The state Public Facilities Authority will send $35.5 million in grants and loans to Detroit Lakes, Osakis and Wheaton to make water-quality improvements in those cities, the agency announced last week.
The bulk of the money will go to Detroit Lakes, where $33.4 million will be used to help rehabilitate the wastewater treatment system and build a system to treat phosphorus.
Osakis will use $1.13 million in low-interest loans from the Clean Water Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water Revolving Fund for sanitary sewer rehabilitation and improvements to the city's water distribution system.
In Wheaton, a $1 million low-interest loan from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund will help rehabilitate the city's drinking water treatment plant. The 20-year, 1.118 percent-interest loan will save the city about $175,000 over a conventional loan, a statement from the PFA said.
The PFA has financed $4.5 billion in public infrastructure throughout the state since it opened in 1987.
Matt McKinney
Duluth
Slip Bridge to show off a different shade of blue
The Minnesota Slip Bridge, the pedestrian span connecting Canal Park to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center on the harbor, will be getting a spring makeover.
Known as "the blue bridge" to locals and tourists, it will be changing hues with a painting project that begins Monday and ends in early May.
The bridge, which was frequently broken because wind interfered with its pulley system, underwent a major change last year to a rack-and-pinion system, said Duncan Schwensohn, a senior engineer with the city of Duluth.
