Land of 10,000 Lakes: how Minnesota's most sacred resource made headlines in 2023
If there's one thing Minnesota is known for, it's water.
Water is a sacred part of this state's culture and is loved year-round.
Life-long memories are made on beaches and boats, wooded waterfalls surrounded by bright foliage, iced-over ponds and snow-kissed hills, and along lakeside trails as the first streams of springtime sun warm the ground.
Water is also at the heart of indigenous traditions, and a piece of any Minnesotan's DNA.
However, our state of water has seen many changes over the years.
Here's a look back at how our waters have changed in 2023, but our love for it has not.
PFAS in Minnesota: How "forever chemicals" changed the state of water
Minnesota is home to an abundance of natural resources - our incredible wealth of freshwater ranking number one for many.
With more than 69,000 miles of river, nearly 12,000 lakes, and more shoreline than Hawaii, California, and Florida combined, there's a lot to be proud of. But like many natural resources - pollution clouds the future.
For the last 20 years, Minnesota has been battling PFAS - toxic, synthetic chemicals that can invade the environment and have proved difficult to remove. The challenge is further complicated in the East Metro by 3M, one of several global companies that make PFAS, and is now attempting to remediate their impact.
State of Water: Protecting and understanding wild rice, sacred to Ojibwe people
Wild rice — or Manoomin as the Ojibwe call it — is one of the Midwest's most sacred plants.
But extreme weather, from record snow to destructive floods, is having tangible consequences on our state's water cycle and puts native vegetation at risk.
Researchers and tribal nations are creating partnerships to protect and better understand the needs of Manoomin. While these partnerships work to heal habitats, they also attempt to recenter Indigenous knowledge, slowly tending to deep cultural wounds.
State of Water: How suburban home aesthetics are scarring Minnesota shorelines
If it's summertime, you are sure to find many Minnesotans at some of our state's 12,000 lakes.
But for years experts have warned that many of our habits are scarring these precious parts of summer.
Researchers will soon release new findings that show nearly 50% of Minnesota's natural shorelines have vanished. In their place are perfectly manicured lawns, manufactured beaches, and foliage covered in pesticides. Now, as lake water turns murky and wildlife starts to disappear, many lake property owners find themselves questioning their own impact on the shore.
Line 3 oil pipeline: A look at what's happened since the pipeline started operating in northern Minnesota
It's been over a year since the controversial Line 3 pipeline started operating in Minnesota.
The pipeline - one of dozens owned by Canadian energy giant Enbridge - is at the center of a debate surrounding environmental regulation, Indigenous rights, and access to jobs. After years of protests and legal battles, the pipeline turned on in October of 2021.
Federal regulators say the company has spilled hazardous liquids hundreds of times in the last 20 years. That's wreaked havoc on portions of the environment in Minnesota and other areas of the U.S. And though Enbridge has provided a lot of people in northern Minnesota with jobs, those positions are now drying up.
What Water Gremlin's bankruptcy filing means for the company, community after pollution debacle
A manufacturing plant at the center of a years-long WCCO investigation is filing for bankruptcy. It comes as Water Gremlin faces more than 95 civil lawsuits.
The company noted the accusations of causing cancer — even death — prompted the company to file.
WCCO has been reporting on developments at the White Bear Township plant since 2019. It started after the discovery of elevated and excessive emissions of a toxic chemical called TCE.
Water Gremlin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Attorney Roger Maldonado with firm Faegre Drinker, who is not affiliated with the case, reviewed the documents.
Lake Superior, known for icy waters, one of the fastest warming lakes in the world
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world — a sea known for its pristine cold water. But in a warming world, that's changing.
Before dawn, a crew boards the Blue Heron, an old fishing boat converted into a floating lab for research.
The Department of Natural Resources checks on the lake's fish populations to manage and support one of the state's great resources and pastimes. On a chilly Madison Lake in central Minnesota, they're electro-shocking those fish to collect samples. Experts then look at their size, age and diets to get a baseline, then compare it to winter.
As students work on the water, professors like oceanographer Jay Austin are back at their home base — the Large Lakes Observatory at University of Minnesota Duluth.
Austin says Superior has warmed one degree per decade since the 80s, making it one of the fastest-warming lakes in the world.
"Floating it Forward" program helps get seniors in Waconia out on the water
Fall brings out the best colors. It also brings out Nagel Assisted Living and Memory Care residents like Rita Roers to Lake Waconia for a front row seat view of Minnesota nature's true hues by boat.
"I know they're going to pop out more," said Roers.
It's a trip which brings back timeless memories for Roers and fellow resident Joel Wenz.
"Catching a four-pound walleye on Lake Mille Lacs with my brother Michael and my dad. He'd wake us up at two in the morning. Come on Joel, let's go" laughed Wenz.
"I remember throwing my brother over the boat. Didn't tell mom," laughed Roers.
Tuesday's on the water excursion and others like it, started with a Facebook post, and a simple ask. Chloe Morawitz, Nagel's Activities Director, asked if anyone knew where to rent a boat to get residents out on the water.
"I used to go out here with my dad for 4th of July with the fireworks, so I knew how gorgeous it was, so I wanted them to experience it," explained Morawitz.
How the volunteer "frogger" group protects amphibians in Wisconsin waters
Frogs and toads face threats in rural areas, but there's a long-running volunteer program giving Wisconsin residents a first-hand experience in noticing and documenting changes to the amphibian population.
A "frogger" is what the Department of Natural Resources affectionately calls Robert Dass and the roughly 200-300 volunteers like him.
Dass, who works for a medical device company and is originally from Anoka, is in his second year as a volunteer frogger.
The citizen scientists keep frogs safe by listening to and tracking their mating calls.
"This time of year, we're looking for five or six different species in this particular region. So, that's what we're listening for," explained Dass.
Dass visited 10 sites across his route in Star Prairie. His survey, a sort of amphibian census, requires a keen ear.
"We Are Water MN" exhibit connects Minnesota's cultures through water
"We Are Water MN" is a traveling exhibit that examines water issues in local communities through science, history, and personal stories.
Water protection is important, even in "the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
"The water issues here versus another part of Minnesota are gonna be different, and the things we need to do to protect and restore that water are different," said Britt Gangeness with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). "So this exhibit really tries to get down to that local level of what is really going on? What can I do about it?"
To answer those questions, Minnesota Humanities Center and the MPCA, in cooperation with four other state agencies, launched the "We Are Water MN" program in 2016.
"Flood tourism is a thing": Officials urge people to stay away from rising rivers, adhere to closures
The St. Croix River is on the brink of major flood stage in Stillwater.
The city has spent weeks preparing for this. The sandbag levee is holding strong Tuesday night protecting downtown, though some businesses have water in their basements.
It's hard to see over the levee, but the river is now touching the bottom of the iconic Stillwater Lift Bridge. Many people are coming to river cities like Stillwater to see the rising water, but officials urge everyone to be cautious, too.
RELATED: Spring flooding in Minnesota: 2023 updates
Breast cancer survivors take to the lake as Dragon Divas, racing and empowering each other
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a group of survivors is fighting back with boats and paddles. They are known as the Dragon Divas and they empower each other.
At Lake Gervais in Little Canada, dozens of women ages 35 to 85, grabbed their paddles, hopped in boats, and found their rhythm.
"It's fantastic. It's so inspirational," said Meredith Leary Johnson. "I love that in dragon boat racing they call racing 'festivals.' It makes it so much more 'diva-ish.'"
Johnson is one of the newest members of the Dragon Divas. They practice up to three times a week, and as much fun as it is, it was a breast cancer diagnosis that brought them together.
Many Minnesota lakes and rivers at historic low points with no end to drought in sight
With nearly 55% of the state now in severe drought, many Minnesota lakes and rivers are at historic low points.
Near Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, Becky Little is seeing a part of the Mississippi River she never thought she'd see. She's been coming here for years. But just like her lawn at home, the river is as dry as she's ever seen it.
"I've never been able to walk here," Little said. "I think it's a little sad. I mean, it's the 'Mighty Mississippi.' It's not flowing like it should be, I think."
With no significant rainfall in the forecast, there's concern as to just how low it can go.
"We've had three serious droughts in a row here in Minnesota and that certainly isn't normal," said State Climatologist Luigi Romolo.
Romolo says we are getting close to surpassing the drought of 2021. The difference here is that we got more rain in August and September. This is why a number of cities are once again turning to lawn-watering restrictions.
How is climate change impacting Minnesota's lakes?
Our summer is really sizzling. The planet just sweated through its hottest June ever recorded. And ocean temperatures broke records, too.
Sea temperatures around Florida broke a record earlier this month, climbing close to 97 degrees.
WCCO asked Jay Austin, a professor and researcher at Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, if Minnesota's lakes are also warming.
"It certainly appears given the data that [the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency] has collected," Austin said. "There are distinct and significant trends across the state."
State data shows average July-August surface water temperatures are 3-4 degrees warmer now than 50 years ago.
"Lake Superior is sort of famous for remaining cold even in a nice summer," he said.
But even large lakes, like Superior, are seeing the effects of climate change.
Instead of making sale, couple gifts boat to family with mom battling cancer
You've heard the phrase a thousand times: "Minnesota Nice." Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield has a story from Lake Waconia that proves it's a real and beautiful thing.
Life can take you for a ride. Sometimes you catch a good day. And sometimes, a good day turns bad.
"I'll always remember it, Aug. 20th, 2020, one month after my daughter was born," said Lindsay Block, of Carver.
To understand how bad this day was, you have to know how good life was. In 2006, on her last week of college, Lindsay met Joe.
What was it that drew him to her?
"Kindness, she's just super kind, super selfless," said Joe Block. "I bring her out and she keeps me grounded. We work well."
A team, and a love that multiplied: Will, Andrew, and baby Olivia.
"I felt the lump when I was pregnant but I didn't think anything of it," Lindsay said.
But it was something: stage 4 breast cancer. It had spread to a lymph node, liver, and her bones.
Major changes made to improve emergency response times on Lake Minnetonka
First responders are gearing up for what could be an incredibly busy Memorial Day weekend on Minnesota waters.
On Lake Minnetonka in the west metro, this year will be the first with two major changes that first responders with Hennepin Healthcare say are targeted at keeping people safe - all while improving response times.
The Hennepin County Water Patrol is a fixture on Lake Minnetonka, but if there was ever a medical emergency, they'd need to call Hennepin EMS, pick them up on the shore and take them out.
