original link.
by Jill Callison
Blogmaster's note: This article published on the 130th anniversary of this massive ice gorge flood of Vermillion and Yankton. It doesn't note that the reason such a flood is unlikely these days (other than the fact people moved out of the floodplain) is that the Gavin's Point Dam was built not far upstream, completed in 1957. The resilience of these communities is inspiring.
In its March 24, 1881, edition, the Dakota Republican noted that the Missouri River had risen 6 feet during the week but had not flooded.
A few days later, the newspaper's office in Vermillion was gone, swept away by a flood. The Dakota Republican would not print again until July 1, 1881.
That came after Vermillion residents had voted to move the town of more than 600 residents to higher ground, Vermillion historian Tom Thaden says.
"The original site was right next to the Missouri," he says. "Now we're pretty much in the same area, just on the bluff rather than below it."
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Opinion Editorial: More than just a few things have changed since 1944
Blogmaster's note: this is an editorial published in the Bismark Tribune about the MRAP study. Click here for more on MRAPS. Click here for other locations of public meetings and a link to download the draft scoping summary.
Originally published on March 24, 2011, in the Bismark Tribune
Click here for original link
by Brian Gehring
A few weeks ago the Army Corps of Engineers released its draft scoping summary report on the Missouri River management known as MRAPS.
It stands for Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study. The study got it beginning back a couple years ago when Sen. Byron Dorgan called for a review of how the river system was managed.
That management study was based on a document adopted in 1944 when the dams were built along the river.
Dorgan said it when he led the push to have Congress study how the river has been managed: things have changed since 1944.
The MRAPS draft study, all 340-some pages, is available online at www.mraps.org. For those who do not have Internet, the draft study is available at the Bismarck Public Library through April 30.
The draft is the culmination of public meetings that the corps hosted up and down the river last summer, giving the public and various state and tribal representatives the opportunity to comment.
There is another set of meetings scheduled to allow the public and others another chance to comment.
That meeting is coming up Tuesday at the Doublewood Inn. The format of the meeting is same with a presentation from the corps from 5 to 6 p.m. and then public comment afterward.
Things have changed along the river in 60-some years but it’s not just the river. Usage has changed on our two reservoirs that are a part of the system.
The eight original authorized purposes are flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife.
Water quality, irrigation and hydropower are still top issues as far as North Dakota is concerned. The same goes for water quality, recreation and fish and wildlife.
The area that has been questioned over the years is that of navigation. Little or no navigation of consequence happens downstream.
When dollars are compared to what the water generates from fishing and recreation and navigation, you would think one would have a difficult time arguing in favor of navigation and managing the river for that purpose.
We have water back in our reservoirs now but the thing with people’s memories is they can be short when times are good.
We don’t mind sharing our water when the need is there and justified. And, we don’t mind holding the water back when, as has been the case in recent years, there is too much of it downstream in the spring.
We just don’t want to be charged for storing water that is ours.
And when you think about it, the Missouri River, post-dam era, is still in its infancy when it comes to a river.
Sixty-some years is a mere drop in the bucket comparatively speaking when talking about the age of a river.
We are still learning a lot about how management practices are affecting the overall health of the river system and those who derive benefits from, and often rely on the river for survival.
We have seen how fish like pallid sturgeon and paddlefish and shore birds like terns and plovers have been negatively affected.
They are the first species to give an indication something may not be right. It takes us humans a bit longer to come around most times.
A lot has changed since 1944. And now we are in the position to be there as it changes and hopefully do something positive as it is happening.
If you have a stake or an interest in the river, this is one of those issues or causes, call it what you will, to become involved in. Or, at the very least, become informed about what is on the line.
Originally published on March 24, 2011, in the Bismark Tribune
Click here for original link
by Brian Gehring
A few weeks ago the Army Corps of Engineers released its draft scoping summary report on the Missouri River management known as MRAPS.
It stands for Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study. The study got it beginning back a couple years ago when Sen. Byron Dorgan called for a review of how the river system was managed.
That management study was based on a document adopted in 1944 when the dams were built along the river.
Dorgan said it when he led the push to have Congress study how the river has been managed: things have changed since 1944.
The MRAPS draft study, all 340-some pages, is available online at www.mraps.org. For those who do not have Internet, the draft study is available at the Bismarck Public Library through April 30.
The draft is the culmination of public meetings that the corps hosted up and down the river last summer, giving the public and various state and tribal representatives the opportunity to comment.
There is another set of meetings scheduled to allow the public and others another chance to comment.
That meeting is coming up Tuesday at the Doublewood Inn. The format of the meeting is same with a presentation from the corps from 5 to 6 p.m. and then public comment afterward.
Things have changed along the river in 60-some years but it’s not just the river. Usage has changed on our two reservoirs that are a part of the system.
The eight original authorized purposes are flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife.
Water quality, irrigation and hydropower are still top issues as far as North Dakota is concerned. The same goes for water quality, recreation and fish and wildlife.
The area that has been questioned over the years is that of navigation. Little or no navigation of consequence happens downstream.
When dollars are compared to what the water generates from fishing and recreation and navigation, you would think one would have a difficult time arguing in favor of navigation and managing the river for that purpose.
We have water back in our reservoirs now but the thing with people’s memories is they can be short when times are good.
We don’t mind sharing our water when the need is there and justified. And, we don’t mind holding the water back when, as has been the case in recent years, there is too much of it downstream in the spring.
We just don’t want to be charged for storing water that is ours.
And when you think about it, the Missouri River, post-dam era, is still in its infancy when it comes to a river.
Sixty-some years is a mere drop in the bucket comparatively speaking when talking about the age of a river.
We are still learning a lot about how management practices are affecting the overall health of the river system and those who derive benefits from, and often rely on the river for survival.
We have seen how fish like pallid sturgeon and paddlefish and shore birds like terns and plovers have been negatively affected.
They are the first species to give an indication something may not be right. It takes us humans a bit longer to come around most times.
A lot has changed since 1944. And now we are in the position to be there as it changes and hopefully do something positive as it is happening.
If you have a stake or an interest in the river, this is one of those issues or causes, call it what you will, to become involved in. Or, at the very least, become informed about what is on the line.
Birds rest, feed at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
Originally published on March 23, 2011 in the Omaha World Herald
Click here for original link
by Mike Brownlee
MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa — Waterfowl and other migratory birds are making a brief stop on the 7,500 acres of wetlands, forest, lakes and ponds at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on the Missouri River north of Omaha.
“The Missouri River valley, historically, has been a migration corridor,” said Tom Cox, refuge manager. “I liken it to a family vacation trip. And we're like a hotel and restaurant for migration.
“We provide an area for them to rest and replenish fat reserves. So when they hit their nesting spot up north they're ready for breeding. They need to be healthy for breeding and hatching.”
Bald eagles usually migrate along with the geese, feasting on the frail, and Cox said many have been seen on the refuge.
The waterfowl northern migration season began toward the end of February, Cox said, and ends in early April. During the peak days in early March, there were about 50,000 ducks and geese at the refuge.
Click here for original link
by Mike Brownlee
 | |
| photo - Mike Davis, Omaha World Herald |
“The Missouri River valley, historically, has been a migration corridor,” said Tom Cox, refuge manager. “I liken it to a family vacation trip. And we're like a hotel and restaurant for migration.
“We provide an area for them to rest and replenish fat reserves. So when they hit their nesting spot up north they're ready for breeding. They need to be healthy for breeding and hatching.”
Bald eagles usually migrate along with the geese, feasting on the frail, and Cox said many have been seen on the refuge.
The waterfowl northern migration season began toward the end of February, Cox said, and ends in early April. During the peak days in early March, there were about 50,000 ducks and geese at the refuge.
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