Army Corps Of Engineers Foreshadows Minn. Spring

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Two signs foreshadowing spring are coming courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps says it plans to start drawing down Lake Traverse on the South Dakota border on Tuesday next week. The lake empties into the Bois de Sioux River, a tributary of the flood-prone Red River of the North. The Corps plans to lower the lake by about 8 inches by March 1 so it can hold more snow melt.

The Corps also says its survey crews plan to start taking their annual ice measurements on Lake Pepin on Feb. 26. The data is used to predict when it's safe to begin the barge shipping season on the upper Mississippi River. Last year the first tow reached St. Paul April 8, two weeks later than usual.

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