Volunteers clean up along St. Croix River

More than 50 volunteers, led by a Conservation Corps youth crew, cleaned up 1.5 miles of St. Croix River bank near Stillwater on Saturday, July 28. Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki led off the event with a history of the area and plans for the future Loop Trail that will connect the new and historic bridges to trails and parks along both sides of the river. Volunteers, ranging from age 9 to 70-plus, pulled buckthorn and picked up debris, ranging from pop bottles to tires, then were treated to lunch on the Empress Riverboat. The volunteer cleanup was made possible by the Fred C. and Katherine B.  Andersen Foundation and the Andersen Corporate Foundation with promotional support from REI. Thank you volunteers for spending a beautiful Saturday morning helping to keep invasive plants and trash out of the St. Croix.