Blog
The Great Lakes States
Does “Midwest” do it for you? I’ve always struggled with it as a good geographic descriptor. The Census Bureau didn’t even settle on its definition until 1984. Whatever the terminology, … Read more
The mystery of the rainbow darter
I felt a bit like Sherlock Holmes when Konrad Schmidt, retired DNR Fisheries biologist, contacted me about when the last known contact took place between two fish populations — the … Read more
Twenty-twenty hindsight
I inadvertently started humming a song from 1905 as I was reading Dan Egan’s new book, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. (Check out a recent interview with … Read more
From entryway to waterway?
I learned of a farm family in west central Minnesota that spends about $70,000 each year to buy fertilizer for their farm. Corn fertilizer costs have ranged from $120-200 per … Read more
French fries and water quality
My son was hungry and in a hurry. He ordered the double cheeseburger meal with fries in the drive thru; what’s the harm? It had been a couple decades … Read more
The art and science of snirt
You may have seen the photo exhibit by a friend of mine, John White. It was touring the region during the last year (and prints are available for sale here). … Read more
These are a few of my favorite things
Blueberry, Wild Rice, Hockey, Agate, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady’s Slipper, Morel, Norway Pine, Walleye, Milk, Loon, Lester. Is this some kind of a weird shopping list for a camping trip? If … Read more
The Norwegian and the puddle
I have gone on my share of geology field trips with visiting geologists from around the world. We typically visit exposures of glacial sediment, commonly found in gravel pits, and … Read more
No more green for Madison
Most of us who spend time on lakes know they can “green up” as they warm up. Excess phosphorus generates that not-so-healthy green bloom. The Yahara watershed is trying something … Read more
What’s up with the Minnesota River?
…besides the water level that is. If you’ve been paying attention to the big brown river, or just the weather across the southern part of the state this summer, you … Read more