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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Public Affairs Office
180 5th St. E., Suite 700
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: (651) 290-5807
Fax: (651) 290-5752
cemvp-pa@usace.army.mil 
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  • October

    The Old Post Office Building and the Digitization of the St. Paul District

    I started working for the St Paul District in March of 1980. At that time the district office was in the main Post Office on Kellogg Boulevard between Sibley and Jackson streets. The building was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration.
  • Captain Hiram M. Chittenden’s served as temporary District Engineer for four months in 1901 during which time he gets credit for the conversion of Leech Lake Dam from a timber to a concrete structure and the design of Twin Cities Lock and Dam #2. Chittenden was assigned to St. Paul District for much of his career, more than those four brief months of command.

    Hiram M. Chittenden

    Captain Hiram M. Chittenden’s photograph appears on the wall outside the executive office of St. Paul District. Chittenden served as temporary district engineer for four months in 1901, during which time he gets credit for the conversion of Leech Lake Dam from a timber to a concrete structure and the design of Twin Cities Lock and Dam #2. Chittenden was assigned to St. Paul District for much of his career, more than those four brief months of command.
  • Henry Bosse was born in Prussia November 13th, 1844. He immigrated to the United States in 1865 and by 1870 was working in a book and stationary shop in Chicago. He began working for the Corps of Engineers in Chicago in 1874 and was soon transferred to the Corps’ River and Harbor Improvement Office in St. Paul. In 1878 he transferred to the Corps’ Rock Island District.

    Henry Bosse

    One of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District’s claim to fame is renowned photographer Henry Bosse. Bosse was born in Prussia Nov. 13, 1844. He immigrated to the United States in 1865; and by, 1870, he was working in a book and stationary shop in Chicago. He began working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago in 1874 and was soon transferred to the Corps’ River and Harbor Improvement Office in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1878, he transferred to the Corps’ Rock Island District.

  • The Boatyard: History of the Fountain City Service Base

    For 100 years, the Fountain City, Wisconsin, Boatyard has played an essential role in supporting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to improve navigation on the Upper Mississippi River. These efforts have included the 4 ½-foot channel project (1878-1907), the 6-foot channel project (1907-1930) and the 9-foot channel project (1930-present).

  • Blackhawk Park site of battle

    A lone marker recognizing sacred ground stands at Blackhawk Park, located near DeSoto, Wis. Every year Native American groups visit the park and the surrounding area to pay respect and remember a past. The inscripted stone marks where one of the last Indian-American battles east of the Mississippi River occurred more than 180 years past.

  • Origin of the Navigation System

    Along with their best suits, the delegation packed the hopes and dreams of the entire Northwest – from the farmers in the hinterland to the captains of commerce in St. Paul, Minnesota, and from the merchants on Main Street to the pillars of industry in Minneapolis.
  • Resident engineer Scott Baker, center, during the weekly progress meeting and site visit Aug. 11, 2015, for the Harper’s Slough project. The Harper’s Slough Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project, located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, was planned and designed under the authority of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. It will protect five existing islands and construct an additional seven islands using material from the backwater and main channel. The program emphasizes habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects and long-term resource monitoring. Project component includes dredging backwater areas and channels, constructing dikes, creating and stabilizing islands and controlling side channel flows and water levels. Once the project is completed, the project will be turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manages the refuge.

    Harpers Slough restoration gains ground

    After years of degradation, Mississippi River islands near Lansing, Iowa, are receiving much needed attention.

  • August

    Bonnie Greenleaf, Devils Lake flood risk management project manager, briefs Mississippi Valley Division commander Maj. Gen. Michael Wehr on features of the project during a tour of the area during his North Dakota visit July 6-8, 2015. The Devils Lake basin is a 3,810 square-mile sub-basin of the Red River of the North with no natural outlet until lake levels reach an elevation 1,458, at which it flows through Tolna Coulee into the Sheyenne River. Maj. Gen. Wehr received an orientation of the Devils Lake Basin prior to attending Devils Lake Executive Committee, or DLEC, meeting July 8, 2015. The DLEC, co-chaired by the commander of the Mississippi Valley Division and the governor of North Dakota, is comprised of representatives from more than 20 Federal, State, tribal, local agencies and governmental entities.

    Division commander visits North Dakota projects

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi Valley Division Commander Maj. Gen. Michael Wehr and St. Paul District Commander Col. Dan Koprowski visited the cities of Minot and Devils Lake, North Dakota, July 6-8, to meet with members of Congress, state and local officials and to see Corps projects in the region.
  • The end of an era was witnessed at 11:17 p.m., June 9, 2015, when the last boat, a recreation craft, locked through the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock. The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, signed June 10, 2014, directed the Corps of Engineers to close Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock to navigation within one year of the act being signed into law. In 1937, Congress authorized the Minneapolis Upper Harbor Project which extended the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Project an additional 4.6 miles by constructing two locks to lift vessels over St. Anthony Falls. The Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock was completed in 1963.

    Upper St. Anthony Falls makes final lockage

    The end of an era was witnessed when the last boat, a recreation boater, locked through Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis June 9 at 11:17 p.m.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with Roseau Mayor Jeffry Pelowski, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, state Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, state Rep. Dan Fabian, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representative Kent Lokkesmoe and Mark Karl of Polaris Industries, dedicated the Roseau Flood Risk Management project August 18, 2015. The $44.6 million project includes a 4.5 mile diversion channel and 45 acres of recreation opportunities to include three birding sites, 9 miles of off-road vehicle trails, an ATV challenge course, 7 miles of multi-use trails and a trail head with parking and picnic area. The diversion channel was designed to divert floodwater around the city to reduce flood stages within the community.

    Roseau flood project dedicated

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, celebrated the completion of its Roseau, Minnesota, Flood Damage Reduction Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony in Roseau, Aug. 18.
  • Sandy Skinaway, Sandy Lake Tribe chairwoman, Col. Dan Koprowski, St. Paul District commander, and Tammy Johnson, Sandy Lake Park Manager, conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony, officially rededicating the Sandy Lake visitor center August 17, 2015. The center, a former lock house located next to the dam, has artifacts and information about the region’s history. Corps staff spent the past year updating the displays and artifacts to better communicate the centuries of history that has occurred around the site.

    Sandy Visitor Center receives a facelift

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District’s Sandy Lake Visitor’s Center has a new look. The district’s history committee recently completed a renovation there that included the tearing down of older displays, the research and design of new panels and the building and installation of new display cases and panels. The new look was unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 17.

  • May

    Aaron Buesing, engineering and construction, is one of the St. Paul District's four Civil Servants of the Year.

    Civil Servants of the Year selected for 2015

    Civil Servants of the Year selected for 2015
    Aaron Buesing
    Monique Johs
    Dawn Linder
    Nate Wallerstedt

  • February

    Airboat operator Bill Chelmowski and survey technician Kurt Schroeder scoot across frozen Lake Pepin as ice thickness measurements are taken on Feb. 18, 2015. St. Paul District staff from the channels and harbors section took to the ice of Lake Pepin on Feb. 18 for the first of weekly ice thickness measurements. The thickest ice discovered this year was at river miles 771 and 766, where 21 inches were recorded.

    Lake Pepin ice measurements begin

    With an air temperature of -5 degrees and winds at 15 miles per hour or more, St. Paul District staff from the channels and harbors section took to the ice of Lake Pepin on Feb. 18 for the first of weekly ice thickness measurements.
  • Kris Taverna, left, and Dale Rud, both of operations, work to remove damaged concrete from the lockwall at Lock and Dam 5A on January 15, 2015. Lock 5A was closed to navigation on Dec. 1, 2014, in order to complete the necessary work by March 9, 2015.

    Mother Nature allows for start early to winter lock maintenance

    Following a historically late start to the navigation season in 2014, Mother Nature once again showed who’s in charge, giving the region a shot of cold air and shutting down navigation earlier than anticipated. This worked in favor of the district’s maintenance and repair section, based out of the Fountain City, Wisconsin, service base.

  • January

    Working up to seven days a week, excavators move 50,000 to 70,000 cubic yards of material a week as contractors work through the winter months to complete the Roseau, Minnesota, flood risk management project.

    Roseau flood protection nears finish line

    Working up to seven days a week, excavators move 50,000 to 70,000 cubic yards of material a week as contractors work through the winter months to complete the Roseau, Minnesota, flood risk management project.

  • September

    A much needed renovation was completed at the Sibley boat ramp located on the north end of Baldhill Dam / Lake Ashtabula, near Valley City, N.D., in late August. When the ramp was constructed 30 plus years ago it met the needs of launching the smaller fishing boats of that time period, but it can no longer accommodate the larger boats of today, said Jeff Kapaun, park ranger.

    Corps, partners build relationship while building new boat ramp

    A much needed renovation was completed at the Sibley boat ramp located on the north end of Baldhill Dam / Lake Ashtabula, near Valley City, N.D., in late August.

  • May

    A Corps regulator’s life: Challenges and opportunities

    Corps regulators have many duties and responsibilities. They work with federal laws, including the Clean Water Act; Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, National Environmental Policy Act; Endangered Species Act; and National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Effectively implementing these rules requires training and experience.

  • Wetlands provide more than scenic views of nature

    Have you ever wondered what wetlands actually do for society or the environment? Barbara Walther, senior ecologist, said these areas, a place between water and land, provide value to both communities and Mother Nature. She said wetlands support many benefits that range from habitat for plants and animals to water purification. “Wetlands provide a number of functions on the landscape,” she said. “Some of them are important to people directly, and a number of them are important just because of the function they provide.”

  • Regulatory 101: Science, people and America’s waters

    “When everybody is equally unhappy, we probably did our job right,” joked Tamara Cameron, regulatory branch chief. “Nobody ever says, ‘Thank you for making me get this permit.’

  • April

    HASTINGS, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District welcomed the Motor Vessel Angela K to Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn., April 16. The vessel was the first line tow to reach St. Paul this year, which means all 13 locks and dams within the St. Paul District are now accessible to commercial and recreation vessels. The April 16 arrival is the latest non-flood related start to navigation since the Corps began maintaining records in 1970.

    Corps of Engineers welcomes navigation season after historic delay

    The 2014 Mississippi River navigation season in the St. Paul District has arrived. The Motor Vessel Angela K locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn., around 5:30 p.m., April pushing 12 barges en route to St. Paul, Minn.