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County releases draft slow/no‑wake ordinance; DNR sign‑off and lake‑by‑lake water levels still under review
Summary
Kandiyohi County staff presented a draft slow/no‑wake ordinance Sept. 2 that would allow the sheriff’s office to impose temporary no‑wake restrictions on designated lakes when DNR water‑level readings exceed thresholds set by the county.
Kandiyohi County Administrator Kelsey Baker and drainage inspector Austin Hillenbrands presented a draft slow/no‑wake ordinance Sept. 2, intended to give the county a clear, enforceable process for imposing no‑wake restrictions during high‑water events.
Baker said the draft is preliminary and that staff want commissioner feedback and input from lake associations before scheduling a public hearing (tentatively Oct. 7). The county plans to rely on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lake‑level data to trigger restrictions; Baker said the DNR must review and approve the ordinance language before the county adopts it. Enforcement would rest with the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office and other licensed peace officers; DNR conservation officers would not be authorized to enforce the county ordinance.
Staff proposed applying the ordinance to a set of designated lakes and to tie restrictions to elevation thresholds derived from DNR hydrologic charts. The draft lists Big Kandiyohi, Diamond Lake, Ames Lake (including Norway and West Norway) and Green Lake; Baker said commissioners had raised the possibility of adding Lake Andrew, Lake Florien/Florida, Elkhorn and others and that staff will solicit input from lake associations. Hillenbrands described how the county used DNR ordinary high‑water marks and recent high‑water readings to set temporary no‑wake thresholds (for example, using round figures such as 11.04 or 11.73.5 feet in staff charts), and Baker said staff are open to changing the distance from shore used in the ordinance (they noted DNR model language calls out 150, 300 or 600 feet).
Sheriff Eric Tolleson told commissioners the DNR has a model ordinance the county should follow and that the DNR expects distances of 150, 300 or 600 feet from shore; he emphasized the ordinance should regulate wake rather than horsepower (horsepower limits are a separate type of restriction used on other Minnesota lakes).
Baker and Hillenbrands said the county will not rush the process, urged more input from lake associations and noted that adding additional lakes later would require reopening the ordinance process and a new public hearing. No vote was taken; the item was informational and staff will return with a revised draft.
