Mississippi Messages - December 2012

FMR Updates We're almost there: Help us earn the full match! As you may have heard, several generous FMR members have put up a $25,000 challenge to match YOUR gifts that we need to meet by December 31st! The good news — thanks to many of you already contributing over $18,000, we're almost there!! Even better — we know that a lot of you are still thinking about making a year-end gift to FMR. Please help us earn the full amount of the match by making a donation today. Thank you, on behalf of the river and all of us at FMR! Want to know what your gift will do? Read on. Read more » The State of the River Report: More events to come! This fall, FMR and The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area unit of the National Park Service released the State of the River Report to great acclaim, and the momentum has just kept going. If you missed the launch of this groundbreaking report at the Science Museum of Minnesota, we hope you can join us at an upcoming presentation: January 24th in St. Paul, or February 26th in Brooklyn Park. Or, contact us to schedule a presentation for your group of 20 or more! Read more » Asian carp roundup: good news, bad news The effort to stop the spread of Asian carp continues to move forward in the face of both good and bad news. Catch up on the latest happenings, from the river bottoms to the U.S. Capitol. Read more » The Above the Falls survey: Help shape the future of the Minneapolis riverfront After more than a year of research and a series of community input meetings, the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board presented the draft Above the Falls Plan Update to approximately 80 citizens this month. While much of the award-winning vision of the original plan has been maintained, a number of future land-use changes are proposed along with a few adjustments to the Above the Falls Regional Park boundary, which extends along the riverfront from Plymouth Avenue north to the Camden Bridge in north and northeast Minneapolis. The plan and presentation materials are available on both the city’s and park board’s websites. We encourage FMR friends and members to give them a look and submit your comments to the city and park board via the Above the Falls online survey by January 24th. Read more » Farewell Karen Solas, FMR Stewardship Events Coordinator This holiday season, FMR bids a sad farewell to Karen Solas, our Stewardship Events Coordinator. During the past six years, Karen has been a warm and welcoming face for thousands of volunteers at river and watershed cleanups, restoration events, interpretive tours and educational workshops. Karen will be moving on to work as the Green Corps Coordinator for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. FMR staff and volunteers alike wish her the best of luck with her new job and look forward to many years of continued friendship. Read more » Thank you and farewell intern Gabby Ghreichi! This fall, Gabby served as FMR’s Outreach & Events intern, helping out in the office as well as at numerous volunteer events in the Mississippi River corridor. She posted numerous public events on online calendars, managed event photos, sorted seed and assisted with other restoration tasks and conducted our annual Volunteer Survey. In addition, she assisted with registration and then worked alongside volunteers at almost all of our fall stewardship events — getting plenty of practice hauling buckthorn, collecting prairie seed and even directing parking! Thank you, Gabby, for all of your hard work, enthusiasm and passion for this field. We’ve enjoyed working with you and have tremendous faith that you will serve the world well! Social media and marketing intern sought The Mississippi River Challenge is reaching its 10th anniversary in 2013, and we are looking for a Social Media and Marketing Intern to help us through innovative marketing tools and creative designs. Candidates with experience (professional or educational) in sales, advertising, marketing, fundraising, graphic design and non-profit events will be considered. Read more » Mississippi River News Mississippi River level still expected to drop As reported by the Associated Press, water levels on the drought-plagued Mississippi River are expected to keep dropping over the next several weeks, according to a new forecast Wednesday that comes amid worries that barge traffic soon could be squeezed along a key stretch of the vital shipping corridor. Read more » Shipping season closes Lock and Dam No. 2 at Hastings closed on the Mississippi River on Monday, December 3rd, ending commercial navigation for the year on the Upper Mississippi. As reported by the Associated Press, the closures ended barge traffic between Minneapolis and Guttenberg, Iowa. Winter repairs are taking place on Lock and Dam No. 6, near Trempealeau, Wis., and are scheduled to be finished by March 11. (The 2012 season began March 17th.) Resource of the Month Winter activities guide Winter offers a whole new way to play, and Minnesota State Parks and Trails have adventures to keep you and your family enjoying the season all winter long. Many parks have rental gear available, and there are lots of kid-friendly activities, from sledding and candlelight events to winter geocaching. Hit the trails and try cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or snowmobiling. Wildlife watching is great in the winter, and even a simple hike is a whole different experience on the snow. Read more » Phenology 'O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree...' A major snowstorm reveals the wonders of tree form. Read more » Whose View? From Where? December 2012 Each month in this section, we feature a photo from somewhere along the river corridor in the Twin Cities that is in some way significant, important, or just plain scenic. Individuals may then e-mail us and identify the view and explain why they believe it is significant to the community or important to them personally. Read more » November 2012 Answer First, let's get the location set — I'm happy for the folks who take the "from where" part of this monthly segment seriously, it can really matter! Read more » Supporting FMR Give a gift membership! Share the good feeling you get knowing you’re helping to protect an amazing local treasure, and foster greater awareness of the beauty and majesty of our stretch of the Mississippi River! Gift memberships are $25, and the recipient gets a small, ecologically friendly packet of information about FMR and ways they can get involved as well as a handy FMR magnet and all the benefits of regular FMR membership. Give a gift membership today and add one more to the community voice for the river; simply visit our donation page and select “Gift Membership” under donation type! That's it! Cheers!' Quote of the Month “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”         - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland   FMR Updates We're almost there: Help us earn the full match! The State of the River Report: More events to come! Asian carp roundup: good news, bad news The Above the Falls survey: Help shape the future of the Minneapolis riverfront Farewell Karen Solas, FMR Stewardship Events Coordinator Thank you and farewell intern Gabby Ghreichi! Social media and marketing intern sought Mississippi River News Mississippi River level still expected to drop Shipping season closes Resource of the Month Winter activities guide Phenology 'O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree...' Whose View? From Where? December 2012 November 2012 Answer Supporting FMR Give a gift membership! Mississippi Messages is a twice-monthly e-mail update distributed by Friends of the Mississippi River to help our members and subscribers stay informed on issues, FMR events, and opportunities related to the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities area. All subscribers' names and e-mail addresses are kept confidential. Original contents copyright 2012, Friends of the Mississippi River http://www.fmr.org