We were glad to see the Goosetown Gemtlichkeit celebration doing well on Sunday. It was a family friendly day of fun down in Riverside Park, in the Goosetown neighborhood of New Ulm.

We’re happy to see it, as well, because one of the other river celebrations, RiverBlast, is not being held this year. That was a weekend-long celebration, held in early September, that featured lots of music, including blues and zydeco band, barbecue, and also a focus on having fun next to one of New Ulm’s more underappreciated recreational resources.

The Minnesota River is indeed a great resource. Early in New Ulm’s history, it was the main highway for commerce and travel. Riverboats were how goods and commodities got shipped. Later, however, as the river began to silt up about the same time the railroads replaced river travel as the way to go.

Today, thanks to efforts to improve the quality of the water in the Minnesota River it is making a comeback as a place for fishing and boating. Events like River Blast and Goosetown Gemtlichkeit help raise awareness about the river and the need to continue the work to clean it up.

So thanks to the Goosetown committee for their celebration. We can use more events like that along the river.