Inver Grove Heights' historic Rock Island Swing Bridge gets illuminating upgrade
Scenic views of the Mississippi River can still be found where horse-drawn wagons, trains and cars once traveled over "America's River" between Inver Grove Heights and St. Paul Park.
"It's super important to us," said Adam Lares, Inver Grove Heights' park and recreation director. "This is part of our history and one of our foundations of our city."
That history began with construction of the double-decker Rock Island Swing Bridge in 1894. The local legend is that notorious gangster John Dillinger crossed the bridge in a stolen car following a shootout with Dakota County authorities in the mid-1930s.
The bridge closed to rail traffic in 1980 and road traffic in 1999. Today, it is a pier spanning 680 feet over the river where old meets new — thanks to an illuminating idea.
"The first time I heard about it was from one of our council members, Councilmember John Murphy. He's like, 'Hey, it'd be great idea if we could kind of draw some more attention to our community, utilize our history and put some lights on that bridge,'" Lares said.
New life and light were added to the bridge in the form of 28,000 color-changing LEDs in June.
The half-million-dollar upgrade got a big boost from the state, and the city chipped in, too.
The nightly light shows are bringing new visitors, and brightening memories for longtime locals.
"When I was a kid, went over that on a toll. I walked across that bridge. My grandpa, my grandma worked on that bridge, so it just really flooded a lot of history back," Lares said.
The city is already getting requests for color combinations and other light show suggestions. They are currently working on a lighting policy.
"I hope one day we will see it purple and gold for the Vikings when they win the Super Bowl," Lares said.
The unique light show starts every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night through the summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Severe turbulence on Delta flight forces emergency landing and sends more than two dozen on board to hospitals
Some passengers were terrified, convinced the plane was going down. One seasoned traveler said it was the roughest flight he'd ever taken. A woman on board felt like she was experiencing an earthquake. Severe turbulence struck a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam Wednesday, sending service carts and unbelted passengers into the air and forcing an emergency landing in Minnesota, where 25 people on board were taken to hospitals. Delta said flight DL56 landed safely at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and was met by medical teams upon arrival. Video shows fire rescue vehicles waiting on the tarmac as the plane made its landing. When the turbulence hit, Joseph Carbone grabbed his wife's hand and braced for the worst. 'I truly thought the plane was going to go down,' the passenger told CNN. As items flew into the air and passengers around him screamed, Carbone watched as a 'flight attendant just about crashed into the ceiling.' The flight likely hit severe turbulence over an area of southwestern Wyoming that had been identified as a potential trouble spot by federal aviation forecasters earlier in the day. Twenty-five on board the flight were taken to area hospitals 'for evaluation and care,' Delta said in a statement. All crew members and those passengers 'willing to share their status' had been released as of noon Thursday, Delta said. 'All seven crew members who were taken to area hospitals after the flight landed were treated and released by Thursday morning. All customers who were evaluated at the hospital and willing to share their status with Delta have also been released,' the airline said. The plane was carrying 275 customers and 13 crew members, according to Delta. It's unclear whether all passengers taken to area hospitals have been released. The health systems HealthPartners and Allina Health told CNN Thursday morning that they were assessing and treating passengers from the flight. 'The overwhelming majority of the folks taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment have been released,' a Delta spokesperson told CNN earlier Thursday morning. 'We kissed the ground' after getting off plane Carbone said the turbulence hit in three waves: 'bad, to worse and way worse.' The pilot apologized over the intercom, explaining that they were flying above an altitude where most storms hit and the turbulence was unexpected, Carbone said. 'After we got off the plane, we kissed the ground, and Delta took us to the Delta Lounge and got us hotels and rebooked our flights,' he said. Another passenger, William Webster, told CNN he takes about 80 flights a year, but what he experienced on board was 'the craziest turbulence I've ever seen in my life.' 'I felt the centrifugal force. I was off my seat for like 30 seconds with the turbulence,' he said. People were screaming as phones and other items were thrown into the air, Webster said. 'I watched a wine cart just get thrown into the air,' he said, noting that with his seatbelt on, he was able to grab his phone and an empty champagne glass to keep them from flying away. Webster said he was not injured. Another passenger, Leslie Woods, said the turbulence felt like an earthquake. 'There was a little girl across the aisle from me that was just terrified,' Woods told CNN affiliate WCCO. 'She's screaming 'we're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die,' so I was trying to keep her calm, and I really thought we were going to die. It was that scary.' Ricardo Hoogesteger was headed back home on the flight to Amsterdam when he experienced 'severe turbulence, losing altitude, feeling weightless multiple times, flying carts and getting completely soaked during the flight,' he told CNN. Bottles, cups, and other items from a serving cart were thrown on the seats and floor – and Hoogesteger's clothes, which he said were drenched with a mix of coffee, orange juice and wine. Hoogesteger commended Delta staff for helping passengers through the bumpy ride. A couple on the flight told ABC News that dinner service had just started when the turbulence hit. 'If you didn't have your seat belt on, everyone that didn't, they hit the ceiling and then they fell to the ground, and the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground and people were injured,' Leeann Clement-Nash told ABC News. 'And it happened several times, so it was really scary,' Clement-Nash added. The plane landed around 7:25 p.m. local time, a spokesperson for the airport told CNN, confirming the flight was diverted 'due to reported in-flight turbulence that caused injuries on board.' The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport Fire Department and paramedics met the plane at the gate and provided 'initial medical attention to passengers in need,' before some were taken to hospitals, the airport spokesperson said. 'We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved,' Delta said. Aviation forecasters warned of thunderstorms A Salt Lake City branch of the National Weather Service's aviation unit warned of thunderstorm potential Wednesday, noting that severe weather was possible across Wyoming. An aviation weather advisory for significant meteorological hazards, known as a SIGMET, was in effect when the turbulence occurred over southern Wyoming. The advisories alert pilots to severe weather events like thunderstorms or strong turbulence. Thunderstorms were developing in much of Wyoming Wednesday evening and some in the southwestern part of the state had grown to 35,000 to 40,000 feet tall when the aircraft experienced turbulence, according to a CNN analysis of archived weather radar data. The aircraft was at about 35,000 feet when it experienced the severe turbulence, according to a CNN analysis of flight data. Rising and falling air within thunderstorms is very turbulent and can be extremely dangerous to aircraft. Aviation authorities investigate According to data from flight tracking site Flightradar24, the flight climbed by more than 1,000 feet in less than 30 seconds roughly 40 minutes after its departure. It then descended approximately 1,350 feet over the next 30 seconds. Soon after, the plane altered its course in the direction of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where it landed safely about an hour and a half later, the data shows. The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it is investigating and expects a preliminary report to be ready in about a month. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane landed safely in St. Paul after the crew reported 'severe' turbulence. The agency said it will investigate. The FAA says turbulence is normal and happens often, but it can sometimes be dangerous, especially for those not wearing seat belts. Last year, seven people were injured when severe turbulence rocked a United Airlines flight from Cancún to Chicago, forcing an emergency landing in Memphis, Tennessee. Five people were taken to the hospital last month, after severe turbulence hit an American Airlines flight from Miami to Raleigh, North Carolina. And in March, several flights were diverted to Waco, Texas, due to turbulence on their routes, and five passengers were taken to the hospital. In 2024, 23 people – 20 of whom were crew members – were seriously injured in turbulence events, according to FAA data. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's David Williams, Brynn Gingras, Sara Smart and Sara Finch contributed to this report.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
What in-flight turbulence is and when it becomes dangerous for passengers and crews
A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam that was hit by serious turbulence Wednesday, sending 25 people on board to hospitals and forcing the flight to divert to Minnesota, highlighted the dangers of flying through unstable air. Several turbulence-impacted flights have been reported this year. While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, the tally of injuries has grown over the years. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note that reports of turbulence encounters also have been increasing and point to what climate change may be doing to flying conditions.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
What in-flight turbulence is and when it becomes dangerous for passengers and crews
A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam that was hit by serious turbulence Wednesday, sending 25 people on board to hospitals and forcing the flight to divert to Minnesota, highlighted the dangers of flying through unstable air. Several turbulence-impacted flights have been reported this year. While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, the tally of injuries has grown over the years. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note that reports of turbulence encounters also have been increasing and point to what climate change may be doing to flying conditions. Planes hitting bumpy air is mostly minor, however, and airlines have tried to improve safety. Experts advise travelers to stay vigilant, stressing wearing a seat belt whenever possible. What causes turbulence Turbulence is essentially unstable air that moves in a non-predictable fashion. Most people associate it with heavy storms. But the most dangerous is clear-air turbulence, which often occurs with no visible warning. Clear-air turbulence happens most often in or near the high-altitude rivers of air called jet streams. The culprit is wind shear, which is when two huge air masses close to each other move at different speeds. If the difference in speed is big enough, the atmosphere can't handle the strain, and it breaks into turbulent patterns like eddies in water. Recent flights shaken by turbulence In June, five people were taken to a North Carolina hospital for evaluation after an American Airlines flight from Miami hit turbulence on its way to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The plane landed safely. Earlier that month, severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing after violent turbulence injured nine people, German police said. The flight was traveling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members. Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt. In March, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore experienced severe turbulence over the Philippines. The plane was carrying 174 passengers and 14 crew members. Five people were injured and the plane landed safely in Singapore. Several flights were diverted to Waco, Texas, on March 3, because of turbulence. Five people were injured aboard a United Express plane flying from Springfield, Missouri, to Houston. Last year, Italian authorities launched an investigation after two easyJet flight attendants were injured when their flight from Corfu to London's Gatwick Airport was buffeted by turbulence. The pilot made an unscheduled landing in Rome. In May 2024, a 73-year-old British man died and dozens of people were injured aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence. His death was under investigation. Authorities said he may have had a heart attack. It's unclear how common injuries are Tracking the number of turbulence-related injuries worldwide is difficult. But some countries publish national data. Most reports of in-flight turbulence from 2009 through 2018 resulted in one or more serious injuries and no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported. Between 2009 and 2024, 207 people were injured seriously enough during turbulence to require hospital treatment for at least two days, according to the NTSB. Most of them were flight attendants, who are more likely to be out of their seats during a flight. How pilots try to avoid it Pilots try to avoid turbulence partly by using a weather radar display. Sometimes they can simply see and fly around thunderstorms. But clear-air turbulence 'is altogether another animal,' said Doug Moss, a former airline pilot and safety consultant. It can be devastating, he said, 'because the time before the incident can be very calm, and people are caught off-guard.' Air traffic controllers will warn pilots after another plane runs into clear-air turbulence, Moss said. Many pilots also look for signs of wind shear, then plan to avoid those areas, he said. Modern planes are strong enough to handle just about any turbulence. Cabin areas such as overhead bins may receive cosmetic damage, 'but these don't impact the structural integrity of the planes,' Moss said. Scientists look at climate change's influence Some scientists note that reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise. Several researchers have pointed to potential climate impacts as one of the possible explanations. Professor Thomas Guinn, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explains that some predict climate change could alter the jet stream and up the wind shear, which would drive up turbulence. Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in England, said there was 'strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change.' Williams said in a statement last year that his research team discovered that severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic has increased by 55% since 1979, for example. The team's projections signal that severe turbulence in the jet streams could double or triple in the coming decades if global conditions continue as expected, he said. There could be a rise in overall air traffic that may increase turbulence encounters as the number of flight tracks go up, said Larry Cornman, a project scientist at the National Science Foundation's National Center for Atmospheric Research. What travelers can do to stay safe In short, buckle up. Turbulence can be tricky to predict, but experts stress that the first line of defense is keeping the seat belt fastened, whenever possible. And airlines have taken steps for safety. Last November, Southwest Airlines said it was ending cabin service earlier so that passengers return to their seats and fasten seat belts sooner. The change was intended to 'reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries,' the company said. Also last year, Korean Air decided to stop offering a beloved instant noodle, Shin Ramyun. 'This decision is part of proactive safety measures in response to increased turbulence, aimed at preventing burn accidents,' the Seoul-based airline said in a statement.
