New rules aimed at protecting Minnesota’s waters from aquatic invasive species don’t take effect until July 1, but could be revised before then.
On July 1, anyone who transports a boat trailer, boat lift or other water equipment in Minnesota will be required to take a course and display a decal indicating they have completed the course, said April Rust, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources aquatic invasive species training coordinator. The course will take 20-30 minutes and be required every three years.
The law may be revised because it will impact people traveling from other states to destinations in Minnesota, said Rust. The DNR understands concerns raised by representatives of the tourism industry and others about the law as it now stands, she said.
“The problem with the law the way it was written is it will include anyone traveling through the state,” she said. “We recognize there is an issue with the law as written. And we will know more about that as the legislative process unfolds. Once the whole legislative process is underway, we will see what happens when we get direction from the governor’s office.”
The state Legislature convenes Jan. 6.
Some tourism organizations believe there will be changes to better deal with out-of-state visitors that probably won’t be aware of the requirements, said Pete Schultz, executive director of the area’s Visitor and Convention Bureau. He briefed members of the CVB Board in October about the law and it’s impact on travelers to help them prepare for its implementation, said Schultz.
Revision of the law would be helpful, he said. “Certainly we all want to stop the spread of invasive species and I believe out-of-state visitors would want to do their part but they need to be educated before we can expect them to jump on the bandwagon,” he said.
And even though the decal and training aren’t required until July 1, Schultz said he’s fielded some questions from people who want to know what they’ll need to do to be legal.
The course is intended to make clear what people need to do to comply with the state’s AIS laws, said Rust.
The training and trailer decal program was established through 2011 legislation with a delayed implementation. It was approved by the Legislature as part of a suite of aquatic invasive species laws were put into place.
“There was a big invasive species push that year, with support from both sides of the aisle in the Legislature,” said Rust. “This is one piece of a multi-pronged approach.”
The framework for the course and decal program is in place and DNR staff are working to finish details of the program and its launch, planned for Jan. 31.
“We want to give people enough time to hear about (the course), take it and get ready,” she said of the July 1 effective date. “They do have time.”
Rust said the DNR is just now starting to provide information about the law in an effort which will gain momentum in the new year.
“Don’t panic,” she urged people. “We will get the word out.”
The course will be offered online and on paper by the same vendor that offers the boat and water safety courses. She said the paper course will only be available from the vendor.
The DNR has created a website at trailers.mndnr.gov where information about changes to the law or implementation delays will be posted, said Rust. Now, a “frequently asked questions” page on the new law is offered on the website.
The course will be similar to training and permitting required in the past few years for lake service providers, such as dock builders, resort operators, and irrigaters, to make sure they know how to follow the law and not spread invasive species, said Rust.
The Koochiching County Board heard about the new requirements last week from county Environmental Services Director Dale Olson.
“They tried to do this once about three years ago and it was just an information sticker that you put on your boat, I think it was a requirement, but there was no cost or training involved, but it all fell apart within about six months,” he said.
Commissioner Rob Ecklund said neighboring states charge an additional fee on licenses to cover the costs of programs.
The board last week adopted a program intended to stop the spread of AIS in county lakes and streams.
Meanwhile, Rust said apathy about a concern like aquatic invasive species can easily take root in people when they begin to feel the challenge is too great and they can have no impact in the cause.
Working to slow the spread of invasive species is not a lost cause, but requires a collective response, she said.
Less than 5 percent — nearly 11,842 lakes 10 acres or larger, and 6,564 rivers and streams — of Minnesota lakes, rivers and streams are on the state’s infested list, she said.
“What this program can do is to ensure that folks know the law so they can follow it,” she said. “A lot of people know the law and follow it, a lot think they know the law and have some right and some wrong, and there’s plenty of people who don’t know and don’t care. This is one way to even that out.”
Jenna Sullivan, left, helps her sister, Chloe, with her pallet project.
Mitchell Nemec applies a coat of paint to his pallet tree. Falls Lumber and Shannon Oveson donated a lot of the paint used for the projects.
Olivia McBride, left, and Sammy Christie appear to enjoy the experience of working in the wood shop.
Anthony Correia makes putting a pallet tree together look easy.
Maddy Lorenson, left, and Ashton Hielscher decorate their trees.
Kaylee Moschner takes her turn using a drill.
West End Elementary students transformed basic pallets into unique gifts this week.
About 40 pallets used during this summer’s flood relief efforts were delivered to the sixth-grade students by Scott Thompson so the group could craft them into Christmas trees to take home as gifts.
Assisted by eighth-grade students in George McDonald’s wood shop class, sixth graders had the opportunity to use power tools to construct their Christmas trees.
Sixth-grade teacher Kim McDonald said she came up with the idea to put the discarded pallets to good use.
“I was thinking about a project we could do with all the pallets because I knew there would be an excessive amount,” she said.
After searching Pinterest, the popular ideas website, she knew transforming the pallets in Christmas trees would be the way to go.
“The trees are special beyond the kids making them,” she said. “A lot of the kids were affected by the flood or helped sandbag this summer. Using these pallets meant a lot to them.”
Kim McDonald asked her husband, George McDonald, if his eighth-grade wood shop class would help and said she later found out he was skeptical at first.
“But then I found out he said (the trees) turned out really nice,” she said.
And the kids loved them, too.
“They didn’t want to leave the wood shop class,” Kim McDonald said. “They are really proud of what they’ve made...It kind of commemorates the flood this summer and shows out of difficult things, comes good things.”
Santa Claus and one of his elves wave to Falls Elementary students as they arrive at school Friday.
Dressed in his festive gear, preschool student Lars Lindquist waves to Santa as he arrives at school Friday.
A group of students enthusiastically wave at Santa and his elf.
Students at Falls Elementary were greeted by Santa Claus and one of his elves when they arrived to school Friday. The jolly Christmas icon waved to students — calling some of them out by name — and wished everyone a merry Christmas.
Dick Bergh shared his secrets on preparation and cooking of lutefisk, which he eats year around. He shows this dehydrated fillet prior to preparation for cooking.
Lutefisk — it’s what’s for dinner year around for Dick Bergh.
While most people of Scandinavian descent eat the fish as a holiday tradition, Bergh gives a nod to the tradition, but also eats lutefisk even in the summer months.
Lutefisk should be firm when eaten, he said. The gelatinous version (or aversion) some people eat is a result of improper preparation and cooking, he said.
Bergh, of International Falls, brought to The Journal a piece of the uncooked fish to show for this story. It was not a well kept secret as he pulled the dry fillet from a plastic bag for a photo allowing the pungent aroma to waft through the building.
Known as “Lutefisk” by members of his coffee group, Bergh prepares a lutefisk meal for the Sons of Norway Vinland Lodge 1-193. He’s also cooked it for the Moose Lodge a few years ago.
“It’s fun,” he said of the ritual involved in preparing the fish. “I like it.”
Fifty pounds of the lye-soaked fish are ordered and delivered by Day Fish Company, Braham, Minn., for the Sons of Norway meal.
“Then, I generally keep about 20 to 25 pounds to do it off and on during the summer,” he said. “It’s not only for Christmas.”
Bergh special orders the fillets with skin, which he said is not the preferred style of most people. Day Fish Company gets its fillets dried and dehydrated from Norway.
“I do a rinsing process night and morning for five days,” he said. “Without the skin you have to be more careful because the fish will separate.”
Bergh places the fillets on cookie racks over the sink and with a light pressure sprays them with cold water, causing the sink to fill up like soap suds as the lye is washed away, he said.
He places the fish in a bin of heavily salted water kept outdoors for three days. The salt keeps the water from freezing, he notes.
And then he again sprays with water the racks of fish over the sink until he sees no foam. He leaves the fish on the racks to allow all liquid to drain out.
The day he prepares it, he places the fish on a towel and pats it dry. He bakes the fish at 325 degrees on big aluminum pans, bent at an angle to catch liquid from the fish, and covers it with aluminum foil with slits cut to allow moisture to escape. It is baked from 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet.
“It comes out nice and firm like halibut,” he said. “And, you end up with no more than a tablespoon of water in the pan.”
Many people boil cheesecloth containing lutefisk, he said.
“The fish in the center are not cooked the same as the ones outside and in a matter of seconds it will go to jelly on you,” he said.
Lutefisk is prepared that way for many large gatherings during the holidays, he said. The water is allowed to drip from the fish briefly, which doesn’t get all the water out and then the fish is placed in large roasters where water drips to the bottom and continues cooking the fish.
Boiling, if watched carefully, can produce a flaky lutefisk, “but you need to know what you’re doing,” he said. “You have to be awfully careful and you still have moisture in the fillet.”
“They dish it up in bowls with spoons,” he said of the kind of lutefisk many people have loved to hate.
When he serves the fish, Bergh said he leaves the fish on the aluminum pans, places foil over it, and places the pans 8-10 inches from the bottom of the roaster, so it keeps warm, but does not cook.
And the proof of Bergh’s methods is in the tasting, he said. He reported that eight couples came from Cook to the Falls to eat his lutefisk because they’d heard it was the best in the country. And, he said, a woman who had never eaten lutefisk “because she just never could eat it,” ate two plates before she was done.
The big secret is getting the moisture and caustic soda, or lye, out of the fish, he said. “That’s the way my dad had always did it.”
And his dad knew a little about lutefisk, said Bergh. His mom and dad ran a general store between Mondovi and Eau Claire, Wis., and were the biggest supplier of lutefisk for miles around. He said his father rinsed the fish even before he sold it.
Bergh serves lutefisk with melted clarified butter, meatballs and boiled red potatoes. Others prefer lutefisk in a white sauce.
Eating lutefisk, along with drinking a Scandinavian liquor, has gotten the thumbs up from his doctors, he said.
“My doctor says ‘I don’t understand, but everything, the tests, all come out perfect,’” recalled Bergh. “He says, ‘The only thing I can say is stay on lutefisk and akavet.”
