Editorials
People want more than what lakeshore property can sustain
By
Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal…Published Saturday, February 23, 2008Impervious surface — a term used often during recent public input for revisions of the county Shoreland Management Ordinance — is at the crux of the debate as commissioners try to balance manageable development while at the same time protecting lakes. The term refers to a constructed hard surface that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil. This, in turn, causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities and at an increased rate of flow than prior to development near lakes in Otter Tail County.
Full StorySimpson on docks: don’t push common
sense out the window
Rep. Dean Simpson
Most people in Minnesota don’t even know that there is a size limit on docks.
This topic came to light earlier this year when the state DNR found that many
docks, especially on well-developed lakes, were exceeding state law.
Like mushrooms sprouting after a rain, supersized docks are increasingly
jutting out from Minnesota lakeshores.
As cabin and lake-home owners spread out on the water -- with grills, picnic
tables and even hot tubs -- the controversy spreads between big-dock lovers and
the neighbors who hate them. Now the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
finds itself in troubled waters as it considers whether to relax state limits on
dock sizes.
Simple, rustic
cabins becoming more rare as amenities added
Dave Olson, The Forum....Published Monday,
September 03, 2007
In days of old, people went to a Minnesota lake to get away from it all. At the most, a trip might involve dusting cobwebs off the cottage and setting up the lawn chair to soak up a little Mother Nature before rejoining the rat race.
Jim Schwartz: 12 ways to save our 10,000 lakes
Lake lovers have an important agenda that, if actively pursued, would benefit the entire state. But fighting for sustainability is a do-it-yourself project. Don't stand by while Minnesota's water goes down the drain.
Jim Schwartz….Published: July 15, 2007….HACKENSACK, Minn.