Out of Court Settlement Reached in Cooper's Landing Property
Dispute.
An agreement has been reached between Mike Cooper and
the Crowley family to settle the property dispute. Final wording for a
separation agreement and an additional survey are pending. Hopefully these
additional tasks will be completed soon.
Cooper's Landing celebrates its 20th anniversary by selling
bait again.
Cooper's Landing began business as Providence Bend Bait
and Tackle in 1986. The original business had 3 fish tanks, a worm refrigerator
and limited quantities of soft drinks and beer. The business grew over
the years. As the importance of dining and entertainment grew, the bait
tanks were removed to provide an environment suitable for preparing and
serving food. Now at last, after several years and many dissapointed customers,
Cooper's Landing will be selling live bait including gold fish, minnows,
nightcrawlers, and crawdads again. When you are looking for a great place
for fishing and camping with all the bait and other supplies you need
close at hand, Cooper's Landing is the perfect place.
Corps of Engineers Navigation Charts are now available
on the internet.
Work is progressing on a new set of navigation charts.
Until then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making the old ones available
online.
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/RiverCharts/RiverCharts.htm
Missouri River Communities Network
Steve Johnson is not a flashy kind of guy. The work done
by MRCN does not get the attention of the press like the other organizations
working to improve our community. But the role played by MRCN is invaluable.
MRCN brings many organizations and communities together to accomplish
goals that benefit all the residents of Central Missouri. We could give
you a list of other nonprofit organizations it has helped to nurture.
We could give you a long list of projects that MRCN has completed. But...
we don't have time for this now. What is important to know is that when
your organization or community needs help getting a worthwhile project
started, MRCN is the organization with the experience to help you be successful.
Currently MRCN is focusing lots of attention on the Heritage Tourism
Project. This project has long- term benefits to communities and businesses
near the Missouri River. The Missouri River Heritage Tourism Initiative--a
group that includes area mayors, economic developers, and tourism specialists--has
submitted a grant proposal to the National Trust for Historic Preservation
for a total of $540,000. The focus of the grant, the Missouri River Heritage
Tourism Corridor, is a region connected by the river and includes the
area from Lexington, Mo., to Hermann, Mo. With the grant, heritage tourism,
local product, skill development, and other preservation-based strategies
would be used as alternative models for rural regions to develop sustainable
economic development strategies while protecting the qualities valued
by rural residents. For more information on this project, please contact
Steve Johnson,
(573) 256-2602
Heritage Tourism has huge economic potential for our region.
But it is not the only project that deserves your attention. You can learn
more about MRCN and its current projects by checking out the MRCN website
at http://www.moriver.org
Steve Johnson may not be a flashy kind of guy, but he
can help you get the information and partners you need to complete your
community projects.
Missouri River Communities Network Activities
The Missouri Stream Team AmeriCorps Project
The Missouri Stream Team Program is one of the largest volunteer programs
in the State of Missouri. Started in 1989 as a cooperative venture between
the Missouri Departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, the non-profit
Conservation Federation of Missouri and citizens in the State of Missouri,
the Stream Team Program is designed to encourage citizen volunteers to
educate themselves about their local watershed and then undertake stream
improvement activities. The Missouri Stream Teams AmeriCorps Project (MSTAP)
will work to recruit, train and involve volunteers to work on water quality
projects in their local areas. The MSTAP will have 12 AmeriCorps Members
in at least the four Missouri communities of: St. Louis, Kansas City,
Springfield and Columbia providing the following services:
§ Recruit new Stream Teams
§ Provide further assistance to Stream Team members
§ Provide onsite mentoring help to volunteers performing monitoring events.
Data will be sent to MODNR database
§ Help Stream Teams organize at least 100 clean ups recovering more than
50 tons of trash
§ Make Educational Presentations
§ Work with Missouri science teachers and students to teach Stream Team
concepts and techniques in a “service learning” classroom / field work
situation.
§ Plant trees in riparian corridors.
Our partners in this project include: MDC, MODNR, (in St. Louis)
Great Rivers Greenway District, Coalition for the Environment, Open Space
Council, (in Springfield) James River Basin Partnership, Watershed Committee
of the Ozarks, and Table Rock Water Quality, Inc., (ion West Plains) Bryant
Watershed Project; (in Kansas City) Kansas City Water District, and the
Mid-America Regional Council.
Missouri River Heritage Tourism Initiative. (MRHTI)
The overall goal of the MRHTI is to help communities identify the local
historical resources that already exist, and assist them in planning for
and developing the infrastructure (sites, museums, parking, signage, restrooms,
lodging, restaurants, amenities, trails, etc.) that will provide visitors
with a seamless heritage experience from Washington to Lexington. A primary
outcome of this project is to create sustainable economic development in
these rural river communities. By developing local resources and creating
businesses that arise out of the connections within their own community,
citizens become less dependent upon outside investment to create sustainable
economic health. The MRHTI is working with 17 river communities to identify
specific project outcomes as well as an implementation strategy (deadlines,
resources, responsibilities, timelines, performance measures).
We have applied for various grants to support the project and have 11 AmeriCorps*VISTA
members who will start in November 2006 to help communities create a heritage
tourism planning process. AmeriCorps*VISTA members will work with participating
communities to help organize and implement the Heritage Tourism Initiative.
The VISTA Members will:
>Recruit volunteer participation and provide public information to ensure
broad-based, democratic participation;
>Assist communities with convening, preparing for and conducting effective
heritage tourism planning meetings;
>Conduct a variety of research tasks involved with heritage tourism >planning,
(creating databases of resources, market surveys, evaluating similar efforts
throughout the country, etc.);
>Ensure effective citizen participation in a community design charrette;
>Assist in the publication of a “community heritage tourism planning”
document;
>Assist in fundraising (fundraising events, grant writing, etc.) to implement
the local tourism plan;
>Contribute to the development of a highly useful project website.
>Assist in organizing and recruiting participants in training sessions
related to development of small tourism related businesses in the communities;
>Assist in the development and implementation of a region-wide marketing
plan.
We are looking for people who want to participate in this heritage tourism
planning process as a VISTA member. Members receive $10,900/year in “living
expenses”, a $4,750 educational award (if all service hours are completed
satisfactorily) and health insurance. If you are interested in either of
these projects, contact:
Steve H, Johnson;
Missouri River Communities Network;
200 Old 63 South;
Columbia, MO 65201-6081;
573-256-2602;
moriver@coin.org;
www.moriver.org
Missouri River Cultural Conservancy
The Mission of the Missouri River Cultural Conservancy
is to document, record, archive, and foster awareness of the unique history
and culture of the Central Missouri River Region
For an organization that has existed for just a little over
a year, MoRivCC has accomplished a lot. The group has achieved status
as a nonprofit 501c3 organization from the State of Missouri. In the next
few months MoRivCC will reap benefits of the ongoing Preferred Futures
Planning process to submit budgets and other information required for
federal not-for-profit status. MoRivCC has been busy recording local artists
performing music and poetry. Some of the recordings have been edited and
shown on CAT3 TV in Columbia. In December, January, and February many
local musicians were recorded performing original music. The first three
30-minute episodes are available for viewing at Cooper's Landing. They
will start showing on CAT3 soon. This is an exciting project that will
preserve the unique art and culture of our community into the future.
We encourage you to get involved and be part of this valuable project.
There are many opportunities for you to participate. E-mail inquiries
to:
David Dean White, President of the Board,
MoRivCC
supromanz@hotmail.com
or Mike Cooper, 573-657-2544
The clock is running out on many of our local treasures
and we are afraid, if we don't act quickly, several songwriters will be
beyond our reach.
Jerome Wheeler 12-13-04
JeromeFest CD Release & Benefit Concert
On Saturday, June 3rd, Cooper's Landing celebrated the release
of a new CD by Jerome Wheeler & Friends entitled "River Cowboy."
Guests were treated to performances by Tongue 'N' Groove, Noah Earle,
Bob Dyer, Celebrated Renaissance Band, Naked Dave & the Blue Cats,
the Hilary Scott Band, Michael Cochran, Pete Szkolka, Crooked Jack, Lee
Ruth & Bartholomew Bean. It was a perfect day of great food, beautiful
weather, fantastic music, and friends getting together to share a good
time. The event was recorded by MoRivCC volunteers and will later appear
on CAT3 TV. The silent auction raised almost $400 for Jerome's pet projects,
including the Canoe Cleanup, MoRivCC projects (see related article), and
recording costs for the Jerome Wheeler tribute CD. Thanks to all who participated!
River Cowboy features the song, "Talkin' Columbia's City Pipeline
Blues" (also known as the Do Do song) . Copies of both River Cowboy
and the 2004 dot.commies CD are available at Cooper's Landing or from
Doireann O'Brien at dob111@mchsi.com or (573)443-3888.
Doireann O'Brien
Spring Rise Editorial from Alex Primm
Recently I had a chance to do a little kayaking on the upper Missouri
River north of Sioux City, IA. The river there is somewhat different than
we experience the Big Muddy in Missouri. It is worth seeing what the National
Park Service is attempting to do in their two sections of the Missouri
River National Recreational River up that way. I also had a chance to
visit with local people in that area on the subject of "the spring
rise," something that is little known in our state but important
to people to the north and apparently important to wildlife in the river.
It is a complex issue. Allowing the river to rise somewhat naturally in
spring as it did before the big dams were completed some 50+ years ago
will benefit certain bird and fish species, but Missouri's political establishments,
apparently both elephant and donkey, are hesitant to take steps to improve
natural qualities of the river. Wouldn't all Missourians benefit if there
were more varieties of Missouri river habitat and usage on the Missouri?
Should we allow the barge industry to dictate how the river is managed?
Why not take more steps to restore the river to benefit the fish and other
forms of wildlife? For too long I think most Missourians have seen our
namesake river as just a glorified canal that is famously dirty and dangerous.
Our river deserves to be more than that.
Alex Primm, Rolla, MO
Want
to find out about Cooper's upcoming events? Click here
for a full calendar
of upcoming events!
Please contribute
any newsworthy current events about the Missouri River or Katy Trail and
we will post them on this page. And we would love to add you to our e-mailing
list!
Send your
email to: cooperslanding@gmail.com
ARCHIVES
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Ramblin Randy brings Wi-Fi to
Cooper's Landing
Entrepreneur Ramblin Randy hails from Maryland and brings
a refreshing attitude and new skills to Cooper's Landing. Thanks to Randy,
highspeed Wi-Fi is now available at Cooper's Landing. Excellent coverage
is available in the North campground and inside the store. Plans are underway
to upgrade the antenna so that coverage will be improved in the South
campground. Encourage Randy to continue this new service by donating to
his operating expenses. Now surf the web under the stars....!
National Marina Day!
Come celebrate boating's summer holiday at Cooper's Landing.
Saturday, August 12, 8 am to noon
Safe Kids of Columbia, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Bass Pro Shop, Missouri
Water Patrol, American Red Cross, Boone County Fire Protection, and
University Hospital will all be there!
Activities will include:
Presentations and Information
Kids games and activities
PFD giveaway-while supplies last
Having Fun and promoting Your Safety
For more information contact:
SAFE KIDS Columbia 573-884-3660
http://www.marinaassociation.org/nmd/
http://www.safekids.org/
Missouri River Relief
The wildest day ever at Cooper's Landing?
On May 20, 2006, the River Ladies Auxiliary (RLA) was born as they hosted
a benefit carnival the likes of which Providence Bend has never seen.
The group of local river rats hosted the 2nd annual "River Fest," a jam-packed
afternoon of music, theatrics, dance, and community to raise funds for
the Cooper's Canoe River Clean-up (Oct. 21).
The theme was "South Pacific Gypsy Redneck River Carnival."
You can only describe it in a list:
* Fire-eaters at Cooper's Landing? Hula Dancers?
Belly Dancers?
*The first canoe and kayak race on Providence Bend (the "Cooper's
Cup") hosted by Missouri River Relief.
*A silent auction, raffles, a bake sale, yard sale raised over $2,000
for the clean-up.
*Seven bands, ranging from folk to blues to surf punk to latin to river
rat rock 'n' roll.
*Hundreds of happy, smiling river rats! Thanks to everyone who donated
cash, art, talent, and hard work!
See you on the river Oct. 21!
Missouri River Relief enters its sixth season.
Addiction to river clean-ups spreads.
On the Big Muddy, the river rises and falls and the trash
comes and it goes. But in our sixth year of cleaning the Missouri River
at and near Providence Bend, Missouri River Relief has seen that people
who care about cleaning out trash on their stretch of river can make a
huge impact.
Last year was our 5th annual Boone County clean-up (at Cooper's Landing),
and 200 volunteers filled 3 dumpsters and a huge trailer with 10 tons
of trash, recyclables and scrap metal.
In those 5 years, large, historic dumpsites have been hauled
away, recycled or scrapped when possible. Tires have been dug out of riverbanks
and plucked from the river as they float by. Mounds of plastic and glass
have been recovered and recycled. And the river rats around Providence
Bend continue to clean out their favorite spots along the river. It's
a never-ending task, subject to the whims of this crazy river, but we're
making an obvious impact and we ain't done yet.
What we hope will be the longest-lasting impact is the birth of the River
Ladies Auxiliary (RLA), a highly talented group of local river rats. The
RLA is now raising funds for a Cooper's Canoe Clean-up on Oct. 21
in cooperation with River Relief. With canoes, we can get just about anywhere
on the banks, bagging up trash and gathering it so MRR boats can haul
it out of the river. As usual, it will be a day of hard work, but also
a celebration of the river and our community.
A big part of River Relief's mission is to foster a change
in people's attitudes about the Big Muddy. Instead of a dirty ditch and
biological black hole to be ignored, we want to spread the news that this
river is one of our greatest natural resources, to be treasured and defended
(and cleaned-up) by those that live along it. The RLA shows how contagious
that idea is!
Missouri River Relief 2006 Schedule:
This year we are moving further upstream than ever…check out our
packed schedule to find a clean-up near you! Find out more at our website:
www.riverrelief.org.
April 22 - Frontier Park Missouri River
Learning Festival
April 23 - St. Charles/Bridgeton Great Rivers Greenway
Clean-up. Our biggest trash haul ever--92 tons of junk hauled out
from this historic stretch of river. Focused on a string of parks to become
part of the Great Rivers Greenway trail network.
May 6 - Clean-up at the Mouth of the Osage, Bonnots Mill,
Mo. One of our best small community clean-ups yet. The crew was hosted
by Soda Popp at his beautiful property on the banks of the Osage River.
The Osage is loved dearly by the many river rats that live on its banks,
and we found it to be one of the cleanest spots we've seen so far.
July 2006 - "Missouri River MegaScout" The first
leg of a 754-mile river trip to map trash along the river from Sioux City,
IA, to the Mississippi. You can keep track of MegaScout progress by clicking
on this link: http://rrmegascout.blogspot.com/.
September 8-9 - Learning Festival and Clean-up at La
Benite Park downstream of Kansas City.
September 23 - River Clean-up at Atchison, KS.
October 7 - Learning Festival and Clean-up in Omaha, NE.
October 21 - Cooper's Canoe River Clean-up hosted by River
Ladies Auxiliary.
Steve Schnarr
Roger Giles caught this 13 pound, 30 inch Blue Cat
at 4 am on June 4, 2006 from his house boat.
Katy Trail Issues
A recent court ruling said the Union Pacific Railroad
can remove the Katy Trail Bridge at Boonville, MO. To me this ruling
threatens the entire Katy Trail. The land on which the Katy Trail rests
was taken from private landowners under the National Rails to Trails
Act. This action was justified by claiming the land is being held in
a trust as a way of railroad banking or preserving the corridor for
future railroad use. How is a railroad corridor preserved if the bridge
that connects the MKT corridor on both sides of the Missouri River removed?
If the principle of railroad banking does not apply to the bridge how
does it justify the taking of private land along the rest of the corridor?
In a related issue: How about taking an abandoned railroad corridor
called the Rock Island Line from Windsor, Missouri, to Pleasant Hill,
Missouri, and making an important link in completing the Katy Trail
from St. Louis to Kansas City? The Rock Island line has not been used
or maintained for over 20 years but has not been officially abandoned
by its owner, Ameren UE. It seems that politicians and bureaucrats are
willing to take land from private individuals, mostly farmers, but are
afraid to take on a powerful business interest that pays large sums
to their political campaigns. As the recent dam break at Johnson Shut
Ins proves, we cannot trust Ameren UE or our current political leaders
to serve the best interest of voting Missourians.
Mike Cooper
For more Katy Trail information contact http://mobikefed.org/ Those
wanting to register support for connecting the Katy Trail to Kansas
City should contact Douglas Eiken, Director, Division of State Parks,
PO Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102, moparks@dnr.mo.gov
Visit MoBikeFed.org/join Dr. Brent Hugh President@MoBikeFed.org President,
Missouri Bicycle Federation 816-695-6736
The Missouri River Paddlers Association.
The organization has a very simple mission statement:
To Promote Paddling On The Missouri River.
Recently, David Miller, of Cortland State University.
published a guidebook for paddling the length of the River (The Complete
Paddler, farcountry press). David's excellent book sets the stage
for the establishment of a formal paddling trail on the entire Missouri
River. Significant portions of the land adjacent to the river are under
state or federal management. Several portions are bounded by both national
and state park systems and some regional paddling trails have been established.
Efforts are underway to develop a formal paddling trail on 600 miles of
the lower portion of the river. The lower section of the Missouri River
is paralleled for 190 miles by the KATY trail, which is the longest rail-to-trail
system in the U.S. (old train tracks converted to a biking and hiking
trial). There is an untapped connection between the KATY trail and paddling
the river. Opportunities exist to use a bike to set up a shuttle, the
development of livery services for both paddlers and bikes, and utilization
of facilities now serving the KATY trial, such as privately run campgrounds,
bed and breakfasts, shops, restaurants and many other services along the
KATY trail - all very close to the rivers edge! The vision exists to eventually
connect all of these pieces together, fill in the gaps and establish a
formal paddling trial for the entire river system.
Note: If you have an interest in becoming more specifically involved
in planning efforts, please let us know. You can call Bryan Hopkins at
573-289-1442 or Chad Cadwell at Missouri River Expeditions at 605-360-2646.
Missouri River Paddlers Association website: http://www.missouririverpaddler.com/
is under construction. Keep checking back for more information.
"The Missouri River has the potential of becoming a water-based Appalachian
Trail...where folks come to paddle a part of it, or all of it and can
experience a view of American that is truly unique" – David Miller
Pack Rat Garage Sale
Saturday July 1
Are you tired of having a cluttered garage and closets?
Are you tired of moving the same items from place to place knowing you
will probably never need them again? Ramblin Randy is organizing the first
annual Pack Rat Garage Sale at Cooper's Landing on Saturday, July
1st. Spots will be available in the South campground for you to set up
a table and/or tent to display and sell the valuables that have been in
your way for years. We are requesting a $5 tax deductible donation to
MoRivCC (Missouri River Cultural Conservancy) per space. Think of all
the worldly treasures that everyone else will be bringing! You can have
fun while you sell all those troublesome items and help a worthy charitable
organization at the same time.We will also be celebrating the grand opening
of our new bait shop and the 20th anniversary of Cooper's Landing. There
will be an acoustic jam session in the afternoon and Rocket Kirchner will
be the featured performer from 7 to 10 pm.
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