Colonel Michael Price, US Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District Commander, visited the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway on August 5.  He assumed command of the St. Paul District on July 2, 2010. The Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway Association has been a Cooperative Association partner with the US Army Corps of Engineers since 2004.

Crosslake Corps of Engineers Recreation Area Ranger Ray Nelson, led the Colonel on a brief tour of portions of the Byway during his visit.

Culminating this tour, Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway Association chairperson, Lynn Scharenbroich, and PBSBA board member, Rick Beyer, owner of A-Pine Restaurant, met with Colonel Price to discuss community and business connections with the Byway.  Beyer's restaurant has embraced the Byway allure and the Paul Bunyan story, adding Bunyan-related burger names and snippets of tall tales to their menu, along with a 13 foot tall waving Paul Bunyan statue that faces Highway 371 travelers heading North.

Of particular interest in the evening discussions with Scharenbroich and Beyer, was the idea of promoting water safety by creating a life vest for the big Paul Bunyan statue. Water safety awareness is always one of the Corps key summer recreation messages to provide to the public. Taking the idea into reality, the Crosslake Ranger staff will begin developing the idea this fall with a goal to have Paul outfitted in his life jacket by spring 2011.

Read story by Ray Nelson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Crosslake.