Day 2: Albert Lea to Mankato
By Andrew Cotter and Zachary Kosel
Overview
We began our day in Albert Lea, MN, and ended in Mankato, MN. We made several visits along the Le Sueur River near Hartland, MN, New Richland, MN, Waseca, MN, and Mankato, MN. We also toured Bird's Eye Food and Half Pint Brewery in Waseca, MN, as well as Blue Earth Country Trails, Minneopa State Park, and Reconciliation Park in Mankato, MN. It was sunny with some cloud coverage most of the day with temperatures ranging from the low 40s to high 50s (Fahrenheit).
Le Sueur River Tour
To begin the second day of the Minnesota Field Seminar, our class measured the clarity and depth of the Le Sueur at a series of locations. To do this, we utilized the Secchi Disk measuring tool. (insert picture of Secchi Disk) The measurement process simply involves slowly lowering the secchi disk into the middle of the river and taking note of when it no longer becomes visible and then again when it touches the river bottom. As we moved farther to the north and west, the river clarity typically became murkier and the depth gradually increased.
The Le Sueur River watershed covers an area of 710,832 acres. The watershed was historically covered in wetlands, but 90 percent of which has been drained for agricultural use. Agriculture accounts for the largest amount of land use activity within the watershed, and covers approximately 84 percent of the available acreage. As the streamflow increases we have seen an increase in erosion along the river, as well as an increase in sediment load.
Secchi Disk Measurement Data:
The Headwaters of the Le Sueur River. Photo by Zachary Kosel.
Pictured: Sam Kuhlmann. Sam taking a secchi disk measurement at the Le Sueur Headwaters. Photo by Andrew Cotter.
Bird’s Eye Food- Waseca, MN
44° 4’ 31” N 93° 30’ 43” W 1150 FT
11:31 AM 52°F
https://www.birdseye.com/our-story/our-mission/
Later in the morning, the group visited at a food processing plant in Waseca, MN. At the time of the visit, several trucks filled with sweet corn were coming in and out of the plant. During peak harvest time, there can be up to 50 or so trucks coming in and out of the plant to unload. Trucks were first weighed in order to know how much corn they had. Once weighed, trucks dumped their loads at loading docks so it could be brought into the plant. Once inside the corn is inside, the husks and other parts that will not be packaged are removed. The waste, everything that isn’t corn that has been removed, is processed into cattle feed and recycled into a product that can still be used. During the whole process, the air had a distinct sweet corn smell.
In Video: Makayla Jones-Klausing, Kenz Hendrickson, and Reilly Albert. A truck dumping its load of corn at Bird's Eye Food. Video by Andrew Cotter.
Half Pint Brewery- Waseca, MN
44° 8’ 24” N 93° 28’ 7” W 1170 FT
1:00 PM 55°F
After visiting the Bird’s Eye processing plant, the class toured the Half Pint Brewery in Waseca, MN to meet up with a few UWEC Geography Alumni Kira Kuehl and Luke Burds to learn about the process of growing hops in the Midwest and the processes that take place at Half Pint. Sam Kuhlmann presented the information he found about Half Pint Brewery as well as the Hops farming process.
Owned and operated by Mike and Amy McQuery, along with Tim and Kate Dahle, and Todd and Jenny Norton, Half Pint Brewing Co. is a small brewery and hops farm located in Waseca, Minnesota. Mike, the head brewer, and his wife Amy are originally from Oregon, where they also ran a brewery. They chose to move to the Midwest where there was less competing breweries and a higher demand for high quality hops, because of the difficulty to grow them here. Half Pint grows five different varieties of hops on ⅓ of an acre. Included in these varieties are stands developed by the U of M. Because of the cold and wet moisture in the Midwest, hops plants were very prone to mildew growth. U of M researchers were able to crossbreed varieties of hops plants until they finally developed a variety of mildew resistant hops plants. Hops can grow around 12-20 FT per growing season which is around four months long.
Blue Earth County Trails- Mankato, MN
44° 7’ 5” N 94° 2’ 56” W
3:00 PM 59°F
One of our afternoon points of interest was the Blue Earth County Trails. The area was used as a railroad corridor until the line was abandoned in the 1970s. An unnamed lake sitting inside the trail loop was also previously used as a quarry. Throughout the trails, exposed tall valley sediment is visible. This is a result from glacial movements carving out the landscape.
Pictured from left to right: Zach Reed, Reilly Albert, Sam Kuhlmann, Makayla Jones-Klausing, Andrew Cotter, Tristan McGlauchlen, Garry Running, Cole Perkins, Zachary Kosel, Ezra Zeitler, Alex Huddock, Emily Huerta. The class walks across a bridge above the Le Sueur River at Blue Earth County Trails. Photo by Kenz Hendrickson.
Minneopa State Park- Mankato,MN
44° 9’ 23” N 94° 5’ 28” W
5:12 PM 54°F
Located in Mankato, MN, Minneopa State Park, home of Minneopa Falls, is part of the Minneopa Creek. UWEC Geography Alumni Kira Kuehl and Luke Burds joined us at this location to give context on the erosion process of this landscape. Minneopa Falls is a nickpoint, a part of a river or channel with a sharp change in slope, which in this case resulted in a waterfall. The Minneopa Creek flows for 17 miles, and its watershed covers 54,000 acres. A large percentage of the Minneopa Creek watershed is put towards agriculture.
Reconciliation Park- Mankato, MN
44° 10’ 6” N 94° 0’ 10” W
6:03 PM 48°F
Reconciliation Park in downtown Mankato, MN was the site of the hanging of 38 Dakota men, the largest mass execution by the government in US history. Although it could not make up for the terrible actions taken by the US government against the Dakota people during the U.S.-Dakota conflict of 1862, the park was dedicated as an apology on September 19, 1997. The park includes several sculptures that represent the Dakota people and their culture. The city of Mankato makes sure to keep the Dakota people involved in the planning and creation of the pieces in the part to best represent their culture. Sculptures in the park include a large Buffalo Statue, as well as a man known as the Winter Warrior. Zach Reed gave us a presentation about the history and meaning of Reconciliation Park.
Hops plants at Half Pint Brewery. Photo by Zach Reed.
Canoers on the Le Sueur River along Blue Earth County Trails. Photo by Kenz Hendrickson.
Pictured (From left to right): Back row: Zachary Kosel, Tristan McGlauchlen, Sam Kuhlmann, Megan Kangas, Zach Reed, Reilly Albert, Andrew Cotter. Front row: Makayla Jones-Klausing, Emily Huerta, Cole Perkins, Alex Huddock. Class picture (minus Kenz) under Minneopa Falls. Photo by friendly park visitor.
Monument listing the names of the 38 Dakota people executed. Photo by Zachary Kosel.
Buffalo sculpture at Reconciliation Park. Photo by Andrew Cotter.
References
Hart, J. F., and S. S. Ziegler. 2008. Landscapes of Minnesota: a geography. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Le Sueur River Watershed Science Briefing Booklet. 2013. Le Sueur River Watershed Science Briefing Booklet.