Choose your own adventure with foremost river historian Dr. John O. Anfinson and dinner at Sioux Chef's Owamni restaurant

Dr. John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 30 years. He spent the first half of his federal career with the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as a historian and cultural resources program manager. He joined the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, in 2000, where he served as Superintendent from 2014-2020. John is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (2003) and River of History (2003).

Dr. John Anfinson will lead you and 10 guests on a walking tour of our historic Mississippi waterfront. Choose your tour from one of these 4 options:

1. Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront & St. Anthony Falls Lock Tour: Saint Anthony Falls is a significant site to the indigenous Dakota community, and the falls powered the mills that grew Minneapolis into the city it is today. The downtown riverfront is teeming with fascinating stories and historic remnants. You'll learn the inextricable history of the river and our great city and hear important stories related to flour and timber milling, the Eastman Tunnel and cutoff wall, the future of the river corridor, any many more.
2. Tour of surrounding Lock & Dam 1 (Ford Dam): For over 100 years, locks and dams have controlled the Mississippi River's flow through the Twin Cities. But as shipping needs have shifted, some of the lock and dams' original functions may no longer be necessary. Since the closure of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in 2015, commercial river traffic on the Mississippi upstream of downtown St. Paul has declined. This has raised questions about the future of Lock and Dam No. 1, often called the "Ford Dam." In addition to discussing Lock & Dam 1, hear stories about the history of Meeker Island, the unique character of the Mississippi River Gorge, the recent Lock & Dam Disposition Study and the future of the Mississippi River Gorge.
3. Downtown St. Paul Riverfront Tour: The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) is the only unit of the National Park Service along the entire length of the Mississippi and is here in the Twin Cities, in great part due to the historic and cultural significance of the Saint Paul Valley. In addition to discussing the natural river and its transformation for navigation in Saint Paul's history, visit River Warren Falls, the Headhouse and Sackhouse (City House), and discuss the future of our beloved riverfront in the capital city.
4. Visit Crosby Farm Park: Nestled at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, this hidden St. Paul gem is home to 534 acres of floodplain forest and oak woodlands tucked under the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Wetlands surround Crosby Lake while limestone and sandstone outcroppings line the north side of the park. While on your tour, John will discuss the long history of this special site along the river. From farm to marina, you'll hear about the demise of a project for two 24-story tall condominiums on the site which in turn gave birth to a riverfront environmental ethic as well as the MNRRA Headquarters and River Learning Center.

Owamni gift certificate. After your tour, finish your day along the river with delicious dinner and drinks ($250 gift certificate) at the newly opened Sioux Chef's Owamni - a full service indigenous restaurant - located on the shores of Haha Wakpa (Mississippi River) in the Water Works Pavilion building at Mill Ruins Park in Minneapolis.

Perennial Foods Basket

Are you curious about cooking with perennial foods? Wonder no more! FMR's Agricultural Policy Manager Peter LaFontaine has curated a basket of essential perennial foods and ingredients for your home. This is a perfect opportunity to help the river by helping yourself to a basket brimming with sustainable and ecosystem-friendly agricultural products.

Friends of the Mississippi River is leading a diverse coalition of partners who are working together to make clean water, perennial crops - like the items in this basket - economically viable for famers.

Perennial agriculture is the solution to many challenges we face from grain production today. Perennials are plants that can be left in the field to return for several years without the annual tilling that damages topsoil and leads to erosion and nutrient losses.

This basket includes:

• 14 oz bag of Kernza grain and 14 oz bag of Kernza flour: Kernza is a perennial wheatgrass with a delicious, sweet, nutty flavor, and can be used in baking, cooking, and brewing.

• 3 oz bag of roasted and glazed rosemary hazelnuts: Savory goodness. Gluten free. ? 3 oz bag of spicy maple roasted and glazed hazelnuts: Gluten free. Great as a snack or a salad sprinkle.

• 1 lb of hazelnut kernels: Grown by farmers in the Midwest. Great for baking, fresh-eating, confections, and anything else you can imagine. Roasting for 15 minutes at 275 brings out the full taste and aroma.

• 8 oz bottle of hazelnut oil: From American Hazelnut Company out of Gays Mills, WI.

• 500 mL of camelina oil: Three Farmers Camelina Oil is your salad oil, your cooking oil and your healthy Omega 3 supplement wrapped into one great tasting product.

• 5 oz jar of elderberry creamed honey: Missouri honey and River Hills Harvest Freeze Dried Elderberries spun together on the Giofre Apiaries farm where the honey was collected.

• 10 oz jar of elderberry jelly: made with River Hills Harvest pure premium ElderBerry Juice, lightly sweetened using pure cane sugar with just a hint of lemon. Jars are recyclable.

• The Perennial Kitchen cookbook by Beth Dooley: James Beard Award-winning author Beth Dooley provides the context of food's origins, along with delicious recipes, nutrition information, and tips for smart sourcing. More than a farm-to-table cookbook, this book expands the definition of "local food" to embrace regenerative agriculture, the method of growing small and large crops with ecological services.

Perennial Foods Basket

Are you curious about cooking with perennial foods? Wonder no more! FMR's Agricultural Policy Manager Peter LaFontaine has curated a basket of essential perennial foods and ingredients for your home. This is a perfect opportunity to help the river by helping yourself to a basket brimming with sustainable and ecosystem-friendly agricultural products.

Friends of the Mississippi River is leading a diverse coalition of partners who are working together to make clean water, perennial crops - like the items in this basket - economically viable for famers.

Perennial agriculture is the solution to many challenges we face from grain production today. Perennials are plants that can be left in the field to return for several years without the annual tilling that damages topsoil and leads to erosion and nutrient losses.

This basket includes:

• 14 oz bag of Kernza grain and 14 oz bag of Kernza flour: Kernza is a perennial wheatgrass with a delicious, sweet, nutty flavor, and can be used in baking, cooking, and brewing.

• 3 oz bag of roasted and glazed rosemary hazelnuts: Savory goodness. Gluten free.

• 3 oz bag of spicy maple roasted and glazed hazelnuts: Gluten free. Great as a snack or a salad sprinkle.

• 1 lb of hazelnut kernels: Grown by farmers in the Midwest. Great for baking, fresh-eating, confections, and anything else you can imagine. Roasting for 15 minutes at 275 brings out the full taste and aroma.

• 8 oz bottle of hazelnut oil: From American Hazelnut Company out of Gays Mills, WI.

• 500 mL of camelina oil: Three Farmers Camelina Oil is your salad oil, your cooking oil and your healthy Omega 3 supplement wrapped into one great tasting product.

• 5 oz jar of elderberry creamed honey: Missouri honey and River Hills Harvest Freeze Dried Elderberries spun together on the Giofre Apiaries farm where the honey was collected.

• 10 oz jar of elderberry jelly: made with River Hills Harvest pure premium ElderBerry Juice, lightly sweetened using pure cane sugar with just a hint of lemon. Jars are recyclable.

• The Perennial Kitchen cookbook by Beth Dooley: James Beard Award-winning author Beth Dooley provides the context of food's origins, along with delicious recipes, nutrition information, and tips for smart sourcing. More than a farm-to-table cookbook, this book expands the definition of "local food" to embrace regenerative agriculture, the method of growing small and large crops with ecological services.