Heat Blamed For Fish Kills In Southern Minn. Lakes

ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) — The recent heat wave is blamed for killing thousands of fish in several southern Minnesota lakes.

Most of the lakes are shallow, and thus more susceptible to summer fish kills, and most of the fish were northern pike, which prefer cold water.

Affected waters include Geneva Lake north of Albert Lea, where Department of Natural Resources officials say several thousand northerns probably died, and Fountain Lake in Albert Lea, where hundreds of northerns floated up last weekend.

Jack Lauer, the regional fisheries manager in New Ulm, says he's heard of about 10 to 15 affected lakes. He says populations will recover.

Henry Drewes, the regional fisheries manager for northwestern Minnesota, says some waters around Alexandria have also seen fish kills, including Lake Christina and the Pomme de Terre (pom-duh-TAIR') River.