LAKE SARAH NEWS
Last updated January 27, 2012
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6th Annual "DAShiver" Ice Fishing Tournament to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, noon-3:00pm on Lake Sarah's west bay.
Register by mail or online at www.dashiver.com. Prizes, music, bonfire, skating, food, beverages and more! click here to view the 2012 event flyer. Profits help support Crow River Youth Hockey - Go TIGERS!
Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing! February 18-20, 2012, is Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing Weekend in Minnesota. (February 16-18 in 2013 and February 15-17, 2014). The idea behind these three "free" days of fishing is to introduce children and even some adults to one of the state's most popular wintertime outdoor activities. During Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing Weekend, anglers 16 and older do not need a license if they are accompanied by a child younger than 16 and are actively participating in Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing Weekend. Click here for full MnDNR press release
10th Annual Guess the ice out date contest opens soon! Entries will be accepted beginning february 1, 2012, watch this website for details. This 10th Anniversary Contest will feature a seperate prize category for kids under age 16!
It's that time again - time to renew your LSIA membership!
Your $35 LSIA dues help support: Water level, water quality improvements, and weed control programs. Coordinate three yearly membership meetings. Coordination of the 4th of July boat parade/decorating contest and the annual summer picnic. Three newsletters and the annual membership directory. Promote safe and proper utilization of the lake.
If you did not receive your membership form or have misplaced it you can print it using this link. Please complete the membership application form and mail it with your dues (checks payable to LSIA) to the Lake Sarah Improvement Association, P.O. Box 25, Loretto, MN 55357-0025. Contact Sonja Tilbury with any questions, concerns, suggestions or volunteer info.
NEW! A page dedicated to the Lake Sarah Progressive Party - with photos taken by Ann Slavec from the inaugural August 2011 event has been added to the submenu in the Lake Sarah Events tab. Also on the page is an article by Ann, it looks like a good time was had by all! Link to the Progressive Party page.
PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION AND GOOD JUDGEMENT WHILE ON THE ICE!
Our unseasonably warm winter has created widely varying ice conditions, Remember - Ice is never 100% safe!
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| Open water existed in the circled areas as recently as 1/3/12 and remained open in portions of those areas as recently as 1/15/12. The new ice in these areas may be thinner than areas that remained frozen, please be careful around these portions of the lake! |
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Official Ice Over for 2011 was December 20th - Although there was still a small area of open water just south of North Shore Drive where a few ducks and geese keeping the water moving, the decision was made to declare official ice over. Most of the lake has been frozen over since mid December. "Ice over" is defined by MPCA Citizen Lake Monitoring Program standards as the date that the ice completely covers the surface of the water and that it remains iced over for at least 24 hours. For those of you who were wondering, the average Ice over date for Sarah (data 1989-2010) is November 30. For you statistics buffs the earliest Ice over date recorded during that time frame was November 12 (1995) and the latest Ice over date was December 21 (1998, 1999, 2001). Additional information and past years recorded dates can be found on the Ice On / Ice Off data page on this website.
Water Quality Grant filings - Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't... Loretto and Medina's grant for their Loretto Creek project has been funded! Quickly responding to the recently approved Lake Sarah Nutrient TMDL, several of the cities in the lake Sarah watershed had filed for Clean Water Legacy grants in September to help fund several water quality improvement projects. Loretto and Medina jointly filed a grant application for a project to help reduce phosphorus contributions from Loretto Creek with work in the area of the Klaers ballfields. Independence's two smaller grants were not funded this year. Independence had filed for two seperate grants, one would have offered smaller sub-grants managed by community groups (such as the LSIA or LICA) for projects to create and restore shoreland BMPs, educate the public and reduce nutrient loading from direct runoff and the second would have funded a detailed study of the shoreland zone within Independence to create a stormwater / runoff management targeted project list.
2011 Fall Fingerling Stocking - LSIA reports this years' walleye stocking was completed on November 1, 2011. 1,000 new walleye fingerlings from Radermacher Ponds were introduced to various locations around Lake Sarah. This years fingerlings were reportedly larger than in past years averaging 6-7" in length. If you catch a walleye in Lake Sarah please take a photo and email it with a note about its length to this website for posting to the Walleyes Caught page where we are tracking the progress of the stocking program. The current record held by Doug Lawman stands at 16". The Lake Sarah walleye stocking program is funded soley by contributions as the MN DNR has to date declined to participate. If you would like to help out you can easily add a contribution to your annual LSIA dues payment or contact any LSIA Board Member to make a donation. Thank you to all those who donated this past year for your continued support!
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The final water level reading for 2011 was 979.02 on November 28 (west bay gauge). The last of the 2 lake level gauges was removed from the lake on 11/4/11 for the season. Thank you to Cindy Keating (west bay) and Fred Lang (east bay) who volunteered their time to monitor our lakes’ water levels for the MN DNR, LSIA, and our website for yet another year! Additional information on water levels including historic data and charts can be found on the Water Levels page of this website.
Did you know? We just set the record for Driest Autumn Ever in the Twin Cities
September through November 2011 was the driest Twin Cities meteorological autumn in the 141 year modern record. The September through November 2011 precipitation total at the Twin Cities International Airport was 1.36 inches, a negative departure of 5.92 inches from the 1981-2010 normal of 7.28 inches.
Driest meteorological autumns (September through November) in the Twin Cities (1871-2011):
rank year total
1 2011 1.36 inches
2 1889 1.54 inches
3 1952 1.71 inches
4 1976 2.07 inches
5 1936 2.10 inches
6 1953 2.24 inches
7 1892 2.33 inches
8 1967 2.45 inches
9 1912 2.90 inches
10 1974 2.93 inches
Normal rainfall for Twin Cities autumn 7.28 inches
Source: Minnesota Climatology Working Group, State Climatology Office
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Many of the questions emailed to this site regard illegal or inconsiderate snowmobile, atv, boat or pwc operation or fishing/hunting violation questions. To report illegal vehicular activity you should contact Hennepin County Sheriff Water Patrol (612)596-9880, or West Hennepin Public Safety (763)479-0500, The Water Patrol will not issue a citation for offenses they do not witness. They may issue a citation if the witness agrees sign the complaint (much like a citizens arrest). If you plan on filing charges against an individual you should make note of the date, time, vehicle description and license number, identity or good description of the operator. A side note; If the offender wishes to appear in court you may be required to appear as witness / accuser. To report hunting or fishing violations call DNR area Conservation Officer Tony Salzer at (651) 773-5514, DNR Enforcement (651)296-6157, or orTIP (turn in poachers) toll free hotline 800-652-9093. Click the blue text for a copy of the 2011-12 Minnesota Snowmobile Regs , Personal Watercraft Regs , 2012 MN Boating Guide , 2011-12 ATV/OHV Regs, or the 2011 MN Fishing Regs, in Adobe Acrobat Reader format (.pdf).
Lake Sarah (MN DNR #27-0191) is located in sections 1 and 2, township 118, range 24; and in sections 34 and 35, township 119, range 24, Hennepin County, Minnesota. GPS 45°4'19"N 93°41'24"W surrounded by the Minnesota cities of Independence, Greenfield, Loretto, Medina, and Rockford. Click here to view a Google hybrid map of lake Sarah. Suggestions for content and services to be provided by this site are always welcome! E-mail this website with your feedback, suggestions, comments or ideas.
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