The D.D. Kennedy Dam located west of
46 and south of US 8 on Balsam Branch lost a few chunks of its concrete and
the fill leading up to it. Rip rap was dropped in the area and although it
leaks it's doing the job of damming.
Dam shifts at County Park...water
closes roadway
Wednesday, April 25, 2001
The heavy rains over the past couple days caused the dam at the DD Kennedy Environmental Center to shift yesterday allowing the water to flow over the sides and close the road. Nobody was hurt in the incident. Also, over the evening authorities were sandbagging the the dam at the Country Dam because of high water on the Apple River. Authorities were also concerned about the dam in the city of Amery and the dam at Black Brook.
KENNEDY DAM REBUILD PLAN MOVES
FORWARD
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
WXCE Radio
Plans to rebuild the D.D. Kennedy Dam moved forward after tentative acceptance of a bid from the Lunda Construction firm of Black River Falls. The Polk County Property Committee approved that $404,000 low bid, moving the decision on to the full County Board at their next meeting. The dam was destroyed in a 2001 flood, and the county's portion of the rebuild cost amounts to about $50,000. The state will match the county's expenditure, with the rest of the money coming from FEMA. The dam is expected to last 50 years, according to engineer Mike Swoboda of the firm S-E-H. Recently, several individuals have advocated not rebuilding the dam, restoring the area to its natural creek bed. However, there has been a dam in place for almost 200 years, according to local historian Rosemary Kittleson. Parks Director Deb Peterson said it was part of the original agreement when Polk County accepted that property for use as a park. Apple River Supervisor Rick Scoglio has been one of the more outspoken advocates for removing the entire structure, saying it will cost the county too much money in maintenance and that it will eventually fail, just like the previous dam did. Scoglio is on the Property Committee, and was the lone member to vote against the Lunda contract on Tuesday.
AMERY FREE PRESS: February 2004
The public comment section of the regular meeting of the Polk County Board of Supervisors brought much comment on the disposition of the Kennedy Dam replacement. David Nelson, who identified himself as a nephew of Violet Kennedy who donated the land, urged approval of the reconstruction of the Kennedy Mill dam which was destroyed by high water nearly three years ago. Several persons were heard urging the dam not be replaced at all. Sup. Gail Tessman was puzzled, "I though the decision was already made in October to replace the dam," reminding supervisors that for the last 100 years there has been a dam on that site. The resolution to accept the bid for reconstruction was nine yes, two no. The contract approved was for just over $404,000 for the project.
A view of the
St. Croix at Osceola on the Minnesota side showing a State Park building
under water during the same period.
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