"Imagining the River: The Mississippi Gorge" December 3, 2009

Tucked below the street level and parkways in south Minneapolis and the Highland neighborhood of St. Paul, the Mississippi River Gorge is, literally, often overlooked. Located between the Minnesota/Mississippi River confluence and the Falls of St. Anthony, this reach of the river lacks the drama and evident historical significance of those spots. But it is beautiful, a regional recreational asset, is the only true gorge on the entire Mississippi River, and may hold the key to a future sustainable relationship with the urban river.

Come and hear a panel of scientists, artists, historians, and community advocates speak about how their imagined futures for the gorge speak more broadly to our relationship with the river.

Christine Baeumler, Associate professor, Department of Art and Art History
Mona Smith, media artist, Allies: media/art
Scott Vreeland, Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner
Chris Lenhart, Dept. of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, research leader of a McKnight funded study of the potential ecological restoration of the gorge
Pat Nunnally, River Life program, Institute on the Environment, speaking as a historian and moderator of the event

Organized by The Telling River Stories project, part of the University of Minnesota's River Life Program.

Official Website: http://www.ias.umn.edu/thursdayscalf09.php