John Linc Stine 
It’s almost time for corn dogs, mini donuts, and a fun-filled day at Great Minnesota get-together — the Minnesota State Fair. This year Freshwater is excited to be back at the state fair where we will be selling our 2023 Weather Environment Calendar and Almanac, like the pre-COVID days.
Freshwater recently renewed our organizational commitment to embrace our mission—to empower people to value and conserve fresh water—by thoughtfully considering the details and meaning of “people.” Whom do we mean when we say empowering people? Our board and staff realize, of course, that our mission is for all people, knowing that individually and collectively, all people need to share in protecting and conserving water.
As 2021 ends, I am sincerely grateful for the actions you, as Freshwater supporters, empowered this year. Whether you donated to one of our campaigns like our internship program, told your elected officials how important protecting and restoring clean and safe water is for our future, or shared your passion for water with friends and family, you made a real difference.
Today, Freshwater is participating in the national Imagine a Day without Water, sponsored by the U.S. Water Alliance. From a shower to morning coffee or tea, watering our plants and gardens to flushing our toilets, water is essential to our daily life. Our bodies are mostly water—78% as infants and 60% in adults. Safe and reliable water is essential to every one of us.
Minnesota’s water governance is considered some of the best in the country, and we’ve been hearing a lot about it since we began a year-long project in March 2021 to assess governance across six states and tribal nations within them: Groundwater Governance in the Great Lakes States.
We love and cherish water here in Minnesota, and we’re proud of our “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi heritage. The presence and quality of our lakes and rivers and abundant drinking water (mostly from our groundwater systems) is easy to take for granted. It seems like we Minnesotans are water rich, but is Minnesota a water-rich state for everyone who lives here?
