Local News
Related Photos
-
John Cross
Discussion
Tools
Ancient artifacts cling to river
OLIVIA — For the past 10,000 years or so, the Minnesota River Valley has been home to some spectacular beasts — mastodon, woolly mammoth, giant beaver, giant short-faced bear.
And if you look close enough and are lucky, you’ll still find them.
“If you go when the river is really low and look on the sandbars, they’re just loaded with ancient bones,” said Tom Kalahar, who works for the Soil and Water Conservation District in Olivia and is an avid river rat.
Kalahar has found several prehistoric bison skulls. Their horns differ substantially from the American bison that roamed the plains in the past 2,000 years. (American bison horns curve up sharply while the ancient bison horns were horizontal.)
Even though the area was a well-traveled spot for American bison, they have never found the remains of one.
Del Wehrspann, who lives farther up river, just outside Montevideo, also has a collection, including ancient bison, many arrowheads and an assortment of stone tools.
The tools and stone points were found along the bluffs above the river.
“I found a lot along that high spot there,” said Wehrspann, pointing to a ridge and standing next to a flowing spring. “The Indians would have camped there in the summer. They were up in the breeze and above the bugs and they had fresh water right here. It would have been a good spot.”
Kalahar and Wehrspann said the animal bones are found most often after spring floods churn up the sandbars and banks of the river, dislodging the preserved bones and skulls from their resting spots of thousands of years.
They’ve found most of the bones from south of Montevideo down to Redwood Falls. Having so many in a fairly small area leads Kalahar to consider how they died.
“It appears some catastrophic event occurred that wiped them out. Maybe a massive flood.
“It’s fun looking for things. I think it amazes people that these are in the river. People just never get on the river and they don’t know what’s there,” Kalahar said.
- Local News
-
-
Kayakers enjoy the high water
The high water brings strong currents as well.
-
Congress clears historic health care bill
The bill passed 219-212 with no Republican votes.
-
Divided reaction to passage locally
A local opponent of the legislation calls it "a tragic day for America."
-
Flooding closes down area roads
Flooding on roadways is causing several road and trail closures in area.
Motorists are asked to avoid these areas and report any other roadways covered by water by calling 911
-
Flood warning for region upgraded to "moderate"
CLICK for latest Mankato weather forecast and flood warnings
Detailed floodwatch for New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, Henderson.
-
Rasmussen aims for diversity
The 800-student college has a 10 percent minority enrollment.
-
Vets groups honor longtime bugler
He never served in the military, but he honored them at their funerals.
- Woman critically injured in rollover
- Man killed in rollover near Frost
- Ask Us: Busy Monks Avenue gets attention
- More Local News Headlines
-
