Please note, this special presentation is now full -- unless you are an Augsburg student or professor emailing to reserve a seat within the designated college block (pre-registration is required). A waiting list is being taken. See below.

What was the Mississippi River like when only American Indians and early explorers paddled its waters? When did we first begin polluting the Mississippi and how? How bad did it get before anyone did something about it?

Join historian and author Dr. John O. Anfinson of the National Park Service for a discussion of these questions and a look at the pollution issues facing the great Mississippi today.

John, a dynamic and engaging speaker, is a historian with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. He is the author of a history of the metro area Mississippi River entitled A River of History and The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi River, published as an independent scholar with the University of Minnesota Press.

This event is part of the Gorge Stewards program and is sponsored by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. A defining feature of the Upper Mississippi, the River Gorge is an ecological treasure in the heart of the Twin Cities metro-area. The Gorge Stewards program brings citizens together to restore and protect this amazing resource. (More Gorge Stewards will be posted on the calendar as the habitat restoration and outdoor event season approaches.)

To be placed on the waiting list, email srich[at]fmr.org or leave a message at 651.222.2193 x14 including: your name, the number in your party, your email, your daytime phone number and your mailing address (or just city and ZIP if you prefer not to receive postcard event notifications). You will receive a call at your daytime phone should a seat(s) open up and will also be e-mailed the details, including the lecture's exact location, at that time. (While it can be difficult to predict, waiting list calls will most likely be the day of the event, Monday the 26th.)

Are you from Augsburg? A block of seats has been reserved for students and faculty. Please use your Augsburg e-mail address when registering, or mention that you are with the college. Otherwise you may be turned away, as non-Augsburg capacity has nearly reached its limit. Please include all requested information noted above. You will receive a more detailed description including the exact location in your confirmation email. (Confirmation emails will be sent Wednesday-Thursday, January 21st and 22nd and again on the morning of Monday, January 26th.) Thank you!