ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of is seeking public input on its proposal to remove its 600-foot dam at St. Anthony Falls and also the abandoned lock. The lock was closed in 2015 to keep carp and other invasive species from sneaking upstream and destroying northern Minnesota fishing. The deadline for public comment is February 16. The Army plan is to find a private contractor to rip out the lock and the massive dam, which stretches across the Mississippi River from the downtown Minneapolis to Hennepin Island.

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Lock and dam profile

The St. Anthony Falls lock opened in 1963 to facilitate river commerce upstream from Minneapolis. The lock, 56 feet wide and 400 feet long, lifted barges 49 feet to circumvent the falls, which are the only natural barrier on the 2,600-mile length of the Mississippi River. The falls  accounts for 10% of the total height change of the river between the Twin Cities and St. Louis.

stanthony falls lock dam - Winona Journal
St. Anthony barriers. The river has been dammed at the falls in one way or another since 1869. The lock, on your left, was added in 1963, then drained and closed in 2015.