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POLITICAL BRIEF: Candidate withdraws from local race PAGE 5
Centerville receives watershed district updates
Annual Fall Fest marks the start of autumn in Lexington BY MADELINE DOLBY EDITOR
Lexington will welcome the fall season with its annual Lexington Fall Fest. The festival will take place Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20. Festivalgoers of all ages can enjoy events, attractions and vendors. Decades ago, the city of Lexington hosted a city festival called “Minuteman Days.” Back in 2016, Cowboy’s Saloon and the Lexington Firemen’s Relief Association joined forces to bring back an annual festival, and it has taken place every year
BY LORETTA HARDING CONTRIBUTING WRITER
For anyone whose brain ever been plagued by unanswered questions about watershed districts, Centerville City Hall was the place to clear out all the algae. Five members of the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) attended the Aug. 27 City Council meeting to give the city an overview of the RCWD and update council on the Clearwater Creek and alum treatment projects. Administrator Nick Tomczik, Lake and Stream Manager Matt Kocian, Drainage and Facilities Manager Tom Schmidt, Project Manager David Petry and Chris Otterness of Houston Engineering Inc. each spoke on his area of expertise. A watershed district is a local special-purpose unit of government that works to solve and prevent water-related problems, Tomczik said. The boundaries of a watershed district follow those of a natural watershed and include the land where all water flows to one common waterway. The RCWD covers 186 square miles and includes urban, suburban and rural lands in parts of Anoka, Washington, Ramsey and Hennepin counties. The RCWD includes portions of 28 communities, including most of of Centerville. The RCWD map starts with Falcon Heights in its southwest corner and flows up to Columbus to the north and back down to Birchwood Village and Willernie in its southeast corner. All of the surface water within the RCWD flows to the Mississippi River. The district was established in 1972 when county boards petitioned the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources to form a government body to manage the lakes, rivers and streams. The district has a total of 19 staff members. Kocian has worked with the city for several years on the water quality of Peltier and Centerville Lakes and, most notably, on the Centerville Lake alum project. The lake had such a bad algae problem that it turned a cloudy green. The algae blooms in the lake can be common and sometimes severe. Phosphorus is algae food, and Centerville Lake has been full of phosphorous, Kocian said. The overfed algae blooms create problems for fish and other organisms in the lake, and impacts recreation on the lakes. The phosphorous in Centerville Lake comes from fertilizer run-off from cropland and stormwater from city streets, and can be released from the sediment at the bottom of the lake and recycled within the lake.
since except for 2020 due to the pandemic. This year’s festival kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday with the 10th annual car show, presented by Cowboy’s Saloon. The show goes until about 8 p.m. Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the cars that are crowd favorites. Those interested in entering can register the day of the show. On Saturday, families can participate in Family Fun Day from noon to 6 p.m. SEE FALL FEST, PAGE 12
JON NAMYST | CONTRIBUTED
Capture the Golden Hour Enjoy over 20,000 sunflowers spreading across the hill at Waldoch Farm’s Sunflower Festival in Lino Lakes. The flowers will be in bloom through Sunday, Sept. 14. For more information, visit waldochfarm.com/pages/adventure-farm-sunflowers. Waldoch Farm is located at 8174 Lake Drive.
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The annual Lexington Fall Fest will take place Friday, Sept. 19, and Saturday, Sept. 20, at Cowboy’s Saloon. On Saturday, Sept. 20, families can enjoy Family Fun Day.
SEE WATERSHED UPDATE, PAGE 2
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