Presentation on the Future of the Mississippi River Gorge

“From Rapids to Reservoirs & Back Again?’ — a presentation by John O. Anfinson, PhD

For the first time since the Twin Cities’ founding, we have an opportunity to redefine the Mississippi River in the heart of the Twin Cities. In 2014, Congress directed the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to permanently close the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock. This ended commercial barge traffic there and at the next two locks and dams downstream: the Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam No. 1. Now the Corps wants to leave all three.

The Upper St. Anthony Falls Dam will remain, as Xcel Energy owns most of it, and removing it would destroy St. Anthony Falls. But we have a choice whether the other two locks and dams remain or come out. We face a choice between two very different worlds, both different from the world we have known for over 100 years. John will talk about the choice before us and how we can make the best decision, a 21st century decision.

Speaker bio: John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing, and speaking about the Mississippi River for over 40 years. He spent the first half of his 40-year federal career with the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as District Historian, Tribal Coordinator, and Cultural Resources Program Manager. He joined the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, in 2000 and retired as Superintendent in 2021. John is the author of The River We Have Wrought and River of History and many articles about the Mississippi River. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from UMN.

Presented by Highland District Council, National Parks Conservation Association and St. Paul Parks Conservancy