ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $6.9 contract to Newt Marine Service, of Dubuque, Iowa, to raise the Mississippi River floodplain on McGregor Lake near Prairie du Chien. Newt already has a $5.5 milloni contact for a preliminary phase of the project. The goal: To keep the river shipping channel open by dredging up river-bottom sand and to improve shoreline habitat for overwintering fish and migrating birds. These include bald eagles, herons and kingfishers.
Already on-site. Newt has dirt-moving equipment already at Lake McGregor for earlier phase of project. Image: Melanie Peterson