NATURE NOTES

“Although water temperatures are adequate to support rainbow trout throughout the year in Wolf Creek, there is still a great opportunity to improve the habitat throughout the stretch of stream that runs through Todd Park,” Soupir said. “For example, in-stream habitat including weirs to focus flow and create scour (which helps develop deeper pools that trout need to over-winter), coarse woody habitat projects that provides cover and feeding habitat, and even lunker structures (undercut bank structures that provide over-head cover and resting areas) would all be possible in this stretch of the stream, but would need to be designed appropriately.”

That’s work already being eyed by Fett who is only just looking at the tip of the iceberg in terms of what can be done, however, he’s also coping with limitations from the COVID-19 pandemic that seems to be limiting everything these days.

“Typically, we want to be creating more ripples and pools and also some different habitat structures,” he said. “It gives the fish a place to lie low so stressed fish can hide, but we haven’t really looked into any specifics yet. With COVID19 there might be some grant limitations. I’m not sure were potential dollars could come from.”

All of this combined with preveious work the CRWD has done in order to enhance water quality within the watershed is providing an opportunity and in turn shows what good work can come of such efforts.

“I think it’s been really exciting seeing that conservation upstream can lead to something this great,” Fett said.

While this first year has been successful, looking forward there are some areas that officials are looking carefully at.

Drought conditions are one of those things. Currently, the ground water tables are ample Soupir said, but should conditions become drier then ground water infiltration would be affected leading to rising water temperatures in streams that are generally cold-water streams and good for trout.

Another area to keep track of are stretches of the stream that are unavailable to anglers. There are more springs located downstream of Todd Park that anglers can’t reach and should the trout find their way to these springs then they may not leave.

“We always hope to work with landowners in situations with unique angling opportunities like Wolf Creek,” Soupir said. Sometimes we can secure fishing access easements, which may be a possibility in the future upstream or downstream. That said, even if we can’t pursue additional access for anglers along Wolf Creek, Todd Park provides a great stretch of stream for this trout fishery and we hope that the successes we achieved in 2020 can be extended well into the future.”

All in all, the future is looking pretty good for continued fishing in Todd Park.

“I think things are looking really positive now,” Fett said. “Folks have been catching fish between stockings. The next thing we would look at pursing is enhancing habitat for those trout. We’ll continue to evaluate how fishing is going. If the trout stick around and people can still catch them then it’s looking like it’s been success.”

Following the discovery of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer in Dakota County in March, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will expand current deer feeding and attractant bans to include Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott and Washington counties beginning July 1.

“To prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease, it’s important to limit close contact among deer,” said Michelle Carstensen, DNR’s wildlife health program supervisor. “By keeping feed and attractants out of our backyards, Minnesotans can discourage the congregation of deer that spreads this deadly disease.”

In counties where deer feeding is banned, people need to remove any grains, fruits, nuts and other food placed in ways that could entice deer. People who feed birds or small mammals need to make sure that deer cannot access the food. The feed should be kept at least 6 feet above ground level. Normal agricultural, forest management or wildlife foodplanting practices are allowed.

In areas where the attractant ban is also in place, people must remove any liquid food scents, salt, minerals and other natural or manufactured products that attract deer. Information Find more information on feeding and attractant bans on theDNR website at www. dnr.state.mn.us/cwd/feedban.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Current deer feeding and attractant bans

Currently 31 counties in north-central and southeastern Minnesota have deer feeding and/or attractant bans in place. The bans in five of those counties will be removed on July 1. So, with six counties being added and five removed, a total of 32 counties will have feeding and/or attractant bans in place on July 1.

Locally, Mower, Olmsted, Steele and Dodge counties are all on the list of the ban on deer feeding.

Throwing A Round

Story and PhotoS by rocky hulne

It’s a nice afternoon in Driesner Park and a baseball player, a swimmer, and a soccer player have all found something they can do together.

Aaron Knoll, a senior who was one of Austin’s top swimmers this past season, Dawson Mills, an Austin grad who played third base for the state qualifying baseball team in 2019 and Hector Hernandez, a senior who played on Austin’s summer soccer team the past few years, have found that disc golf can be exactly what they need to keep them balanced — before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group of friends have been playing together since last year and they’ve especially enjoyed discing together in a time where they’ve spent more than enough time locked inside in front of a computer screen for distance learning. Knoll, Herandez and Mills have been just a few of the many disc golfers who have flocked to Driesner this spring as it has been one of the few activities that never faced any restrictions.

“It’s just nice to get some fresh air and clear my mind,” Knoll said. “It’s a lot when you’re trying to sit at home and isolate. It takes a toll on your mental health and you get really bored. Getting out and enjoying the weather is really nice. It’s nice to be able to disc golf.”

Disc golfing has grown in popularity in Austin and beyond in the past decade and it is the perfect sport to play while social distancing. Competitors can play alongside each other without making physical contact and they can also carry on a face-to-face conversation while playing.

There is also the mental relief of being in nature as many disc golf courses are built in scenic parks throughout the state.

“You get outside and out in the woods. You get to see nature,” Mills said. “There’s something about watching that disc fly through the air that is relaxing.”

Disc golf is usually played casually, although players naturally improve the more they throw. Herandez has made big strides since he started playing last year.

“When I first started I couldn’t throw farther than 50 feet. Now I can kind of hit 300,” Hernandez said. “It’s very satisfying when you throw your disc. It’s the throw you want and it just looks beautiful. That’s the best feeling.”

Knoll started to encourage his friends to play disc golf after school last year and he’s been out plenty of times this year. Knoll said there are plenty of benefits to disc golfing as it is a good way to get moving and have fun.

“It’s one of the cheapest sports to get into when you’re out of high school,” Knoll said. “You could do regular golf, but then you have to pay for clubs and pay for a golf membership. That doesn’t even cover the extensive amount of disc golf courses in the state. Most of them are free. All you really need is a driver, a mid-range and a putter. A combo of those can go for thirty bucks and then you’re set until you lose a disc or break one.”

• Driesner Park in Austin is an 18-hole course that is located in the middle of town. • Todd Park in Austin offers a 27-hole course that wraps through a forest and into a hilly area with a river. • Willows Disc Golf Course in Winona is a 18-hole course that is near East Lake Winona. A nine-hole course is on West Lake. • Slatterly Park in Rochester offers a chance to play nine quick holes. • Bear Cave Park in Stewartville has 18 holes that run through a wooded area. • Grand Meadow School Disc Golf Course has nine holes and runs through a line of smaller trees.

Sometimes, to create something positive all you really need is a cell phone and a goat — and Tik Tok.

On a warm and windy day in May, IJ Holton Intermediate School special education case facilitator Jessica Carlson handed her daughter Haven her phone and began singing to that goat.

As she did this, Haven recorded her and what was it for? To spread a little positivity during a time when positivity is a hard thing to come by.

On many of the days since COVID-19 closed the schools and everything else Carlson has taken the time to create short videos for the social media platform Tik Tok in order to create something fun for those watching.

At any one time Carlson has used her own children, which includes Haven, Boone and Hollis, her parents DeDee and RJ Bergstrom and a plethora of farm animals.

In fact, it was because of her children that Carlson started making the videos, not that she was overly thrilled to do it.

“My kids got me into it first because they wanted me to do this dance with them,” Carlson said. “I thought, ‘this is stupid, I don’t want to do this.’ But then it was ‘oh my gosh, this is great!’”

After that it was off to the races as her children quickly became accomplices to Carlson and her videos.

For those not acquainted with Tik Tok, the social media platform allows people to upload videos in short-form, usually in the vein of 15 seconds, although they can be strung together to create 60-second long videos.

Videos often reflect dances, funny encounters or artistic endeavors.

“This is the highlight of my day,” Carlson said. “I always told my sister I was funnier than her, now I have proof.”

Jessica Carlson and her daughter Haven lead a pair of goats out into the yard of Jessica’s parents farm. Goats are often featured in her Tik Tok videos. Below, Jessica leans in to say “hi” to a student during a reverse parade at Ellis and IJ Holton schools.

Many of Carlson’s videos take place on her parent’s farm in rural Freeborn County, but Tik Toks have been known to break out anywhere including in her car or even a Zoom meeting with Austin Public Schools special education teachers.

“We made a Tik Tok together with ‘Smooth Criminal’ (Annie, are you okay?) because so many of us are praying our kids are okay,” Carlson said.

Like most teachers, the loss of the school year was a hard one to bear. The teachers routinely acknowledge how hard it’s been being separated from the students they spend so much time with.

Even though distance learning had been put into effect, it didn’t make up for not having students in the classroom.

“It’s been challenging just because you’re not there as a physical presence with students and staff,” Carlson said, who has been with the school district since 1998 and at IJ Holton since 2013. “You’re almost in mourning. You’ve lost something. I have moments … I just don’t know how much longer you can do that. We miss that connection so badly.”

Carlson’s path to teaching was a destiny of sorts, that as her mom tells it she was out to save the world.

“Knowing the world would be a huge undertaking, I became a special education teacher,” Carlson said.

So it’s no surprise that Carlson and other special education teachers are maybe missing their kids a little more because of the close proximity they have with their students, oftentimes in one-on-one settings.

“The state hasn’t really lightened the special ed load at all and the teachers are responsible for contacting the students,” Carlson said. “If you’re having a hard time reaching the faculty and now throw in language barriers, it’s very taxing.”

And now we’re back to the Tik Tok videos. It turns out it’s more than just creating something funny to lift the spirits of others.

Carlson has found it lifts her spirits as well.

“It lets me take a step away from the stress,” she said. “It might be making a fool of myself, but it let’s me forget about things for that 15 seconds I’m on Tik Tok. It’s been a great way to connect with my own children and even staff.”

Even though Carlson’s videos have been well received, it’s really more about the fun they create and, by extension, a little bit of positivity.

I don’t think I’m looking for any celebrity status,” she said. “All I want to do is make people happy because we’re in such a time of uncertainty. I just want to bring smiles and laughter.”

For those curious about the videos Carlson has made, go to Tik Tok and look up: aloldhorselady.

She’s has been involved in a number of school activities including Student County Youth Leadership, National Honor Society, Math League, Go Green Club, Austinaires and Choralaires just to name a few.

But she’s just as driven outside of the classroom and filled with a desire to help those people she can, so it was no surprise to her parents David and Diane Lillemon when she unveiled a plan to help those less fortunate, even if it meant sacrificing her graduation party.

Well, maybe sacrifice is too strong of word. Instead, Katie wanted to find somewhere in between where she could celebrate her milestone as well help others.

Katie is just one of so many students across the country that had their final year of high school taken from them and while she understands why, she’s no less candid when she talks about her disappointment.

“It’s definitely been a difficult adjustment,” she said. “Being so involved it was hard to step away from that. You don’t get to see these people that I’ve seen every day of my life. It’s hard not to be with those people.”

She uses technology to keep up with friends, but it’s hardly the same and it doesn’t make the loss of memories every senior takes with them any better.

Katie’s thinking has been that not only has the year been wiped away, the journey has been altered in a way.

And it hasn’t been any easier for her parents.

“It’s been hard because we’ve been on the journey with her that whole time,” Diane said. “You’re thinking it’s as much for the parents as the kids when you follow your kids through sports, academic honors and musical productions. You get to know not only your child and what they are doing but you see others as family.”

However, Katie was determined not to let the year go to waste and while COVID-19 wasn’t in the cards initially, two worlds came together in a rather fortuitous way.

When Katie came to her parents with the plan to hold a drive-thru food drive as her graduation party it just seemed natural. By this point they were used to it.

“I wasn’t shocked, because Katie has been doing this her whole life,” Diane said.

Katie has followed in her family’s footsteps, who donated their time to help.

“She comes from a long line of volunteers,” Diane said. “Her grandparents were avid volunteers. Grandma Lillemon received a pin for 20,000 hours of service for volunteering. When she was through as a registered nurse, she went back to volunteer at the hospital and through the church. David’s dad worked along side her.”

It didn’t take a whole lot of time to notice Katie’s penchant for helping people. Diane was eager to tell a story of the first time she noticed Katie’s willingness to give.

“The first time I noticed it in Katie, we were heading to preschool when she was four,” Diane said. “We were going to meet the teachers and Katie comes out of bedroom with her backpack with school supplies and another packed backpack. She said she was taking one with her school supplies and then the other one filled with school supplies was for somebody else in case somebody forgot theirs. It’s kind of gone from that point forward.”

Fast forward to the 2019 senior class and Katie, as a junior, was starting to formulate another plan and it came to her as she was visiting the parties of graduating friends. She realized quickly she didn’t want a regular party.

“Last year, when I was going around to graduation parties, I knew I didn’t want a traditional graduation party,” Katie explained. I knew there was so much I needed to do. I came to my parents after the graduation parties and asked if they would be okay with having a service project rather than a party.”

There were a number of things Katie wanted to try, but COVID-19 found a way to get in the way with all of that.

She thought about hosting a food packing party where an organization like Hope for the Hungry provide the ingredients and groups can package the food, which in turn are sent overseas to those countries in need.

It’s not new for Katie and something she has taken part in

before at her church, St. Olaf Lutheran Church.

After some thought and looking hard at what would have the most impact on the community, Katie and her family focused on a food drive.

She partnered with her church to hold it in the parking lot of St. Olaf as well as partnering with Thrivent to get the resources together.

Then, on Sunday, May 31, proper social distancing protocols were put into place and the party started. Not too long after noon vehicles were lining up to wish Katie well and drop off their donated food supplies.

In total Katie and her family collected 1,655 items that included items from well-wishers as well as food donated to her by Jim’s Marketplace and St. Olaf.

Those donations were split between the Salvation Army in Austin, the Riverland Community College food shelf in both Austin and Albert Lea and the Little Cedar Lutheran Church food shelf in Adams.

Katie said she is still receiving monetary gifts so at present she’s unsure how much will be given out of that collection to causes in the area.

Katie has taken much out of this exercise of giving, but most of all she’s just happy to be able to give back to a community that has been such a part of her life.

“I think this is just a great opportunity to give back to a community the gives me so much,” she said. “I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities because of the people who lived here and supported me. It’s just a really great opportunity come together and celebrate Austin.”

Katie Lillemon (red mask) talks to visitors to her food drive at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in the end of May.

Medical staff put on protective clothing at the newly set-up drivethru clinic for COVID-19 testing in March. Herald file photo

By Eric Johnson, Photos ProvidEd

Schools and businesses were shut down, social gatherings were brought to a halt and life as we know it was changed for the foreseeable future.

There were questions coming from all over as experts and medical professionals raced to try and get a leg up on the novel coronavirus that has done so much damage.

But while many struggled with what came next, there was absolutely no question that healthcare workers were going to be on the front line of a very difficult battle.

In particular, those making up the largest numbers of healthcare workers — nurses — would be challenged from hospital to hospital as they worked against an increasing number of cases.

However, through the struggle people began to realize just how selfless these men and women were. In particular, you can look at the drive-thru testing location in Austin, which was up and running by March 17.

The turnout by those volunteering to work the testing tent was inspiring from the beginning.

“I think overall, the response to the drive-thru happened extremely fast,” said Kristy Grunzke, MAN RN, Primary Care Nurse Manger in Austin. “They came in at a time when we didn’t have a lot of understanding around COVID. They came in understanding that there is a high risk volunteering for this work. They did it anyway.”

That’s been a common theme throughout the United States. Healthcare workers that step in to provide care to those that have come down with this incredibly contagious disease.

That doesn’t mean it was easy. Mayo began drive-thru testing on March 12, in Rochester and just a few short days later, opened them up at its satellite sites in Austin, Albert Lea, Mankato, Red Wing and Owatonna.

It wasn’t easy.

Heather Bowling, LPN hands out education materials at the drive-thru testing site. Below: Connie Adams takes a swab from Heather Bowlin in the PPE gear at the drive-through testing area.

“I feel like everybody has done a “As nurses we don’t really great job,” said Katie Kuchera, BSN like to make people RN, Primary Care Nurse Supervisor. wait. It makes us “Getting everybody set up was a little anxious to make them stressful, but staff have stepped up. wait. (Patients) don’t

A drive-thru anything can denote really know what they a certain ease and convenience and are driving in to so we Mayo’s drive-thru testing in a lot of ways try to calm their fears isn’t any different. Early on, public as much as possible.” officials in both advisory and medical Connie Adams, LPN fields high up the chain realized that a key to getting a hold on the coronavirus was to increase testing. On a national level thre were delays in testing, but Mayo stepped in with

From there, testing gradually picked up speed, but with increased testing it was a given that cases would go up. It just made sense.

That still didn’t take away from the fact that people were forced to wait for their test results, something nurses are inclined to dislike.

“It can be overwhelming I think at times just knowing that people are waiting,” said. Connie Adams LPN, a clinic nurse that has worked the site in Austin. “As nurses we don’t like to make people wait. It makes us anxious to make them wait. (Patients) don’t really know what they are driving in to so we try to calm their fears as much as possible.”

It’s easy to see why patients would become antsy. The process to test starts with a phone call. As cases started going up hospitals, including Mayo, limited who would come into the building and how long they stayed as a precaution for other patients within the hospital.

This put a system in place that had people on the phone before coming in.

“First, the patient will talk with the COVID-19 triage line and then they will drive to the testing site,” explained Alieshia Strand RN. “They pull up first for registration and once the information is in place, another nurse has been putting on PPE. They go to the vehicle, talk with the patients, explain the procedure, swab and give them education material. The swab is given to another nurse who is collecting it, then it’s on to the next patient.”

It’s not always a constant flow of testing as the nurses see the numbers fluctuate. Still, the testing has come a long way from those early days.

“I think I want to say the first couple of days were very surreal,” Grunzke said. “Our knowledge is not what it is today. It felt very foreign, very different. That isn’t the life we imagined ourselves to be in.”

Regardless, that is the life they are in now and it’s worth remembering that it wasn’t always sunny and nice out.

There were days when adverse conditions played a role in the job at hand.

“You have to remember back in March when the white fluffy stuff was here,” said Lesa Anderson, BSN, MA, RN Primary Care Nurse Administrator. “Staff went out in those conditions. If it’s still raining and the wind is blowing, we don’t shut this tent down unless it’s so bad. Our employees have met this challenge on a regular basis.”

In the long run, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a nurse or healthcare worker who’s not proud of the work they and their coworkers have done in very difficult circumstances.

We’re a few months into this now, and there are still a lot of unknowns, but these healthcare workers, like so many globally are still dedicated to doing the work that needs to be done.

“I’m very impressed with my staff, who looked at this very dangerous situation straight on and do what it took to get the job done,” Kuchera said. “So many volunteers stepped up.”

Many in the medical field will urge people to look at the healthcare field as a whole, not just as separate entities.

If you ask them, it’s a full team effort.

“We want to make sure we’re thanking everybody involved,” Grunzke said. “Not just nurses, but registration, security, everybody working for us. We’re a massive team behind the scenes getting all of these accomplished to make this happen.”

Healthcare workers at the drive-thru tent, from left: Kya Zahradnik, Bobbi Tabbert, Connie Adams, Heather Bowling, Alie Strand.