Conservation Board entertains sale of dam to supporters
Jason Martin of Fort Dodge spent a recent morning fishing at the Joe Reasoner Dam in Humboldt. "I was going to go mushroom hunting but decided to go fishing instead," he said. Martin fishes the Des Moines River in the local area for walleye and catfish. Humboldt Independent photo by Kent Thompson.
By April Kelley
The Joe Reasoner Dam continues to be an issue at the Humboldt County Conservation Board meetings.
Gordon Kirchhoff, Humboldt County resident, attended the meeting on Wednesday, May 17 to request that the dam gates be opened.
Kirchhoff feels that if the gates are opened, it may move some of the silt lying along the bottom of the river further down the waterway.
The board approved the opening of the gates once they had received approval from the Iowa DNR. Conservation employees will open the gates.
At that point, conservation board member Tate Satern, asked Kirchhoff if his group would have any interest in buying the dam.
“The only issue with Boat Club ownership is that I don't know what grant might be better. Is there more grants available for a county situation than a private group?” Kirchhoff questioned.
“Approximately 60 percent of the dams in Iowa are owned by private entities,” Satern said.
Read more about this issue and other Conservation Board action in this week's Humboldt Independent. See updates on Facebook and www.humboldtnews.com.
