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Mississippi River’s Tower Rock walkable for the 3rd year in a row
Human-driven climate change, through the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas, has made the once-rare event all too common.
GRAND TOWER, Ill. — Tourists in 2022 flocked to Southern Missouri for what they thought would be a “once-in-a-lifetime” tourist destination. As of Sunday morning, Tower Rock reemerged from the depths of the Mississippi River for the third year in a row.
The aptly named towering rock formation usually sits isolated in the Mississippi River around 100 miles south of St. Louis. It’s normally separated from the bank of the river, but low water levels in 2022 exposed a rock walkway to the destination.
Mississippi River levels at Chester, Illinois, dipped below 1.5 feet early Sunday morning, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Prediction Service. Once water levels dip that low, the path to Tower Rock washes up.
Editor’s note: The above video originally aired during a 2022 broadcast.
5 On Your Side was warned in 2022 about this “once-in-a-lifetime” event becoming all too common by then-American Rivers representative Olivia Dorothy. She said annual low river levels are something Missourians and all residents along the Mississippi should get accustomed to as human-induced climate change through the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas make these conditions more common.
“This is the new normal,” Dorothy said in 2022. “Climate models have predicted that this region will shift to being prone to very long and dramatic droughts that will be punctuated by extreme fluctuation and flooding.”
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota nonprofit furthering Native homeownership received a $1.5 million donation from MacKenzie Scott.
Scott, an author and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has given millions of dollars to nonprofits.
Andrea Reese, a board member and former staffer, said the donation will do so much for the Mni Sota Fund.
“I was like jumping up and down like crazy,” said Reese. “It was such a huge honor.”
The Mni Sota Fund provides wealth-building services and access to capital for the Urban Indian community.
“Having a very culturally responsive native home buying resource has made a huge impact the last 12 years that it’s been in operation,” said Reese.
Minnesota is among the worst in the nation for facial disparities in home ownership. While 77 percent of white households own their home, only about 49 percent of Native American families do, according to the American Community Survey.
“I think that a lot of the barriers are very systemic and very perpetuated by the traditional lending institutions,” said Reese,
Homeownership also impacts the health of communities too, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
“I believe it’s it comes from that stability,” said Reese. “It comes from that stability and having the security, that you have a safe place to be. And that provides financial security, it provides mental health, it provides physical health.”
There are only five full-time staff members with the fund. Reese says this donation will help so many find their way home.
One of the firefighters was treated and released at the scene and the other is being treated at North Memorial Hospital.
ROGERS, Minn. — One person was found dead and two firefighters were hurt after a structure caught fire in Rogers, Minnesota.
According to the Rogers Fire Department, the fire occurred on Territorial and Fletcher and has been contained.
The two firefighters suffered minor injuries, according to the department. One of them was treated and released at the scene and the other is being treated at North Memorial Hospital.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The memorial service in International Falls on Sunday honored Voyageurs National Park Ranger Kevin Grossheim.
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minnesota — The National Park ranger who died while trying to save others was honored Sunday in International Falls.
The memorial service for Kevin Grossheim, 55, was held at International Falls High School.
“Kevin was one of the kindest souls I’ve come across. His quiet and calming demeanor had a way of putting people at ease,” said Josh Wentz, Voyageurs National Park’s chief ranger.
Grossheim and his wife, Jill, moved to Kabetogama more than 20 years ago. Grossheim spent 23 years as a ranger for Voyageurs National Park.
On Sunday, Oct. 6, St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay told KARE 11 that a 911 call came into dispatchers around 11:30 a.m. from a family of campers stranded on an island on Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park. Ramsay said conditions were brutal with winds gusting at well over 40 miles per hour and waves five to six feet tall, and the campers couldn’t get their boat off the beach.
Grossheim reached the family but while attempting to tow the stranded craft to the mainland, the ranger’s boat capsized and threw all four people into the water. The family made it to shore but Grossheim did not. After a three-hour search, Grossheim’s body was recovered from Namakan Lake.
While colleagues at the memorial service described Grossheim as quiet, his actions spoke volumes.
“Kevin was an everyday hero that managed to avoid recognition himself and present it to others. He gave the ultimate sacrifice in his life for a family he didn’t know, for a job he loved, and for his integrity,” said Kabetogama Fire Chief Brian Wichner.
Besides his work as a park ranger, Grossheim spent nearly 20 years volunteering with the EMS/first responder team.
At his service, friends and colleagues said he had a passion for teaching boating and medical skills. Earlier this year, Grossheim received the park’s annual safety award — something that many of his loved ones didn’t know until after his death when reading the news in the local paper.
“Kevin never sought out glamorous jobs as it wasn’t his way. So a lot of staff didn’t know how much he had going on in the background,” Wentz said.
According to Wentz, Grossheim was quickly approaching retirement and had plans with his extra time to modernize his childhood home.
While addressing the crowd, Wichner said about Grossheim, “He is our hero.”
