Photo By Elizabeth Stoeckmann | (left to right) Jake Zanon, Bill Chelmowski and Brandon Olson collect ice measurements...... read more read more
The district’s first ice measurements took place on Lake Pepin Feb. 12, and continued through March 19.
Lake Pepin’s ice thickness is measured because it’s the widest, naturally occurring part of the Mississippi River. Located between the Minnesota cities of Red Wing and Wabasha, the lake’s ice is the last major barrier for vessels reaching the head of the navigation channel in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Motor Vessel Neil N. Diehl locked through Lock and Dam 2, in Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges March 19. Reaching St. Paul marks the unofficial start to the navigation season because it’s the last port on the Upper Mississippi River to open every year. The delay is a result of ice in Lake Pepin, near Red Wing, Minnesota, that prevent tows from heading upstream of the area until conditions improve.
The average first tow to reach the head of navigation in St. Paul is the third week in March. The Motor Vessel Joseph Patrick Eckstein was the first tow of the 2024 navigation season to reach St. Paul. She arrived March 17, 2024. The earliest date for a tow to reach St. Paul occurred March 4. It happened in 1983, 1984 and 2000.
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| Date Taken: | 04.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2025 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 496497 |
| Location: | HASTINGS, MINNESOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, St. Paul District welcomes the first tow of the 2025 navigation season, by Elizabeth Stoeckmann, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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