Dakota County officials are nearing completion of a $48 million renovation of the Lake Byllesby Dam that replaces hydroelectric turbines first installed more than a century ago.

The new hydropower plant will double the dam’s electric production capacity to 4 megawatts. Previously, the dam produced capacity in the neighborhood of 1.8 megawatts to 2.2 megawatts, according to county officials.

The goal is to turn on the new hydropower turbines this fall, with a final connection to the power grid in early 2025, as the county coordinates the final stages with Xcel Energy. Building installation work has been completed, and workers onsite are making the finishing touches.

The dam, which collects flows from the Cannon River, is just west of Cannon Falls on the boundary of Dakota and Goodhue counties. It was built in 1910 as a power source that also created a recreational reservoir, with the original hydroelectric turbines going online in 1912.

Other than some light refurbishing during the 1980s, that equipment remained operational at the dam site ever since.

After more than 100 years, the equipment clearly outlived its intended lifespan. County officials had reached the point of either securing funding for a large-scale renovation, or allowing the turbines to run to the point of failure.

“The bigger picture was, ‘When do you rip off the Band-Aid,’ or when do you make the decision to invest and improve your facility?” Dakota County Senior Water Resources Engineer Mark Ryan said.

The project was paid for with a mix of county, state and federal dollars. The federal government’s American Rescue plan provided $28 million, state bonding dollars covered $12 million and the county kicked in the remaining $8 million.

Of the dam’s three aging turbines, one had a troublesome amount of water leakage, while suffering a number of mechanical issues that created a lot of downtime, county officials said.

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“It wasn’t super efficient, and it would break down pretty often. The fixes became somewhat predictable, but it’s large and heavy equipment,” Dakota County Environmental Resources Supervisor Brad Becker said.

Similar to an aging furnace that no longer operates at peak efficiency, it was estimated that the Lake Byllesby turbines were operating at about 70 percent efficiency. The two new turbines should operate at about 93 percent efficiency, Ryan said.

“We hope this provides the next 50-year window and really ensures the long-term life of the facility,” Ryan said.

Dakota County is projecting about $1.8 million in annual revenue from the dam’s electric output once the Xcel interconnection is completed.

Rapidan Dam comparison

The Lake Byllesby Dam near Cannon Falls. Dakota County Environmental Resources Supervisor Brad Becker compares the upgrade from the old dam turbines to the new system as a change from a Model T car to a Tesla. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

Outside of the electric generation, the dam portion of Lake Byllesby has undergone several different phases of safety and remediation projects.

Whereas some cities across the state have chosen to remove dams and return rivers to their natural waterflow, the Lake Byllesby reservoir has proven a popular recreation spot for nearby landowners, who enjoy fishing the lake’s mix of walleye, bass and crappie.

Many of Minnesota’s more than 1,000 dams are aging, said Jason Boyle, a dam safety engineer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, as communities find themselves deciding between committing to repairing the dams, or letting them return to nature.

Last month, heavy rainfalls drenched Minnesota, causing significant water flows throughout the state, notably along the Blue Earth River near Mankato. The Rapidan Dam was overwhelmed by the rushing water, as 34,800 cubic feet per second blasted down the river.

Dakota County officials declined to speak about specifics related to the Rapidan Dam.

Both dams have a similar hollow concrete construction and are of the same age, but the geography between the two sites varies greatly and the Rapidan Dam experienced water flow rates at a much higher clip.

An outdoor staircase leads from the powerhouse to the top of the Lake Byllesby Dam. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

To put the historic water flow figures from the Blue Earth River in perspective, the Cannon River at the Lake Byllesby Dam crested at about 15,000 CFS on June 22, less than half of what Rapidan experienced.

The dam sites themselves are in different states of condition, too.

After a 2019 flood, Blue Earth County officials said the Rapidan Dam was in a state of disrepair. The National Inventory of Dams ruled likewise, as an April 2023 study said the Rapidan Dam was in poor condition, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

Blue Earth County officials have been in the midst of defining the future of the Rapidan Dam, as either renovating the dam or removing the dam would both prove costly.

Meanwhile at Lake Byllesby, Dakota County stakeholders over the past decade decided to keep the dam in their future plans.

In 2014, a $5.8 million water capacity upgrade to the dam site was completed. Those repairs included addition of two concrete crest gates to address dam and spillway safety during massive rain events.

Those gates were put to work in early June and later last month.

The water level at Lake Byllesby was high, but crews were able to safely manage it, Becker said.

The Lake Byllesby Dam typically manages between 500 and 1,500 CFS. During last year’s particular dry months, the flows trickled down to 250 CFS. To put the cubic feet per second figure in context, one engineer compared 1,000 CFS to a flow of 1,000 basketballs per second.

New life after 100 years

Two new generators in the powerhouse at the Lake Byllesby Dam. Dakota County Environmental Resources Supervisor Brad Becker explains that the old system looked very different with the turbines and moving gears out in the open but the new system looks much more modern with only the generators exposed on the level of the powerhouse and the turbines hidden approximately two stories lower. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

The Lake Byllesby Dam was built in 1910, in turn creating the Lake Byllesby Reservoir, a 3.5-mile long, 1,432-acre lake. The original owner of the hydro dam was Northern States Power, now known as Xcel Energy. In 1969, as the site started to reach the end of its originally expected lifespan, Dakota and Goodhue counties purchased it from the energy company.

By 2009 though, the dam portion of Lake Byllesby needed safety renovations, and rather than foot part of the bill, Goodhue County officials at that time decided to relinquish control to Dakota County.

Since then, the focus has been on ensuring the dam’s viability in the long term, with a hope that the hydroelectric updates can deliver new life to the site, Ryan said.

“All of this work is really ensuring the long-term life of the facility,” Ryan said.

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It was a changing of the guard Monday, as Jason Matheson introduced KDWB afternoon DJ Falen Bonsett as his new sidekick on “The Jason Show.” Bonsett replaces Kendall Mark, who began her new job Monday afternoon co-hosting the former “Lori and Julia” afternoon timeslot with Brittany Arneson on MyTalk 107.1.

Matheson opened his show, which airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on Fox 9, with a prerecorded reenactment of the famous shower scene from the ’80s soap opera “Dallas” with Bonsett in place of Bobby Ewing.

“Friends, it’s a great thrill to tell you that Falen is our new sidekick,” Matheson said. “After an exhaustive seven day search, we interviewed two people …”

“I barely made the cut,” Bonsett added. “I’m being paid in Sun Chips and I’m excited.”

Bonsett is a familiar face to viewers of “The Jason Show,” which also airs in several other markets including Seattle and Chicago. She previously sat in as a guest co-host, most recently last fall when Mark was on maternity leave. On KDWB, Bonsett has earned a reputation for her quick wit and sometimes crass sense of humor.

FROM 2013: KDWB’s Falen Bonsett named one of radio’s hottest women

Mark had been on “The Jason Show” since 2019 and also worked as a morning traffic reporter at Fox 9. She left both jobs to join Arneson at MyTalk.

Longtime friends Lori Barghini and Julia Cobbs were among the first hosts hired when MyTalk launched in 2002. They surprised listeners in March when they announced that they were ending their popular “Lori and Julia” talk show. They made the decision due to Barghini’s desire for more free time as well as the rigors of producing the show for more than 20 years.

After a months-long goodbye to listeners, Barghini and Cobbs filled the Fillmore Minneapolis with well wishers for their final broadcast on June 27. Over three hours, the hosts and guests shared both memories and tears as the audience cheered them on.

RELATED: Lori and Julia made magic together on the radio and will be missed

In an interview with the Pioneer Press last month, Mark said she knew she had big shoes to fill: “Everyone knows Lori and Julia. It’s intimidating. Usually you want to be the person who takes over after the person who takes over, if you know what I mean.”

Arneson, who was a frequent MyTalk fill-in host, and Mark opened what is now called “Brittany and Kendall” at 3 p.m. Monday with a brief tribute to the hosts they’re replacing. Arneson promised to follow advice from Barghini and Cobbs and employ “kindness, humility and knowledge” as a host.

From there, the pair went on discuss the new job (they both wore dresses for the first day), their personal lives and celebrity gossip, much like their predecessors.

“We’ve got three hours to fill,” Mark said with a laugh.

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A former Ramsey County public defender convicted of criminal sexual misconduct charges avoided prison time Monday in a sentence that his victim called “extremely lenient.”

Adam Kujawa, 38, was sentenced in Washington County District Court to four years of probation and 90 days in jail, which can be served on electronic home monitoring, after he struck a plea deal and admitted to amended charges stemming from sexual misconduct on his boat on Forest Lake in May 2021.

Adam Kujawa (Courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Kujawa had worked as a Ramsey County public defender for many years, but resigned Feb. 28, a day after pleading guilty to felony criminal sexual predatory conduct and to gross misdemeanor fifth-degree nonconsensual sexual conduct. He had entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintains innocence while acknowledging the state likely has enough evidence to convict him.

Judge Siv Mjanger followed the terms of Kujawa’s plea deal and stayed nearly four years of prison time for four years. He must register as a predatory offender for 10 years and undergo a psychosexual evaluation and follow the recommendations.

The woman, now 38, said in court in a prepared statement read by a victim advocate that she was the victim of Kujawa’s “psychological, physical and sexual abuse” for more than three years, “something that words cannot ever capture.”

“He has taken so many things that I love, and he has taken my time, my safety, my freedom and me away from me and those who love me,” she said. “I am a completely different person as a result of his abuse.”

Prosecutors have previously called the plea deal a “global resolution” because it settled criminal cases in three other Minnesota counties alleging similar conduct by Kujawa involving the woman.

Following Kujawa’s sentencing, Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson said in a written statement that sexual conduct cases are among the “most important and most difficult cases” his office prosecutes.

“Sexual assaults take an enormous and terrible toll on victims,” he continued. “I hope the resolution of this case will provide some measure of closure to the victim. I am pleased that Kujawa has been held accountable for his crime through two criminal convictions, incarceration and registration as a predatory offender.”

Other charges dismissed

Washington County prosecutors filed two felony cases against Kujawa in December 2021 — one alleging the Forest Lake incident, the other for alleged sexual assaults at his St. Paul apartment in September of that year.

Washington County handled the second case for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office due to perceived conflicts of interest. Mjanger dismissed the case last year, citing insufficient evidence to support the charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion.

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The original felony charge in the Washington County criminal complaint also alleged third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion. According to the complaint, a witness reported to police in November 2021 that around May 15, while on the boat, Kujawa grabbed the victim by the hips and waist and pulled her toward himself. The witness said the victim told him “no” and to stop what he was doing. Kujawa placed his hands up the victim’s dress at least five times, the witness said. The victim told police that she would try to get away, but he would pull her back.

In the Ramsey County case, the woman alleged that on Sept. 29, 2021, she had been raped by Kujawa twice at his Grand Avenue apartment over the prior two days. She told police that she was in a romantic relationship with him for four years, the complaint said.

Under the February plea deal, the Cook County Attorney’s Office dismissed its case that charged Kujawa with four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion. The charges were filed last September after the woman alleged that Kujawa forced her to have sex on four occasions over three days at a Lutsen ski resort in February 2020.

Also, the Aitkin County Attorney’s Office agreed not to file a criminal complaint it had drafted charging Kujawa with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and “lesser offenses” related to an alleged incident on Feb. 29, 2020, according to the plea petition.

Meanwhile, the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office considered filing a case against Kujawa but declined charges, according to prosecutors.

Special treatment?

At Monday’s hearing, the woman said Kujawa “has stolen my self-worth. Seven years of my life. My safety, privacy, intimacy, self-confidence, belief in the justice system, and my own voice in this world.”

As she did after the plea deal, she maintained that Kujawa was given special treatment because of his past jobs, which included a stint as an assistant attorney general, and that she “was never consulted, never given a chance to react or provide my input.”

“Once again my voice was squashed, just as Adam said it would be,” she said.

Assistant Washington County Attorney Wade Kish addressed her claim, saying: “As I’ve stated previously in court, there were many different opportunities in meetings in which this negotiation was presented to (the victim), who had a chance to react and respond. I should also advise the court, as you are well aware, that no less than four counties have signed off on this plea negotiation.”

The victim’s assertions of preferential treatment “are just simply inaccurate,” said Kujawa’s attorney, David Lundgren, adding his client is a “good man” and that he had many supporters in court with him.

Afterward, a teary-eyed Kujawa was surrounded outside the courtroom by his parents and several of his former colleagues from the Second Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. They declined to comment, as did Kujawa.

Meanwhile, Kujawa’s future as an attorney is unknown.

Susan Humiston, director of the state’s Office Of Lawyers Responsibility, the governing body for attorneys, said Monday they have an open investigation into Kujawa’s criminal conduct. Humiston said she cannot speak of Kujawa’s open case, adding that, in general terms, conduct by attorneys and the potential punishment, which can include disbarment, is imposed by the state Supreme Court.

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By DAVID KOENIG and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Boeing will have a felony conviction if it follows through on an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to fraud in connection with approval of its 737 Max before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia.

The American aerospace giant has apparently made the calculation that admitting to a crime is better than fighting the charge and enduring a long public trial.

The plea deal is not yet a sure thing, however.

Relatives of some of the passengers who died have indicated they will ask a federal judge in Texas to throw out the agreement, which they say is too lenient considering the lives that were lost less. They want a trial, they want a huge fine, and they want Boeing leaders to face charges.

In a legal filing late Sunday — minutes before a midnight deadline — the Justice Department disclosed the agreement and said the fraud charge was “the most serious readily provable offense” it could bring against Boeing. Prosecutors say Boeing will pay another $243.6 million fine, matching a fine it paid in 2021 for the same crime.

The Justice Department says a conviction for fraud will hold Boeing accountable for “misstatements” it made to regulators who certified the 737 Max in 2017. The crashes took place less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.

The company still faces investigations into the blowout of a panel from an Alaska Airlines Max in January, increased oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration, and accusations from current and former employees about poor workmanship and retaliation against whistleblowers.

Here is what to know about the case and what could be next for Boeing:

What did Boeing admit?

Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States — in this case, deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Justice Department first filed that charge in 2021, but it agreed not to prosecute Boeing if it paid a fine and successfully completed three years of a form of corporate probation under what is called a deferred-prosecution agreement.

In May, however, the department determined that Boeing had not lived up to that agreement, setting in motion the events that led to Sunday’s plea deal.

The plea deal could help Boeing resolve a black mark on its reputation — the felony charge that the American aerospace giant deceived regulators who approved the airplane and the pilot-training requirements to fly it safely.

What did Boeing agree to do?

Boeing will pay another fine, bringing the total to $487.2 million, which the Justice Department says is the legal maximum for the fraud charge. The deal also requires the company to invest at least $455 million to improve safety. It will be on court-supervised probation for three years, and the Justice Department will name an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance with terms of the plea agreement.

Boeing’s board of directors will be required to meet with families of the victims.

Can the judge block the deal?

Yes. There will be a hearing before U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. He can accept the agreement, in which case he can’t change terms of Boeing’s punishment. Or he can reject it, which would likely lead to new negotiations between Boeing and prosecutors. A date for the hearing has not been set.

Deals in which the defendant and the federal government agree on a sentence are controversial in legal circles.

“Judges don’t like them. They feel that it usurps their authority,” said Deborah Curtis, a former Justice Department lawyer.

O’Connor, however, has shown deference before to the Justice Department’s power. When families of the crash victims tried to undo the 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement, the judge criticized what he called “Boeing’s egregious criminal conduct” but ruled that he had no authority to overturn the settlement.

How are relatives of the crash victims reacting?

Many are outraged by the agreement.

Zipporah Kuria, a 28-year-old London woman whose father, Joseph, was on the Ethiopian Airlines Max that crashed in March 2019, wanted a trial that she thinks would have unearthed new details about what led up to the crashes.

Now, with the likelihood that there will never be a trial, “the opportunity to continue digging, the opportunity to continue finding out what has gone wrong here and what is wrong, is kind of taken away from us,” Kuria said. “So yet again, they (the victims) have been robbed of their dignity, and we have been robbed of our closure.”

Javier de Luis, an MIT aeronautics lecturer whose sister, Graziella, died in the Ethiopia crash, also finds the punishment for Boeing to be inadequate.

“If you look at the elements that make up this plea agreement, they’re pretty much typical for what you would expect to see in a white-collar fraud investigation – not in the case of a crime that led directly to the deaths of 346 people,” he said.

Nadia Milleron, a Massachusetts resident whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the same crash, wants Boeing’s current and previous CEOs to face charges.

“After the Indonesian crash, they knew that something was wrong with this plane, and they knew it could crash,” she said. “They gambled with people’s lives, and they are gambling right now.”

What effect would a conviction have on Boeing?

Boeing’s business has never fully recovered from the crashes. After the renewed scrutiny that followed the Alaska Airlines incident, the company failed to book any new orders for the Max in April and May. It has fallen even farther behind European rival Airbus in production and deliveries of new planes, which means less revenue is coming in.

All of this is happening while Boeing looks for a new CEO to replace David Calhoun, who says he will step down at the end of the year.

That said, the share price of the company’s stock rose slightly Monday.

Will Boeing lose government contracts?

Probably not.

Government contractors can be suspended or disbarred for criminal convictions, but agencies generally have leeway to grant exceptions.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Justice Department notified the Defense Department about Boeing’s plea deal.

The Defense Department “will assess the company’s remediation plans and agreement with the Department of Justice to make a determination as to what steps are necessary and appropriate to protect the federal government,” Ryder said.

In 2006, the Air Force cited “compelling national interest” to let Boeing keep competing for contracts even after the company admitted charges that included using stolen information to win a space-launch contract and paying a $615 million fine.

Does the plea affect other investigations into Boeing?

It would only resolve the fraud charge filed after the two deadly crashes. The FBI told passengers on the Alaska Airline Max that suffered a panel blowout while flying over Oregon that they might be victims of a crime.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating that incident, and the Federal Aviation Administration is looking into Boeing’s manufacturing quality.

What happened in the crashes?

Boeing added new flight-control software to the Max that could push the nose of the plane down if a sensor indicated the plane could be approaching an aerodynamic stall. It didn’t initially tell pilots or airlines about the software, known by the acronym MCAS.

The system activated before both crashes based on faulty readings for the single sensor on each plane, according to investigations of the Oct. 29, 2018, crash of a Lion Air Max off the coast of Indonesia and the March 10, 2019, crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max near Addis Ababa. Other factors contributed to the Lion Air crash, and the Ethiopian pilots were aware of MCAS but still couldn’t regain control after the nose began pitching down without their input.

___

Koenig reported from Dallas and Richer reported from Washington. Haleluya Hadero in South Bend, Indiana, Cathy Bussewitz in New York, and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.