By Maya Betti
The City of Northfield will seek $800,000 in state funding to advance plans to remove the Ames Mill Dam and replace it with a rock rapids system along the Cannon River, as debate continues over the project’s cost and what it could mean for the city’s historic downtown landscape.
Approved March 17 by the City Council in a 3-2 vote, the move to apply for the grant marks the latest step in a multi-year effort tied to the city’s Riverfront Enhancement Action Plan. According to Public Works Director and City Engineer David Bennett, the funding sought — through the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) — would cover most of the estimated $1.07 million design phase. The city would be responsible for a 25% match drawn from its storm water fund.
A $500,000 donation from Post Consumer Brands, the current owner of the dam, would also help fund the pre-design and design phases as part of an ownership transfer agreement.
The application marks phase two of five in the removal of the dam, with an end goal of construction on the dam starting in 2027 or 2028.
The Ames Mill Dam, a 17-foot-tall, non-functional dam located on the Cannon River in downtown Northfield, was originally built in 1855 and reconstructed in 1919. In the decades since, it has become a defining visual landmark — featured on postcards and memorabilia and closely tied to many residents’ sense of the city’s identity.
But according to the grant application, the dam has now become both a safety and environmental hazard. The existing structure creates a dangerous hydraulic current — also called a “drowning machine” — and blocks fish and other aquatic life.
The proposed rock rapids design would maintain water levels near the current dam’s highest point while lowering levels near the Ames Mill building by about eight feet. That would potentially alleviate flooding and create opportunities for kayaking and swimming.
For several members of the council, this conversation isn’t new. Council Member Jessica Peterson-White, who has encountered this discussion several times over her 14 years on the council, said any movement on the project is good.
And, she noted, the city hasn’t dedicated any money just yet.
“The questions around, what will the whole project cost? When are we going to do it? Those are all really open questions,” Peterson-White said. “We don’t know yet, because we don’t know what the timeline is.”
Council Member Kathleen Holmes agreed, noting that the city has an end goal it must continue to work towards.
“I think that this work and what we’re voting on tonight meets two important strategic priorities. One, seeking outside funding — different, unique funding sources — that’s not coming from our taxpayers or our residents, and two removing the dam,” Holmes said at the meeting. “Both of those are in our strategic plan.”
Council Member Chad Beumer, acting as president pro tempore in the absence of Mayor Erica Zweifel, and Council Member Peter Dahlen both shared concern about several unanswered questions, such as the final cost and whether Post Consumer Brands was willing to take on more responsibility.
“If we start spending money where we are then, whether it’s property taxpayers or state money or lottery money, we then try to foreordain what’s going to happen,” Dahlen said. “And I think that’s risky.”
The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, which reviews ENRTF proposals, is expected to make recommendations this summer to the 2027 Minnesota Legislature. If approved, funding could become available on July 1, 2027, with design work lasting roughly two years before construction begins.
However, as Peterson-White noted, the planning is still in the early stages.
“I think it’s important for people to be clear that this is exactly what the motion says it is,” she said. “It’s a submission of a grant application.”
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Council Member Kathleen Holmes agreed, adding that while uncertainties remain, the proposal aligns with key goals the city has already identified. She pointed to both the pursuit of external funding sources that would ease the burden on local taxpayers and the long-term objective of removing the dam as priorities outlined in the city’s strategic plan.
Council Member Chad Beumer, serving as president pro tempore in the absence of Mayor Erica Zweifel, and Council Member Peter Dahlen raised concerns about moving forward without clearer answers, particularly around the final cost and the extent of Post Consumer Brands’ potential involvement.
The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, which evaluates Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund proposals, is expected to make recommendations this summer to the 2027 Minnesota Legislature. If approved, funding could be available starting July 1, 2027, with design work projected to take about two years before construction could begin.
Still, Peterson-White stressed that the effort remains in its early stages, emphasizing that the council’s action is simply to submit a grant application, not to commit to the project itself.
Maya Betti is a KYMN News intern and an Executive Editor of the St. Olaf Messenger. Contact her at news@kymnradio.net
