(Orleans)– The Spirit Lake Protective Association will hold its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser this Monday, July 3rd. Association President John Smeltzer says it will be going on that day from 8:00 am until 12 Noon at Mini Wakan State Park on the north side of Big Spirit Lake…
“We have so many people come through that we’ve really diverted the way that we deal with it and really try to spend as much time as we can as board members talking with the public, trying to find out what their issues are, trying to find out what they like that’s going on and what are some of the things they’d like to see us doing. So while we do make a little money on it, I don’t want to say that we don’t, but I would also like to say it’s as much of a friend raiser and an opportunity to chat with the community, and that’s something that we cherish, actually.”
Smeltzer says proceeds from the event go to various projects the SLPA is involved in…
“I mean there have been acquisitions that we have been involved in such as the Reed’s Run project. The most recent one being what we have been calling the Spirit Lake North project which was a collaborative effort north of the Minnesota stateline, just on the Minnesota side, just north of Shore Acres and McClelland’s that is 195.5 acres that has been in row crop since 1974 or ’75 but had been converted from a marsh ground and historically had to be pumped to keep it dry enough to be able to produce a crop and Minnesota Pheasants Forever in cooperation with a variety of groups, not the least of which has been the Spirit Lake Protective Association, has been involved in the fundraising for that project. Spirit Lake Protective Association has been able with the help of the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission, to raise over $250,000 to assist in that project’s completion.”
Smeltzer says they’re also continuing to work on projects replacing docks at several public accesses on Big Spirit Lake.
You can find more information about the Spirit Lake Protective Association by visiting their Facebook page.
