Adrian Peterson-Hwy 62-Nine Mile Creek Adopt A Highway

#28 for the Vikings, Adrian Peterson, was ticketed the other night for going 128 mph. He was stopped on Hwy 62 at Gleason Road. I always knew that people went pretty fast on this stretch of highway, where trash is picked by Nine Mile Creek CAC volunteers, but this is ridiculous.

The 2009 trash picking season is over in Minnesota but the trash is still coming

I haven't been out on the highway for about a month now. The weather in October wasn't good. November weather has been much better. New light poles have been put up in around the Hwy 169 and 62 intersection in suburban Minneapolis. Construction crews have been over almost every piece of that ground and the ground looks pretty clean.

Of course, there is always trash to pick but it can wait until the Spring. I have picked three bags from three different walks. I live on 11th Av S in Hopkins and when I walk to the Caribou in Edina I walk on 11th, Smetana, and Opportunity Ct. I figure that I might as well pick up trash on my way. I have placed the three bags away from the street for pick up next year. I don't want to take a chance that Minnetonka won't be able to pick up these bags before we are hit with a sudden snowstorm. It's that time of the year for sudden snowstorms.

2009 trash picking season is over - Adopt-a-Highway

October has been a bad month to pick up trash . On the 3rd it rained, on the 10th it snowed, and on the 17th ice was over everything.

Trash picking activities will resume in April 2010.

Snow today - trash picking postponed until October 17th

Yesterday there was frost on the pumpkin and today there is snow on the ground. Picking is postponed for another week. Let's meet on Saturday, October 17th.

It's Adopt-A-Highway, not Adopt-A-River

We were picking trash on Hwy 371 in Crow Wing County Minnesota. I looked over the highway bridge and saw that a dock section had washed downstream on the Nokasippi and was caught up. Shoot, you don't see that everyday.

October 10, 2009 Adopt-A-Highway Minnesota

The rain on Saturday kept some volunteers at home and that is to be expected. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, October 10th.

The Cass County site, Hwy 64 (mm 24-26) was picked on Monday of this week. About 95% of the trash in this rural site was jetsam. My impression is that in the metro, the trash mix is about fifty-fifty between flotsam and jetsam.

There is currently no Adopt-A-Highway program in Crow Wing County. I will begin a campaign for the county to adopt such a program and secured the name of one of the county commissioners and I will start there. Cass County has an Adopt-A-Highway program and so should Crow Wing County.

Adopt-A-Highway Minnesota October 3, 2009 rainy day

It's dark and rainy at 7:25 AM. If the rain continues we will have to re-schedule. We can pick it up again next Saturday, October 10th. Come to the 'Bou at Bren Rd and 169 anyway and we can visit. How 'bout those Twins? And how 'bout them Vikes? And how 'bout that Bret Fave?

Litter facts from Minnesota DOT

Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up litter on more than 12,000 miles of Minnesota roadways.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up approximately 26,000 tons of litter every year.
During a one-time sweep of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers picked up 192 tons of trash in one day. The quantity filled 16 Mn/DOT tandem trucks and represented approximately 6,000 filled trash bags.
Researchers calculate that 55% of all littering is done intentionally by people who drop or discard products.
45% of roadside litter occurs unintentionally when trash blows out of uncovered trucks or falls off of unsecured loads.
Experts estimate that approximately 80% of all littering is done by males.
Food and beverage packaging constitutes 51% of roadside litter.
A conviction for littering is a misdemeanor that is entered on the offender's driving record. A second offense requires a minimum fine of $400 and a maximum of $700. A judge may require the offender to pick up litter along public roads or impose a jail sentence. (MN statutes 169.42 subd. 5)
Mn/DOT can bill an individual for retrieving and disposing of illegally dumped items like tires, appliances, furniture and hazardous waste.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers save Mn/DOT $6.9 million every year.
Tipping fees imposed by landfills cost Mn/DOT approximately $250,000 every year.

Adopt-A-Highway - Minnesota

Today a group of five of us picked trash in Crow Wing County. [The group is Bethany Lutheran College Friends]. I had some cancellations and so we were down to one car instead of two. We picked around Fort Ripley where the Nokasippi runs into the Mississippi. A reporter from The Brainerd Daily Dispatch is doing a feature story on senior citizens who do volunteer work. Our group of volunteers has been selected. We spoke with the reporter at the Baxter Caribou before we went out to the site. A photographer followed an hour later and snapped some pix of the group in action.

As I crossed the Nokasippi I looked over the side and saw a big section of someone's dock hung up below. I snapped a picture and will put it in the blog when I came back home.

The trash picking season ends for me on or about October 17th. For three consecutive Saturdays pickers will be working the Hwy 169-62 area in Edina, Hopkins, and Eden Prairie.

The story behind this sign

I had intended to put the name of the coffee shop where I am a regular patron on this sign. There are three coffee shops in close proximity to this site. The manager of the shop repeatedly told me that he didn't think he could get approval from higher HQ. I asked my friends at the coffee shop what I should do when the site became available. They told me to put my own name on the sign since the coffee shop manager wouldn't make a commitment.

Adopt-A- Highway Minnesota

This section of Hwy 62 in Hennepin County runs from Hwy 100 to Gleason Rd. The pick is scheduled for October 3, 2009. Call Norman Teigen at 612-750-9101 for details. It'll be a great day so join in on the fun. Assemble at the Caribou Coffee Shop at 169 and Bren Rd. in Edina at 8:45 AM.

October, 3, 10, 17, 2009

Members of the Bethany Lutheran College Friends and Nine Mile Creek are invited to the Bren Road Caribou on October 3, 10, 17 for pick-up activity. We will try to get as much done on the 3rd, it will be likely to take more than one try to get it all done.

Bethany baseball team to participate in Adopt-a-Highway

The Bethany baseball team, all 35 of them, will handle the pick at the Nicollet County site. I will participate and post some pix to this blog.

October 3, 2009 - big day for Adopt-A-Highway in Edina, Hopkins, and Minnetonka

Bethany Lutheran College Friends and Nine Mile Creek CAC volunteers are invited to pick up trash on Saturday, October 3, 2009. As usual, we will meet at the Caribou Coffee Shop at Bren Road and 169 in Edina around 8:30 or 9:00 am.

The DOT asked me to take another section of Hwy 62 (from Gleason Rd to Shady Oak Rd) but I couldn't find any group that wanted to take it. I decided to take it myself. I will post a picture of all of the signs later on when I finish up on some of my vacation travels.


Send an e-mail to me at norman61@me.com I'd like to hear from you.

Arizona will not provide signs for Adopt-A-Highway

ADOT HAS TEMPORARILY STOPPED MANUFACTURING AND INSTALLING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SIGNS FOR NEW ADOPT A HIGHWAY VOLUNTEER GROUPS. THIS IS A COST CUTTING MEASURE AND ADOT APOLOGIZES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.

[Norman's comment: Cheep, cheep, cheep! Another reason to live in Minnesota.]

Adopt-A-Highway

This group picks trash in Minnesota.   Sites are located in Nicollet, Hennepin, Morrison, Crow Wing, and Cass Counties.

Thanks to all who participate.

I found an SUV in 9 Mile Creek today

I discovered that an SUV was in Nine Mile Creek today as I was returning from church. I called the Hopkins police. I told them that I was involved in trash picking along the creek with the Nine Mile Creek CAC but that I didn't have a big enough bag for the SUV.

I did not have my camera along and when I returned an hour later, the vehicle had already been pulled out.

4th and final week of the Spring pick-May 9th

Last weekend Linda and Leslie helped pick and we got a lot done. Thanks for your help!

This weekend will be the final pick for the season. Please come to the Caribou Coffee at 169 and Bren Road around 8:45 AM.

May 2nd is the third scheduled date for Hwy 169 picking

We have made good progress over the past two weekends with willing helpers. I want to invite all to participate this Saturday.

We will meet at 8:45 AM at the Caribou Coffee at Bren Road and Hwy 169.

Hope to see you there.

Forecast is for rain

The local forecast is not looking so good for Saturday, April 25th. If it is raining at 9AM we will not pick.

Who wants to get wet picking up trash?

The make-up date will be the following Saturday, May 2nd.

Adopt-A-Highway

Thanks to a very hard-working crew of trash pickers. This is the Bethany Lutheran College Friends group picking up trash on Highway 169 in Hopkins MN.

Getting in shape

I tested my legs during the past several days. I picked trash along Smetana in Minnetonka. Water from along this place runs into Nine Mile Creek.

My spirit was willing, but my legs were weak.

I don't expect that anyone will be able to endure the whole pick. If we have enough people, we can allow everyone to take a short time at the work. We have 20 vests for the job but over 200 bags.

I would think that the bag supply would last for a little while into the summer.

Tomorrow is the day

It's cloudy this morning in Hopkins. No rain is predicted until late Saturday afternoon.

Preparations have been made. The DOT has given me 200 bags. The DOT will be sweeping the highway on Monday so this section of Highway 169 should be looking pretty perky.

There is a lot of trash to be collected.

It probably can't be completely picked tomorrow so the work will continue on the next three Saturdays.

Bring gloves.

Let's have some fun while we pick up the trash.

April 18th is getting closer

Today would have been a good day for picking up trash along the highway. I don't have a sense of Saturday's weather quite yet. Of course if it's pouring rain we won't pick.

I am not sure of the number of pickers. I am going to go to the DOT garage in Eden Prairie and tell them that I expect to have forty pickers.

Yesterday Rob Kihn came over. Rob is a member of King of Grace and his daughter is a Bethany student. Judy came along with us. I had printed a Google map of the site. We drove over the site so that Rob and Judy could see it first hand and at close range.

We have a plan worked out that should make the work go smoothly.

If a person can't make it on the 18th, there are still 3 more Saturdays to follow.

April 18th is only ten days away

The response has been very good. There will be a very good crew on hand to help with the work.

Sarah Harstad advises that the Alumni Board will meet at the Caribou on the 18th and then adjourn to help with the picking. While the Board meets the rest of us can get started with the work.

It will be great fun. Please call me at 612-750-9101. I need to order a vest for everyone from the DOT.

DOT requires that vests be worn

The first Saturday of the pick is only three weeks away. I can hardly wait to see all of the Bethany Friends who will show up.

Just a reminder that I must order vests from the DOT. If you think that you will attend, please let me know as soon as possible.
I don't want to run short of these safety vests.

Highway 169 trash pick-up dates

The trash pick will be spread out over four Saturdays. I don't expect anyone to participate in all four dates.

The dates are April 18 and 25 and May 2 and 9. I think that my letter to the alums had a mistake but we will only pick on Saturdays. And we should try to finish on those days well before noon.

Some unusual items which I have found along the highway

I found some marijuana in Minnetonka once. I didn't know what it was so I called the local police as the DOT advises.

Another time some of us found a mattress. On another occasion a wallet was found with $100 in it. There was a driver license in it and the guy loaded my Caribou Coffee Card for twenty bucks for returning it to him.

Highway 169 has a lot of traffic and so there are plenty of accidents along the road. The biggest pieces are taken away at the time of the accident but there will always be pieces of broken plastic to pick up.

Last year I found a good German camera. I have no idea who it belongs to, so I am claiming it as a discarded item.

The DOT advises pickers not to handle hazardous chemicals and to avoid poisonous weeds.

The rule is that if you find something that you want to keep along the roadway you may keep it. It's nearly all trash.

Be sure to participate in the trash picking activities. Call Norman Teigen at 612-750-9101.

We don't do roadkill

The DOT states that the BLC Friends have a 2.8 mile stretch of roadway on Highway 169 from Hwy 62 to Hwy 7. The actual distance is less than that because there are two stretches where the group will not be able to pick.

There is a pretty long stretch of highway going over 9 Mile Creek which has no room for trash pickers so we will skip that. There is a second stretch over Excelsior Boulevard over which we will not work.

We will be working in safety. We will not be walking on the highway itself. We will confine ourselves to a safe zone along the pavement.

Paper cups, plastic bottles, and paper trash are the most common types of roadside trash. There is always wind-blown stuff, too. We don't do roadkill if anyone is worried about picking up dead, yucky animals.

Thanks for your participation

Sarah Harstad has sent a mailing to many friends of Bethany announcing the dates of the trash pick. Thanks to all who will participate.

This will not be an all day affair. The idea is that we will meet in the morning, do a little trash picking, and then move on. The traffic is lighter on a Saturday but we still want to get the trash picked and go on to something else.

It's coming

The snow is melting and Highway 169 has a lot of trash to be gathered.

I hope that you will be able to make it for one of the pick-ups.

I don't expect anyone to make all four pick dates. Just pick one date and join the fun. Please let me know in advance if you are coming to that I can properly order the proper number of bags and vests.

Thanks.

norman61@me.com

pretty good Florida video on Adopt-a-Highway

What does Bethany College gain from this project?

The DOT has already posted a 3' x 5' sign identifying the group. If my calculation of daily traffic at 150,000 cars a day is correct, then the total traffic count for the year is 54,750,000.

That means that the total number of impressions is 55 million. There is no cost to the college for this free publicity.

The group fulfills the contract with the DOT by agreeing to keep the area clean.

Please send an e-mail to norman61@me.com and volunteer your help.

Is it safe to pick up trash along the highway?

Proper attention to safety is the most important consideration for this project. Bethany Lutherans College Friends will pick trash on the side of the road. The DOT does not allow volunteers to pick trash in the median.

What about other sites?

Dan Mundahl at Bethany is handling the site on Highway 169 at St. Peter. This location is the first spot south of the city limits of St. Peter.

There is a location in Crow Wing County on Highway 371 at Fort Ripley. The 3rd location is in Cass County on Highway 64 west of Pine River.

The location that requires the most help is the Hopkins site. I estimate that 150,000 cars pass along this stretch of highway. There is a lot of trash to pick at all times of the year.

Official MnDOT info on the project

What is the Adopt a Highway Program?
It’s a Mn/DOT public service program for volunteers to pick up litter along Minnesota’s highways. It enables the state’s environmentally conscious citizens to make a personal contribution to a cleaner environment.

How does it work?
Community groups, churches, individuals or businesses adopt a highway by picking up litter on both sides for at least two years.

Adopt a Highway groups agree to:

Adopt a highway for a minimum of two years.
Select a segment of highway approximately two miles in length.
Pick up litter on both sides of a highway.
Pick up litter as often as it needs it spring through fall, usually two-three times a year. The spring pickup should be done in April or May before the grass grows.
Notify Mn/DOT after every pickup. Have your Adopt a Highway number when you call.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will:

Provide safety vests, trashbags and safety information.
Remove filled bags from the roadsides; remove large, heavy or hazardous items.
Erect a 3’x5’ highway sign to recognize your group’s commitment. The sign legend is the name of your group only, not its message. It is limited to two lines of 16-18 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

How can I help?

The signs are already in place and the DOT has given the BLC Friends group permission to work the site. The DOT has posted a three by five sign identifying the group.

My intention is to start work by 9 AM on the dates selected. A convenient meeting place is the Caribou Coffee at Bren Road and Hwy 169. I am a regular at this shop and it is located at the very site for our work.

A safety briefing will be given and safety vests and bags will be issued. The we'll pick.

Let me know if you are able to participate.

Norman61@me.com

Welcome!

Adopt-A-Highway is a Minnesota DOT program utilizing volunteers to help keep Minnesota highways clean. I have secured permission from the DOT at four locations for Bethany Lutheran College Friends.

The newest spot is in Hopkins along Hwy 169. The location is 2.8 miles long and goes from Highway 62 north to Highway 7.

The signs are in place and you may already have seen them.

Help is needed to work this location. I realize that not everyone can make a certain date, so I have selected four calendar dates to choose from.

These dates are: April 18th, April 25th, May 2nd, and May 9th.

Please send me an e-mail if you might be able to participate.

Norman61@me.com