Voters Reject Big Fish Lake Improvement District

COLLEGEVILLE -- There will be no Lake Improvement District created for the Big Fish Lake watershed after residents in that area rejected the measure.

Stearns County Auditor-Treasurer Randy Schreifels says they mailed out 317 ballots and received 250 of those back for a voter turnout of about 79%. Schreifels says there were 137 "no" votes and 113 "yes" votes.

The vote means a taxable L.I.D. won't happen.  Big Fish Lake still has a lake association, but it does not carry any taxable authority.

A group of residents pitched the idea of a L.I.D. to help prevent the spread of invasive species.