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Major strides have now been made in the cleanup of Benton Lake in Cologne. Earlier this spring new fish were added to the lake, and now two aerators have been installed to keep them alive.

The project has been long in the making, and comes as a joint effort between Carver County, the City of Cologne and the Benton Lake Watershed Conservancy to address water quality and invasive carp issues.

“This is kind of a big part of our overall project to clean up the lake, the county is also putting a big investment in the carp removal with the nets that are out in the lake again this year. Somewhere down the line some of the people that are part of the Benton Lake Watershed Conservancy are trying to figure out if it’s possible remove a lot of the sediment that’s in the lake, but that’s kind of a long range plan,” John Hendel, of the Benton Lake Conservancy, explains.

According to Hendel, the new aerators will play a key role in improving the lake on several levels.

“The oxygen level in the lake, because of the condition that it’s in, is not the best. Typically, aerators run in the wintertime to help with the oxygen for the fish in the winter—we’re starting them now so we can help with the fish that we did stock this spring and help them get an advantage and hopefully keep growing and stay alive,” Hendel said. “And with that it’s ultimately going to help us with the discoloration of the lake, helping us with ultimately removing as many of the carp as we can in that lake, which is going to help settle down the sediment that is in the lake.”

The fish that were stocked earlier this spring were bluegills and bass. The bluegills were chosen specifically for the role they would play in keeping the carp population in check.

“The bluegills are commonly known to feed on the carp eggs, and hopefully that will be helping us control that population,” Hendel explained. In addition to the predatory fish introduced, the county has taken an active role in removing the carp through net systems. Those nets, however, should not pose a threat to the other fish that have been introduced. “I’ve been told that those nets that are there getting the carp are engineered and designed to trap the carp and not necessarily the other fish.”

The carp issue isn’t the only problem that has plagues the small lake, sediment and water clarity will also be addressed by the new additions, with the introduction of aerators also aimed to improve the lakes vegetation.

“Adding oxygen and sunlight to the lake is going to allow the seedbeds that are in there to start growing and hopefully get plant vegetation growing which will then ultimately help on a natural level to bring oxygen to the fish,” Hendel explained.

The two aerators will remain floating and in operation year round. Due to the water movement generated by the aerator, they will not freeze over in the winter months.

In all, the aerators are only one more step in the conservancy’s goals. Getting more people to enjoy the lake, and returning it to its original beauty, is the conservancy’s goal in the long run.

“Ultimately I think an exciting goal for the conservancy is to be able to have a dock out there—which we do—that kids are going to be able to go out and fish,” Hendel said. “At some point in the future maybe they’re good enough to take home and eat or maybe it’s just a fun catch and release. We’d love to see more people out there with canoes and kayaks, maybe paddle boats—just out enjoying a little bit of Cologne.”

Crews working on the Highway 212 improvement project past Cologne were scheduled start on the eastbound lanes Friday, Aug. 25. That means motorists traveling in both directions will use westbound lanes through early November.

There will be single lane head-to-head traffic throughout the entire Highway 212 project area, according to the latest update from Carver County Public Works.

Crews are repairing approximately 3.5 miles of Hwy. 212 as it passes through the city of Cologne and portions of Benton and Dahlgren townships. The work includes repair of concrete pavement, resurfacing of road shoulders, widening of shoulders Widen shoulders at reduced conflict intersection, improvements on two bridges, drainage improvements, and installation of cable median barriers and guardrails.

Go to the Minnesota Department of Transportation projects page for more information:

Hwy. 212 will become a four-lane expressway across Carver County by the fall of 2025 in an expansion expected to make the roadway safer and potentially draw more residents to the area.

The state Legislature allocated $25 million in trunk highway bonds for the project's second phase, making it possible for the county to move forward with the final stretch between Cologne and Norwood Young America.

"Personally, I thought it would be 20 years down the road, and now we're doing it in like two years," said Carver County Commissioner John Fahey of Norwood Young America.

The highway now runs from Eden Prairie to the cities of Chaska and Carver. The first $37.4 million extension from Carver to Cologne is under construction, with completion expected in October 2022.

The next segment, like the one underway, will be funded with county, state and federal money, said Eric Sieger, speaking for the county's project team. The county is contributing $17 million from a half-cent sales tax passed in 2017 and has applied for a $10 million federal grant to offset its share. Nearly 2,000 trucks a day use the highway, which in its existing form is mostly two lanes — the only two-lane road in the metro area carrying that much truck traffic, Sieger said.

Trucks represent about 15% of total traffic on the highway, which Sieger said has seen 11 crashes in the past 11 years.

"From Cologne and Norwood Young America and even out to Hamburg, it's going to have a great impact just with the movement of goods, the economic development and more importantly, the safety factor," Fahey said. "Most of us who have grown up in that area and have lived in that area our whole lives unfortunately know individuals who have passed away at various intersections on 212."

The expansion also is expected to boost population, similar to what happened when the highway was expanded to four lanes from Eden Prairie to Chaska in 2008 and Carver in 2009.

In the decade after that construction, Carver County became the state's fastest-growing county, according to the Minnesota State Demographic Center. Metropolitan Council figures show the county's population growing from about 78,000 to about 108,500 during that time. The population is projected to grow to about 161,000 by 2040.

Katy Read • 612-673-4583

Katy Read writes for the Star Tribune's Inspired section. She previously covered Carver County and western Hennepin County as well as aging, workplace issues and other topics since she began at the paper in 2011. Prior to that, she was a reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, La., and the Duluth News-Tribune and spent 15 years as a freelance writer for national and regional magazines.

[email protected] 612-673-4583

Expansion Brings Xfinity 10G Network to Wayzata; Customers in the Community Now Have Internet Speeds Faster Than 1 Gig

ST. PAUL, MN --News Direct-- Comcast Twin Cities

Comcast today announced the company completed its expansion to bring its smart, fast and reliable fiber-rich network to more than 2,300 homes and businesses in the City of Wayzata, including residential broadband speeds faster than 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) and business speeds up to 100 Gbps. The completion is part of Comcast’s ongoing expansion in the Midwest, where the company will invest more than $20.2 million to bring broadband into homes across the region. Before the end of 2024, Comcast will also expand into Cologne, and, with funding support from the State of Minnesota’s Border to Border Broadband program, Comcast will also extend its network into Rogers and Corcoran.

"The City of Wayzata joins Comcast in celebrating the completion of this investment in our community. It will support workforce development, education and greater access to high-speed internet for our residents. It also improves our internet infrastructure in a way that is attractive to businesses interested in locating or expanding their operations here," said Mayor Johanna Mouton, City of Wayzata. “I am grateful for Comcast’s commitment to expanding broadband access to Wayzata.”

Wayzata residents will have access to all Xfinity Internet service offerings with speeds faster than 1 Gig and advanced WiFi technology from powerful gateways capable of delivering reliable and consistent connections for real-time activities like gaming, live streaming, and video conferencing with ultra-low lag. Residents will also have access to Flex, a solution to help users search less and watch more with a voice-controlled 4K streaming TV box, putting everyone’s favorite streaming apps all in one place, the award-winning Xfinity X1 video platform, Xfinity Home, Comcast’s professionally installed home security solution, and Xfinity Mobile, a top ranked service in customer satisfaction that can save customers hundreds of dollars a year on their mobile bills.

It’s no surprise the news of riots and protests has everyone worried, even when they don’t live in the Metro. While there are plenty of worries, a few around Carver County working to make things a little easier on the folks in the Cities trying to keep things manageable. A few Cologne residents, for example, have been hard at work to get donations together for the National Guard, police, and fire fighters of Minneapolis.

“With everything going, my girlfriend and I were feeling helpless,” said Brandon Fritz, one of the organizers for the Emergency Responder Relief. “She came across a Facebook post of the captain of one of the Minneapolis fire departments, asking for water and supplies. It just went from there.”

The original plan was to do a small donation. However, that quickly changed once the donations went live. The friends and family of Fritz and his girlfriend, Angie Wright, came together to spread the message even more. In total at time of interview, Fritz and Wright amassed over $1500. Fritz aunt, Cheryl Fritz and her fiancé Brent Johnson also gathered around $2200.

The plan going forward is to give the donations a few more days to continue, during which time the Fritzes and their significant others will be putting those donations to use.

“We went to Costco twice already and filled up two carts with supplies,” he said. “My aunt went to Sam’s Club and did the same.”

The supplies included water, drinks high in electrolytes, and other supplies to help the fire fighters and National Guard working to contain the riots and ensure that peaceful protests stay that way. The first station they donated to was Station 21 along Hiawatha Ave in Minneapolis.

“We were there to give the donations to the department to get delivered, and the guard ended up showing up, so we were able to give it to them in person,” said Fritz. “It was amazing how many ‘thank yous’ we got.”

According to Johnson, the donations “fed and nourished approximately 160 Guardsmen, 40 medics, 15 policemen and 15 firefighters.” And that was just the donation to Station 21.

The Fritzes and their family are grateful for their friends giving the donations and spreading the word about the relief fund. They intend to continue to bring donations to those working hard in the Cities. For those interested in donating, visit Fritz’s Facebook page to make a donation to the relief fund.

“A lot of them out there are facing scrutiny, and they shouldn’t take the blame for a few bad ones,” said Fritz. “We’re saying that we still appreciate their work this way.”