Minnesota Officials Urging Boaters to Use Caution

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - High water has Minnesota officials urging boaters to slow down and use caution as the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches.

A no-wake zone is in effect on the St. Croix River from Taylors Falls, Minn., to Prescott, Wis.

DNR boating safety specialist Kara Owens says there's a lot of debris in the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers, raising the danger of damage to boats and serious injuries to boaters.

A log jam near Raspberry Island in downtown St. Paul, has doubled in size since last Friday.

Officials have also warned canoeists and kayakers to stay off Minnehaha Creek, where flows are too dangerous for paddling and downed trees add to the risk.

Minnehaha Creek flows from Lake Minnetonka, through the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, to the Mississippi River.