Tuesday, April 21st The Dam Store Café owners, David Hruska and Jenny Barnes, will share their experience during
the breach of the Rapidan Dam,
They will have family photos for us to project and will answer
questions and share old stories of the river valley from their father.
This program will be at 7 pm in Belgrade Avenue
Methodist Church in North Mankato. It is free and open to the public and there
will be free refreshments.
________________________
Mankato Paddling and Outings Club
Minutes April 7, 2026
A meeting of the canoe club was held
with Brad Nawrocki, Mark Bosacker,Peggy Kreber, and myself
in attendance.
A treasurer's report was given with
$1,276.44 in the account. Expenses not yet subtracted include $100 for Addie
Paradis for last month's talk, $200 for Save the Boundary Waters, and $28.95 to
Mark Bosacker for cookies and cider.
Club dues are due now. They are $20 a
year. Please send your dues to
Mark Bosacker
at the following address:
Mark Bosacker,
419 Nicollet, North Mankato, Mn. 56003
If you send in the check now it saves
the canoe club extra money in postage to send out notices to members on past
due notices. Please note
OUR BANK WILL NOT CASH ANY CHECKS MADE
OUT TO US UNLESS THEY READ
"Mankato Paddling and Outings Club"!
We talked about the Rapidan Heritage Society. They meet on the 1st and 3rd
Saturdays of the month from 9 to 11 at the Lutheran Church building in Rapidan. People are encouraged to attend. Patrick Belmont,
a professor at a university in Utah will be in town on May 2nd
. He is a geologist and is interested in canoeing the Le Sueur River but
he would like to use a club canoe. If you or know of anyone that would like to
go along, call Mark Bosacker at 507-388-7023. You may
need to leave a message.
The 3 rivers trip is planned for May 9th . We will meet at the church parkinglot
at 12:00 and put in at the trestle at Red Jacket Park.
Mark said he will call the Dam Store
owners about giving a presentation this month on the happenings on the Rapidan Dam.
Dean Peterson, Secretary
More announcements follow below
_______________________________
Tuesday, April 21st The Mankato
Paddling and Outings Club will sponsor a program by the owners of the Dam Store
Cafe, David Hruska and Jenny Barnes, at 7 pm in
Belgrade Avenue Methodist Church in North Mankato. They briefly described their
experience during the breach of the Rapidan Dam after
the last meeting of the Rapidan Heritage Society. It
was fascinating!
Jenny told me that, this time, they
would bring family photos for us to project Also, they would have more time to
answer questions and share old stories of the river valley from their father.
This program is free and open to the public and there will be free
refreshments.
_________________________________
Saturday May 2nd Paddle the Le Sueur with Patrick Belmont.
Patrick Belmont is head of the department of watershed sciences at Utah State
University and one of the authors of a recent paper on wetland restoration, He
has developed a "Sediment Budget for the watershed.
Holding back water in small areas of
farm fields for five to 10 days after rain would make a big difference to the
river, according to Patrick Belmont, "Holding that water would reduce
the peak flows in the river system, helping prevent erosion that is degrading
the water and the life within it."
The Greater Blue Earth River Basin,
which includes the Le Sueur, Watonwan and Blue Earth watersheds, has been
studied intensely by researchers across the state and nation, with more than 90
published studies in the past 15 years. MPOC was involved with helping these
scientists when they first started these studies. We had a large group paddle
with Mr. Belmont et
al on the same day he later presented his sediment budget for the Le Sueur
River.
__________________________
Tuesday, May 19th :
Minneopa State Park, Hike the floodplain along the
Minnesota River in Minneopa State Park. Vehicle stickers or day passes are required.
The Prairie Enthusiasts - Many Rivers
Chapter 2026 Monthly Prairie Hikes.
What: Informal hikes for people
interested in prairies, held on publicly-accessible land in the Many Rivers
Chapter area. Who: General public
(humans only, no pets)
When: Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday
evenings starting at 6:00pm from April through September, 2026. Hikes are
planned to last 1-2 hours; participants may leave at their leisure. See ‘Dates
& Locations’ for specific dates.
Where: Various prairies around Mankato
and surrounds. See ‘Dates & Locations’ for meeting location. Plan to meet
at 6pm and depart on hike shortly thereafter.
What to bring: Participants should
wear clothing appropriate for the field and weather (ex. boots, long pants, hat). Be prepared to walk through tall grass on uneven
terrain. Bring drinking water and any other supplies you’ll need for a hike.
For more information, site maps, and
inclement weather updates, visit our Prairie Hike webpage at: https://sites.google.com/view/prairie-hikes
Remaining schedule: June 17: Bluff Park, July 13: Gustavus
Adolphus College Arboretum, August 11: Butternut Valley Prairie Scientific and
Natural Area, September 16: Traverse des Sioux
For questions, contact Jason Andersen
at 402-210-0444 or Jason.E.Andersen@gmail.com.
________________________
The new trail by Henderson Mn (Sibley County) is holding a Grand Opening May 30. Ice
Cream shop on one end, Union Trail Brewery on the other, does it get any
better? Festivities start at the trailhead in Henderson at 9:00 am.
______________________
MPOC
2025 Trip Schedule
This
is the proposed Schedule of the MPOC’s 2025 paddling trips. All trips are subject to water and weather
conditions. The meeting place is the
parking lot of
MANKATO PADDLING AND OUTINGS CLUB 2025 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
|
DATE |
PLACE EVENT TIME |
|
Jan. 1st |
7 Mile Creek
Bonfire/Hiking/Snowshoe & Potluck Noon |
|
Jan. 7th |
Belgrade Methodist Church Election
of Officers 7:00
p.m. |
|
Jan. 18th |
Williams Nature Center Favorite Trip Night &Potluck
6:00 p.m. |
|
Feb. 18th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Waterville Fish Hatchery 7:00 p.m. |
|
Mar. 18th |
Belgrade Methodist Church No
Program for March 2025 ! |
|
Apr. 15th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Dean Peterson on Colombia
7:00 p.m. |
|
Apr. 26th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot 3 Rivers in One Day ! 10:00 a.m. |
|
May 10th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot Three Rivers Trip 10:00 a.m. |
|
May 20th |
Belgrade Methodist Church Swan Lake Nature Cruise
5:30 p.m. |
|
June 14th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Judson to Mankato Paddle
10:00 a.m. |
|
June 17th |
Hiniker Pond Boat Trials &Potluck 5:00 p.m. |
|
July 5th |
Eagle Lake Moonlight
Cruise 6:30 p.m. |
|
July 12th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot Rapidan to
Mankato Trip 10:00 a.m. |
|
July 18th |
Belgrade
Methodist Park Lot Christmas in
July TBA |
|
Aug. 19th |
Lake Elysian, Janesville
MPOC Potluck Picnic & Paddle
5:30 p.m. |
|
Sept. 6th |
Lake Emily
Moon Light Paddle 6:30 p.m. |
|
Oct. 18th |
Red Jacket Park Fall Colors 1:00 p.m. |
|
Nov. 11th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Speaker TBA 7:00 p.m. |
|
Dec. 6th |
North Mankato Police Annex Christmas
Party Potluck 5:30 p.m. |
INFORMATIONAL/BUSINESS
MEETINGS ARE THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH AT THE BELGRADE METHODIST CHURCH
AT 7:00 P.M.
Please
feel free to call a Club Officer about any events with a question or comment
Officers:
President, Brad Nawrocki--(507) 340-4459 VP and Treasurer, Mark Bosacker--(507)
388-7023 (leave message!), Secretary, Dean Peterson Our Website: mankatocanoeclub.org
Or
Join Our Facebook Group: Mankato Paddling and Outings Club (MPOC)