Stearns County Planning Meeting Rescheduled

The Minnesota DNR is considering the possibility of restructuring the Cold Spring Dam, replacing the fixed barrier with a natural spillway. This has been done on other MN rivers recently, including the South Fork Crow River in Hutchinson, Pelican Rapids, and the Mississippi at Cass Lake   Potential benefits include more stable lake levels and restoring the ability of fish to migrate upstream.

The first step would be to conduct a survey to assess potential effects, both positive and negative. The SRCLA board supports the proposal to conduct a survey, although support for replacing the dam would depend upon the results of the survey.

A meeting to discuss this had been scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd with the Cold Spring City Council and representatives from the DNR and Stearns County. Due to conflicts, the meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 11th at 6:00 pm in the City Council chambers. This meeting is open to the public, and the SRCLA will publish periodic updates about the proposal via our website and social media channels.

For more infomation, check out the Cold Spring Dam section on our Projects page.