Koontz Lake, Lake Maxinkuckee, Lake Bruce Get Lake and River Enhancement Grants

Better water quality may soon be coming to some local lakes, thanks to the latest round of Lake and River Enhancement grants from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Koontz Lake was awarded $100,000 and Lake Maxinkuckee got over $46,000 for wetland enhancement. Lake Bruce was awarded almost $47,000 for water quality monitoring.

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Flooding Predicted Along Kankakee, Tippecanoe Rivers

Heavy rainfall has led to flood warnings along local rivers. The Kankakee River at Davis is expected to reach the minor flood stage overnight and into the moderate flood stage Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The Tippecanoe River is predicted to reach flood stage at Ora Tuesday morning, while staying just below flood stage in Winamac.

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Efforts Continue to Add Kayak, Canoe Access Points to Yellow River

Yellow River

Starke County officials are confident that kayak and canoe access points will soon be coming to the Yellow River. During a recent Starke County Park Board meeting, board member Rik Ritzler said river access would likely be one of the first projects, if the Constellation of Starke region is designated a Stellar Community, according to County Attorney Marty Lucas.

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Starke County Surveyor Thanks Local Farmers For Stepping Up to Help Out With Flood Response

According to Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase, four breached levees in the Starke County and La Porte County areas have recently been fixed, while work on one site is being postponed due to the current levels of the Kankakee River.

Surveyor Crase explained that while working on the final section of a levee, workers realized that the river wasn’t dropping. He said if they sealed it up, the pressure would have caused the water to burst out elsewhere so they weren’t able to fix it just yet. While they have slowed the breach down a bit, Crase said crews continue to monitor the spot and are waiting for the river to drop before patching it up any further. Continue reading

Possible Impact Flooding Could Have on Agriculture

Though much of the high water we were seeing last week has receded, you may have noticed that there are still several fields that are looking more like lakes recently.

Depending on when these flood waters clear up completely, Hoosier farmers may run into some issues this farm season.

Purdue Extension Agriculture Educator Phil Woolery mentioned that the severity of impact will depend on how long a farmers’ field stays underwater. He said fields that dried up rather quickly probably won’t have any issues, while those that are having trouble draining may run into some problems down the line. Continue reading