News from 2008
Annual Membership Meeting
On September 13, 2008, the Friends of the Sauk River
held its third annual membership meeting. The meeting
was held at the City Center Administration Building in
Melrose, MN. Approximately 20 members attended. A new
Board of Directors was established. During the meeting
several presentations were made. Mitch Bender discussed
the history of the Friends of the Sauk River. Marian
Bender from the Minnesota Waters gave a presentation
regarding the great work her organization is doing. Adam
Hjlem from the Sauk River Watershed District gave an
update on the upper Sauk River project. Andrew
Dotseth gave a summary of the Sauk River clean up. A
status report emailed to the Friends of the Sauk River
regarding the Sauk River’s state canoe route designation
was read to the crowd. At the end of the day, a
cool life jacket was raffled and Jan Bjork was the lucky
winner. We are still waiting for her to model it for us.
Area Water Festivals
Members of the
Friends of the Sauk River volunteered as presenters and
support staff at
the Middle Sauk River Water Festival in Melrose, MN on
May 14, 2008, the Lower Sauk River Water Festival in St.
Joseph on September 17, 2008 and the new Three Rivers
Water Festivals in Sartell on September 25, 2008. These
water festivals
are organized by the Sauk
River Watershed District. The mission of the water
festivals is to educate area 4th graders
on the value of our water resources.
Sauk River Clean Up
Day
The first Sauk River
Clean Up Day was held on May 3, 2008. The day was a
great success despite the cool weather. Over 50
volunteers helped to clean nearly 3 miles of the
beautiful Sauk River. Several St. Cloud State University
students organized the event on behalf of the Friends of
the Sauk River. They were Andrew Dotseth, Bill Erickson,
Jon Frikken, Madison Jones, Eric Johnson, Tyler Kruse,
Amit Pradhananga, Joe Stafne, Joe Storlien and Tyler
Zelazny. Special gratitude and acknowledgement also goes
out to the clean-up sponsors: Salem Lutheran Church, the SCSU Volunteer Connection,
the Sauk River Watershed District, Minnesota DNR - Adopt
a River, City of Waite Park, City of St. Cloud, West
Central Sanitation, Sue Monson, Matt Reuter, Gary
Dotseth - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Deborah and Duane
Fischer, Central Minnesota Noon Optimist Club, Kentucky Fried Chicken
- St. Cloud & Waite Park, Subway - Southside Locations,
Bernicks, Trobec's Bus
Service, Monster Energy Drinks. And of course, THANKS to all the great volunteers.
Adopt-a-River
In April 2008, The Friends of the
Sauk River adopted a portion of the Sauk River in the
St. Cloud area. Our stretch of the river runs between
Highway 75 in Waite Park and the 8th Street bridge. This
area of the river will the target area for upcoming
river clean ups.
501(c)(3) Status Obtained
In March 2008, The Friends
of the Sauk River receive 501(c)(3) status. This now
means donations to the organization are tax deductable
and that the organization can apply for many more
types of grants. A special thanks to Joe Storlien and
Gene Waldorf for their work in this effort.
