The federal Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $58,000 grant to plant rain gardens, trees and a shoreline buffer in Duluth's Park Point.
The grant, announced Wednesday by Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken along with Rep. Rick Nolan, will be used to help prevent some 89,000 gallons of untreated stormwater runoff from reaching Lake Superior.
The EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Shoreline Cities Grants Program awards money to shoreline cities for water quality improvement projects.
Pam Louwagie
Little Falls
Bear charges at golfers, then hides near homes
Golfers on the ninth hole of the Little Falls Golf Course got a scary surprise last Tuesday afternoon when a bear estimated at more than 200 pounds charged at them.
The golfers called 911, drawing response from the Little Falls Police Department and Morrison County Sheriff's Office. Officers found the bear in a small patch of woods by the 18th hole, near a residential area where children were playing outside. They tried to shoo away the bear, but it didn't work.
After contacting the DNR and hearing previous complaints about a bear hanging out in the same area, the bear was deemed a threat to public safety and shot.
Little Falls occasionally hears reports of bears in populated areas, Police Chief Greg Schirmers said.
"It's very sporadic," he added. "It seems like this year, we saw probably more activity than we have seen in past years."
