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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Public Affairs Office
332 Minnesota St., Suite E1500
St. Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 290-5807
Fax: (651) 290-5752
cemvp-pa@usace.army.mil 

 

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  • March

    WABASHA, Minn. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District employees Al VanGuilder, left, survey technician, and Bill Chelmowski, marine machinery mechanic, use an airboat to measure ice on Lake Pepin, near Wabasha, Minn., Feb. 13, during the first Mississippi River ice surveys of the year. The district conducts the annual ice surveys to help the navigation industry determine when it is safe to break through the ice. Lake Pepin, located on the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha, Minn., is used as the benchmark because the ice melts slower in this area due to the lake width and the slower current.

    Spring is near - Ice surveys begin on Lake Pepin

    A few district employees from the channels and harbors section are getting the opportunity to take

  • September

    Bosse navigation charts in the new century

    As commercial navigation becomes more dependent upon electronic technology, the use of paper navigation charts like the hand written ones completed by Henry Bosse in the early 1900s and used on the Dredge Thomson until 2005 are becoming a thing of the past.
  • District staff gathered near Brownsville, Minn., Aug. 30, to highlight and dedicate the completion of a 3,000-acre environmental project along the Mississippi River in Pool 8. Completed as a cooperative effort among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources and the public; the Pool 8 project is part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration - Environmental Management Program.

    District, partners dedicate Pool 8 islands project

    District staff gathered near Brownsville, Minn., Aug. 30, to highlight and dedicate the completion of a 3,000-acre environmental project along the Mississippi River in Pool 8.
  • Dan Kelner, left, district mussel biologist, and Nathan Eckert, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mussel biologist, talk with Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar during an endangered mussel release in the Mississippi River Aug. 17, 2012.

    Corps, partners work together to preserve endangered mussels

    Working side-by-side with boats and divers, the district and its partners worked as a unified team to place three federally endangered mussel species within the Mississippi River at Pool 2, Aug. 17.
  • District celebrates 100 years of dam operations at Gull Lake

    District celebrates 100 years of dam operations at Gull Lake

    A celebration 100 years in the making occurred Aug. 4 at the Gull Lake Recreation Area as the district recognized the past century of dam operations at the site, located near Brainerd, Minn.
  • Maj. Gen. John Peabody, Mississippi Valley Division commander, and Todd Sando, North Dakota State Water Commission engineer, dedicate the Tolna Coulee Advance Measures Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony July 19. The 800-foot wide structure is designed to regulate the amount of water that would flow through the coulee.

    Commanders tour, dedicate North Dakota project

    North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple and Mississippi Valley Division Commander Maj. Gen. John Peabody dedicated the district’s Tolna Coulee project with a ribbon cutting ceremony July 19. The ceremony was part of a three-day North Dakota tour undertaken by Peabody July 17-19, which also included attending a Devils Lake Executive Committee meeting in Bismarck, N.D., and making stops in Devils Lake, N.D., Minot, N.D., and Valley City, N.D.

  • June

    Elliot Stefanik, sitting, fish biologist, explains to Jenna Merry, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service student, how the hydro-acoustic camera will help researches better understand fish behavior within the Mississippi River.

    District uses technology to learn about fish behavior around locks and dams

    As Asian carp continue to dominate news headlines across the Upper Mississippi River, the district’s scientists recently received some new technology to assist them in researching fish on the river.

  • May

    Division chief uses national team membership to write national policy, help district

    It’s not every day a district employee gets to be involved with creating national policy. Michael Bart, the district’s chief of engineering and construction, was given that opportunity starting in September 2007, when he was asked to serve as the team lead of the Corps’ new Levee Safety Policy and Procedures Team. He had just finished a seven-month assignment at the Corps’ Hurricane Protection Office in New Orleans as the deputy for execution support and had been assisting with the Corps’ Dam Safety Program for a couple of years when he agreed to serve in this role.

  • April

    Tom Lytle, engineering and construction, plants trees in Pool 8 on the Mississippi River April 20, 2012. The Corps plans to plant around 4,900 seedlings this spring.

    A tree today, wildlife habitat tomorrow

    One of the final steps in the Corps’ Environment Management Program Pool 8 project began April 20 with the last season of tree plantings on islands south of Brownsville, Minn.

  • District, Valley City, N.D., sign agreement, marking the beginning of a feasibility study along the Sheyenne River

    The district kicked off the Valley City, Sheyenne River Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study during a signing ceremony in Valley City, N.D., April 10. Col. Michael Price, district commander, and Valley City Mayor Bob Werkhoven signed the cost-sharing agreement in front of local officials and the media to mark the beginning of this $1.5 million study that is expected to take 2 1/2 years to complete.
  • WINONA, Minn., -- From left, Kurt Ressie, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, small craft operator Winona, Minn., Fire Department Capt. Duane Chadbourn; and Dan Cottrell, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, channel maintenance coordinator; pull Winona Fire Department Capt. Jason Theusch from the water during a joint cold water rescue training event March 28 on the Mississippi River. This was the first time that both agencies trained together and they both plan on making it an annual event.

    District, fire department team up for rescue training

    Time is critical during a crisis. Decisions can, and often do, determine the outcome in many emergencies. Recognizing the importance of teamwork and communication, the district and the Winona, Minn., Fire Department participated in a joint rescue training event along the banks of the Mississippi River March 28.

  • March

    Navigation season opens with new leadership

    The district’s 2012 navigation season began March 17 with the arrival of Motor Vessel Deana Ann. The Paducah, Ky., based tow entered Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn., around 3 p.m., with seven barges. The tow’s final destination was St. Paul, Minn.

  • February

    Members of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers look at aerial maps of the Mississippi River while conducting a tour to see the island creation process in action.

    Evolution of a new approach on how engineers design

    A temporary end to design and construction activities in Pool 8 will occur this summer as the Corps focuses on other areas of the Upper Mississippi River, including Pool 9, said Novak. The success of the Pool 8 project and other EMP projects have paved the way for new designs and construction techniques.
  • WABASHA, Minn. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District employees Al VanGuilder, left, survey technician, and Bill Chelmowski, marine machinery mechanic, use an airboat to measure ice on Lake Pepin, near Wabasha, Minn., Feb. 13, during the first Mississippi River ice surveys of the year. The district conducts the annual ice surveys to help the navigation industry determine when it is safe to break through the ice. Lake Pepin, located on the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha, Minn., is used as the benchmark because the ice melts slower in this area due to the lake width and the slower current.

    Old techniques record annual ice measurement changes in Lake Pepin

    In preparation for the navigation season, the district’s Fountain City, Wis., survey crew began annual Lake Pepin ice measurements Feb. 15.
  • Maj. Gen. John Peabody, Mississippi Valley Division commander, left, and Bill Csajko, project management, discuss the ongoing construction efforts at Tolna Coulee, near Tolna, N.D., during a site visit January 30, 2015. The Corps plans to complete the construction within the next six weeks.

    Despite winter conditions, the district continues Tolna Coulee outlet construction

    Amid rolling hills and a lake that continues invading communities in central North Dakota, lies a control structure here that the district is building to prevent catastrophic erosion.
  • Walking on water? Not quite. One aspect of the Corps of Engineers not often seen is our Environmental Management Program. Here, a bulldozer moves dredge material to create islands in the Mississippi River. Specifically, the Capoli Slough Habitat Restoration project is located in Pool 9, downstream of Lansing, Iowa, on the Wisconsin side of the river, where erosion from wave action and main channel flows is reducing the size of wetland areas. This has resulted in the loss of aquatic vegetation and the shallow habitats important for the survival of many species of fish and wildlife. The project is broken down into two stages, and consists of creating 12 islands, improving backwater habitat, bank stabilization and other measures to improve the habitability. Once completed, the project will be turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service for day-to-day management.

    Environmental Management Program reaches 25 years

    The Pool 8 Islands construction project on the Upper Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minn., is scheduled for completion this summer and the first stage of construction at Capoli Slough, downstream of Lansing, Iowa, is scheduled to start this spring. Both projects are part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program, known as the EMP.

  • Gull Lake park rangers use teamwork to prepare for summer

    The Gull Lake Recreation Area, just north of Brainerd, Minn., has served as a district flood control project for the past 100 years. While the dam regulates the water levels on the chain of lakes, the park rangers that oversee the dam’s operations and maintenance take care of more than just the gate adjustments.

  • January

    District dewaters lock and dam for maintenance

    The lack of ice and the presence of standing water at the bottom of Lock and Dam 7’s dewatered chamber near La Crosse, Wis., marks a drastic change from last year’s routine winter maintenance, when often times work was done during below zero temperatures. This year, with warmer than normal weather, everything is easier than normal, said Scott Uhl, the crew’s foreman. The improved weather conditions have helped the maintenance and repair crew from Fountain City, Wis., to get slightly ahead of schedule.
  • Marsh Lake Dam

    Marsh Lake aquatic ecosystem restoration project receives Corps of Engineers Chief’s approval

    Marsh Lake’s ecosystem restoration project located near Appleton, Minn., is shaping up to be one of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, top projects in the state, said Dave Trauba, Marsh Lake area wildlife operations manager.