Since mid-September, what was once a familiar Hutchinson landmark has changed every day. The south fork of the Crow River was once tamed by a concrete dam. In September, the dam’s gates were opened and the riverbed was drained. Construction workers tore down the old dam and constructed a new one from rocks and boulders. The dam was completed by mid-December, but water wasn’t spilling over it yet. Spring 2008 will bring melting snow runoff and rains, and this view of the Crow River from the Main Street bridge will change yet again.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [1])