Itasca Waters

Itasca Waters hosts their next Practical Water Wisdom webinar at 12 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, with loon specialist Jayden Jech.

Itasca Waters will host a special Halloween webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at noon featuring Dr. John Downing, Director of the Sea Grant program and a professor in the Department of Biology and with Large Lakes Observatory at UMD. His topic is “Supernatural lakes: monsters, ghosts, witches, fairies, and aliens.” His Halloween treat for the public is spooky stories of seemingly serene waters of lakes around the world.

Cody Sheik, a microbial ecologist at the Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota, joined the KAXE Morning Show to discuss how aquatic microorganisms, particularly cyanobacteria, can impact the health of humans and domestic animals.

The epidemiologist supervisor of waterborne diseases at the Minnesota Department of Health joined Heidi Holtan and Kari Hedlund on the KAXE Morning Show to discuss how we can avoid getting sick while enjoying our lakes and rivers.

Jeff Marr is the associate director of engineering and facilities at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. He leads ongoing research by the University of Minnesota, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, that looks at impacts of large boat waves on Minnesota lakes.

Afton Clarke-Sather, a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, discusses how consumption habits influence our water footprint and simple steps we can take to ease the pressure on our state’s water resources. Clarke-Sather is this month's featured speaker for "Practical Water Wisdom."

The nonprofit organization Itasca Waters is presenting "Practical Water Wisdom," a monthly speaker series that seeks to offer scientific insight and practical advice for protecting the waters in northern Minnesota.

The nonprofit organization Itasca Waters is presenting Practical Water Wisdom, a monthly speaker series that seeks to offer scientific insight and practical advice for protecting the waters in northern Minnesota. February’s speaker was Jim Paruk, one of the world’s leading experts on the Common Loon. He has studied breeding and wintering loons across North America for the past 30 years. He recently published a new book on loons that summarizes the state of knowledge about these iconic birds (Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with The Great Northern Diver). This week, Jim joined the Tuesday Morning show to discuss loons, eagles, and even Northern Shrikes!For more information and to register for Practical Water Wisdom, visit ItascaWaters.org.This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

University of MN scientist Diana Karwan studies the quality of water where it flows over and through forest landscapes. She takes water from our streams and medium sized rivers to identify what she calls the “chemical fingerprints” of these waters. Dr. Karwan is a member of the University of MN’s Departments of Forestry, and Soil, Water and Climate. Dr. Karwan will discuss the impact different forest landscapes have on water quality in a free, online program hosted by Itasca Waters tomorrow at noon. She joined Heidi Holtan on the KAXE/KBXE Morning Show to discuss her research and preview the latest installment of Itasca Water's "Practical Water Wisdom" series. You can hear the full conversation by clicking the "Listen" player above.

This week, John and Heidi met with Sophie Greene, PFAs coordinator at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. PFAs are nearly indestructible chemicals that linger in our water systems and environment and pose health risks for humans. Sophie presented as part of the Practical Water Wisdom series with Itasca Waters.