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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017 VOL. 34 NO. 6 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
NO WAKE RESTRICTION CONCERNS: May Township. PAGE 7
Plastic pollution prevalent in St. Croix, Namekagon rivers BY GREG SEITZ REPRINTED FROM STCROIX360.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | COUNTRY MESSENGER
Scandia Elementary’s fifth grade class presented a living museum May 31.
Scandia fifth graders portray living museum Scandia Elementary’s fifth grade class presented a living museum May 31 in the school’s gymnasium. Inspired by the wax museum concept, the fifth-grade class will present facts they have learned through research and reading biographies about inspirational people who have made significant contributions to society in the arts, science, en-
vironment, government and history. Choosing from a list of 50 different people, the students portrayed characters such as Cleopatra, Benjamin Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Neil Armstrong, Pocahontas, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Jackie Robinson, Anne Frank, Steve Irwin and Elizabeth Blackwell. Each class presented their characters in
a different way. One class dressed up as their character and taught the audience about that character based on biographical and online research. In keeping with the wax museum concept, the students stood like wax statues without moving or talking until someone approached them to turn the figure on. The students then
The St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers have a plastic problem. Like many waters around the world, synthetic materials are contaminating the Wild & Scenic Rivers. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service recently collected samples from four locations in the St. Croix and Namekagon, as well as in the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities. They made some startling discoveries. “Microplastics” were found in every single water, fish, mussel, and sediment sample. Across all locations sampled, smallmouth bass had 17.5 plastic particles on average, while threeridge mussels had 6.7 particles per specimen. A cubic meter of water had an average of two particles, and a liter of mud had an average of 600 particles in it.
Clothes are a major cause
The pollution comes from numerous human
shared things they’d learned about that character’s life. The other class hosted a game show, with the contestants dressed as their characters while eight wax statues waited to share their facts. After being given biographical information, contestants guessed the name of the famous person in order to receive points.
SEE PLASTIC, PAGE 2
Cycling Scandia takes notes on cycling-centered economies About one month ago, Cycling Scandia began with the goal: To create a bike environment that results in increased cyclist traffic to Scandia; having potential for economic impact as bike destination. On April 5, the Scandia City Council moved to “sponsor and approve efforts to explore promotion of Scandia as a cycling destination.” Since then, Marlys Johnson and Janie O’Connor, co-leads for Cycling Scandia, have been tossing around ideas and meeting with local businesses to determine the interest and resources necessary for making Scandia a NEWS 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
cycling destination. In order to know how other towns have incorporated cycling into their business and recreation plans, Janie and Marlys visited Crosby and Lanesboro, Minn., and talked to their chambers of commerce, store owners, café owners and inn owners. These two towns have benefitted from bicycle traffic in their towns. Both have experienced a surge in economic activity and tourism while protecting the rural character of the community and its natural resources. SEE CYCLING, PAGE 2
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The bear necessities A bear scratches its back on a tree trunk after a swim in the pond at Marty Plante’s house.
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