Heavy rainfall clearly isn't always a good thing, but it's making for a visual feast of sorts at St. Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis.
"High water is making St. Anthony Falls a spectacular sight. The Stone Arch Bridge and Hennepin Island (Water Power Park) provide great views, but the visitor center at the Upper Lock and a tour out on the lock offer some of the best vantage points," said John Anfinson, superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, the Twin Cities area unit of the National Park Service, in an e-mail.
Anfinson worked to keep the visitor center open after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the lock at 1 Portland Av. last June.
The closing was mandated by Congress after it was lobbied by activists who opposed the spread upriver of invasive carp. The center is being staffed by Anfinson's agency. The lock is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, with tours at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m.
The tours can handle up to 25 people and last about 30 minutes.
