Star Tribune
Root River’s most significant restoration project takes shape in the Driftless
LANESBORO, MINN. — More than a century after a hydroelectric dam set the Root River on a new course, conservationists are looking to put the Bluff Country channel back on its natural path.
Later this fall, crews will begin clearing a half-mile portion of the original riverbed just north of Lanesboro with the goal of rerouting the channel after next year’s growing season.
The removal of the Brightsdale Dam in 2003 freed the river’s flow but created a new problem. Conservationists estimate that 540 tons — or 40 dump truck loads — of sediment are stripped from the riverbanks each year.
Wildlife officials believe the $1 million project could become a model for preserving fish habitat and protecting against erosion and pollution along the 80-mile river that stretches across southeast Minnesota and into the Mississippi River.
“Ultimately, this project is taking something that was affected and altered by the dam back over a hundred years ago and resetting back to where it would have been if that dam wasn’t there,” said Jeff Weiss, a hydrologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
The hydroelectric dam was built in 1915 and brought power to Preston, Harmony and Canton. Lines were later extended across the region to include Mabel, Spring Grove, Fountain, Caledonia and Houston.
To generate electricity, workers spent years blasting and digging through a bluff to construct a 1,750-foot tunnel that sent water pouring down 20 feet to power the turbines. The tunnel still exists today, as does a portion of the original dam structure, both because of the cost of removal and the importance to local history.
The Brightsdale Dam tunnel was used to divert water down a 20-foot drop to power the turbines. (Sean Baker/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“It blows my mind how they were able to do that stuff back in the day,” Weiss said, pointing to historical records that show crews worked around the clock to chip away at the rock.
Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defenses downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.
Meanwhile, most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Tuesday. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Patel said. The cooperation faces challenges, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier, he said.
Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.
Russia has in recent months been assembling forces for a counteroffensive in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, though the timescale of the operation isn’t known.
Star Tribune
Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors’ appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of the Republican’s presidential victory.
Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the classified documents and the federal 2020 election interference case in Washington before Trump takes office because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
The case accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate had been seen as the most legally clear-cut of the four indictments against Trump, given the breadth of evidence that prosecutors say they had accumulated. That included the testimony of close aides and former lawyers, and because the conduct at issue occurred after Trump left the White House in 2021 and lost the powers of the presidency.
But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith had appealed her ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before Trump’s presidential win last week over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors asked the 11th Circuit in a court filing Wednesday to pause the appeal to ”afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith’s team said it would ”inform the Court of the result of its deliberations” no later than Dec. 2.
The judge overseeing the federal case in Washington accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election canceled all upcoming deadlines in the case last week after Smith’s team made a similar request.
Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that historically are made public, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.
First, they must live in St. Paul. Then, their incomes must be no more than 400% of current Federal Poverty Guidelines — about $120,000/year for a family of four — or their medical debt must be 5% or more of their annual income. Also, only debt owed to participating providers like hospitals will qualify for the program.
“Health is not only about buildings, hospitals, or clinics — health care is about meeting the needs of patients where they are and doing whatever we can to improve health outcomes and decrease cost,” Fairview Health Services President and CEO James Hereford said in a statement.
Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso also issued a statement, which read, in part: “Medical debt is a psychological burden, in addition to a financial one, that can cause patients to avoid necessary care.”
She added: “Simply having medical debt creates stress which undermines people’s health.”
Officials said national medical debt has reached about $220 billion and affects more than 100 million Americans. About 54% of insured adults carry medical debt, officials said, while 41% of people without insurance face even greater challenges, often delaying necessary care in order to pay for food and housing.
In Minnesota, the Medical Debt Fairness Act that recently went into effect bans medical debt from being reported to credit reporting agencies. It also ensures medical providers cannot withhold medical care despite unpaid debt. St. Paul and Undue Medical Debt officials said they hope to partner with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to explore ways to build on the Debt Fairness Act.
