Minnesota DNR OK's Lake Calhoun Name Change To Bde Maka Ska
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- At least so far as Minnesota is concerned, Lake Calhoun will no longer be called that.
While it still needs to go through more steps for the change to be recognized at the federal level, the movement to change the name of Lake Calhoun to its original Dakota name of Bde Maka Ska is one step closer to fulfilling that goal.
On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced their decision to favor the change of name.
The push to change the lake's name to its Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska, has been working its way down the long path of civic bodies. Recently, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 in favor of changing the lake's name.
"The DNR respects the role of elected county boards in determining name changes for geographic features," DNR commissioner Tom Landwehr said. "I am confident the Hennepin County Board carefully considered community values and citizen perspectives in determining that this was the right action to take. DNR's role is to ensure the county followed the proper process."
The proposed name change has not progressed without some measure of controversy. John Calhoun was a former vice president, senator and also a slavery supporter.
The group Save Lake Calhoun has filed a legal action to block changing the name. They claimed that the Hennepin County board doesn't have authority to change the name because it's been in use for more than 40 years.
The same group earlier took out a newspaper ad to float their claim that the lake was named after a different Calhoun. Save Lake Calhoun's advertisement said that Minnesotans have been "duped into an inflammatory and false narrative about Lake Calhoun," and that "Lake Calhoun is the first victim of what will be a tsunami of extremist name-change advocacy."
The DNR said they will submit their approval to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, who will determin whether to approve or deny the name change for federal use.
The name change isn't official at the state level until it's officially recorded by Hennepin County and published in the State Register.
Erick Kaardal is the attorney for Save Lake Calhoun, a group determined to stop the name change. They believe the commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources violated a state statute.
"It says the DNR commissioner can authorize a name change if the lake name has been used for less than forty years," Kaardal said. "If it's more than 40 years, then it has to go through the state legislative process."
The name Lake Calhoun is well over 40 years old, but the state stands by its decision.
"Our legal counsel has gone over all of the statutory authorities as well as the case law, and has concluded that you know we're within the authority to approve the change," Landwehr said.
Kaardal confidently plans to take Save Lake Calhoun's argument to the state court of appeals.
"They'll see the statute, and I believe by my heart, knowing the court of appeals, that they'll hold the DNR commissioner accountable," he said.
