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A Community “Thank You!”

 

The DNR’s temporary approval to sandbag the Rock Arch Rapids is an important early victory, but it is only the beginning. While this decision allows our independent consultant to continue studying the outlet, our work is far from finished. Significant questions remain and our community must stay engaged as we pursue the answers our lakes deserve.

 

But before we take the next steps, it’s important to recognize the people who truly carried this effort forward. This progress didn’t happen by accident. It happened because our community refused to sit quietly while our lakes dropped and our questions went unanswered.

 

To the City of Longville, thank you for stepping up when leadership mattered most. You listened, you acted and you stood with residents even when the path wasn’t easy.

 

To Woman Lake Action, your persistence, organization and willingness to dig into the details made all the difference. You kept the pressure on, kept the public informed and never lost sight of the goal. This group moved the effort forward through action and determination. Standing on the sidelines just isn’t in their DNA, nor is waiting at the finish line for a photo op.

 

To our area resort owners and businesses on and off the lake, thank you for being the backbone of this community. Your support, your voices and your willingness to stand with residents made a real impact. Longville and the surrounding area depend on you — not just for services and jobs, but for the sense of identity and stability you provide. Your involvement in this effort underscores how vital you are to our area’s strength and resilience.

 

To everyone who supported the petition — 1,260+ strong — and to the hundreds of residents who made phone calls, wrote letters, attended meetings, donated financially and showed up again and again: this first successful milestone belongs to you. You proved what a small lake community can accomplish when people decide that “someone should do something” means we will do something.

 

A special thank you to Joel Toso of Barr Engineering, whose expertise and calm leadership helped guide this process. Joel’s ability to communicate clearly, work across differing viewpoints and balance detailed analysis with big‑picture understanding brought stability when it was needed most. His work gave our community confidence that the technical side of this effort was — and remains — in capable hands.

 

A sincere thank you as well to our local legislators — Ben Davis, Keri Heintzeman, Steve Green and Matt Bliss — for their active support in urging the DNR to investigate the rock arch rapids. Their willingness to engage, ask hard questions and advocate for a closer look at the outlet played an important role in moving this effort forward.

 

And a heartfelt thank you to Ron Schara, whose long-standing connection to Girl Lake and the Woman Lake chain — and whose decades of advocacy for Minnesota’s outdoors — brought early attention and credibility to our concerns. Ron’s voice has always carried weight in public conversations about conservation and stewardship, and his support for this effort reminded us how deeply these lakes matter to those who know them best.

 

Today, we celebrate the people who refused to give up, who kept pushing and who made sure our concerns were heard at every level. This is your victory, and it’s only the beginning of restoring confidence in the Boy River outlet and the future of our lakes.

 

Thank you, Longville community. You earned this.

 

Ken & Sheri Sourbeck

Girl Lake Residents

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