Annual Meeting - 8/17/2025
Notes from General Membership meeting of Trout Lake Association 8/17/2025
Meeting was called to order by President Gordon Olson at 11:10.
Gordon presented information from the August edition of the American Legion magazine regarding invasive species.
Gordon asked members who had never attended or were new to the association to introduce themselves.
Gordon announced that TLA now has a website. Nancy Clemens, director, spoke about the website and asked for feedback regarding the site. She would appreciate any additional historical information which could be posted to help fill the gaps about the history of our lake.
Steve Holmberg has been communicating with Itasca County about TLA participating the Adopt-A-Highway program. There is more information on the website regarding our participation in this event. We are currently gauging interest to see if our organization could support such a project.
The firewise program has not been funded for our area for this year.
Gary Lind, director, reported on his Secci disk readings.
Gary proposed that the association fund $175 for prizes for a 4th of July boat parade. A motion was made and passed unanimously. The date will be 7/4/2026 12:00 pm sharp. More information will be posted on the website.
There was discussion about TLA putting a dock at Smoke on the Water. Various opinions were brought up. Gary volunteered to put together a proposal which will be discussed at future meetings.
Guest Speaker Evan, from Itasca Soil & Water talked about what this agency does – mostly invasive species. He answered many questions from the membership. Trout Lake has Zebra Mussels, and at one point in 2015 had Flowering Rush, which has since been removed.
The agency surveys about 300 lakes each summer – Trout Lake is at least annually. They will investigate if someone calls to report an invasive species sighting as well.
Recreational Deputy Mike Partlow spoke about some of the complaints he receives from Trout Lake residents. The majority are related to Personal Watercraft operations. He reminded people about the hours of operation and distance from shore and other watercraft. He also discussed the new Boating Operation Regulations which went into effect 7/1/2025. There are no wake boat restrictions currently in place.
This year’s meeting was the best turnout we have had for an annual meeting. Thank you for spending time learning about what is going on at Trout Lake.
Gary Lind contacted many local businesses and obtained several donations. Door prizes were given to many of our members.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:10. Lunch was served – many thanks to Steve and Angie Kniss for the delicious food.
—Nancy Clemens, note taker
Canisteo Pit
Canisteo Pit Construction
The Canisteo Mine Pit (Canisteo) is formed by a complex of inactive iron ore mine pits that have filled with water. The Pit is north of the cities of Coleraine, Bovey, and Taconite.
The DNR began monitoring for pit water level and surrounding groundwater changes in 1990 in order to create an important data record from which water level predictions could be made.
An engineered outlet structure was under construction, with an anticipated completion date in 2025. The outlet would control the pit’s water levels year-round to ensure the neighboring communities are not adversely affected. As of June 2025, the Canisteo water level is around 1305 feet, which is 19 feet below natural overflow.
The DNR paused construction on the water outlet project earlier this summer due to discovery that the construction area contains material that may impact the existing outlet design. Once the system design has either been updated, or deemed acceptable, construction will resume.
Additional information is available at the DNR web site: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lands_minerals/waters_program/canisteo.html
Invasive Species
Zebra Mussels confirmed in Trout Lake
Soil and water staff found juvenile zebra mussels on equipment in Trout Lake during an end-of-season inspection in August 2024.
Flowering rush was also confirmed in Trout in 2015.