st. croix river

Governor Mark Dayton says it's urgent for Minnesota to stop invasive Asian carp from spreading widely into its waters. Dayton convened what was billed as a "carp summit" Monday, where a Department of Natural Resources specialist outlined an action plan that would include permanently closing the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock and dam to prevent the fish from getting upstream.

The search for invasive Asian carp in the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers enters a new phase in the coming week. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other agencies will conduct a new round of environmental DNA testing, and this time it will include the Minnesota River.

A 27-pound bighead carp caught in the St. Croix River recently is being used by Minnesota officials to rally support for slowing the spread of such invasive species. Bighead carp are one of several invasive carp species that the Department of Natural Resources says could seriously harm the state's native fish species and aquatic ecosystems.