This article was the second newspaper article about the Rum River name change proposal. It was published in Mille Lacs County's official newspaper, the Mille Lacs Messenger.

Renaming petition going forward

by Wanda D. Coppernoll

A petition to rename the Rum River perhaps is a long road to travel, but its primary proponent, Thomas Dahlheimer, is diligently pushing forward. The petition presented to the Wahkon City Council at its November meeting was an unsigned draft copy, Dahlheimer noted, and not intended to actually be sent to the Mille Lacs County Board of Commissioners.

"We presented that unsigned and incomplete petition ... in order to inform them as to what was happening in respect to the Rum River renaming issue, and to get some feedback in respect to how our unsigned first draft example petition would he received," Dahlheimer said in a letter dated Nov. 23 to the Mille Lacs County Board.

Dahlheimer asserts that the statement "in cooperation with the state of Minnesota's Commissioner of Natural Resources" in that initial draft copy is "in no way misleading" because of the DNR's cooperation in assisting in the matter.

But, "because of [Wahkon city council member] Sue Fredcrickson'.s constructive criticisms, that, in a way, it is misleading" since the unfinished first draft petition needed to be fine tuned to clarify its stand, Dahlheimer noted in the letter to the Board.

Dahlheimer says that although there is no proof of how the river got its name, there is evidence indicating it was most likely by way of a "punning translation." This information will be incorporated into the final draft petition before it is presented to the four county boards involved (Mille Lacs, Sherburne, Isanti, and Anoka), Dalhlheimer noted.

Dahlheimer says he is continuing to work with members of the Mille Lacs Band, the Prairie Island Mde Wakantons and the Shakopee Mde Wakantons, as well as other various political entities. Wakan (translated Spirit, as in Great Spirit), the proposed new name for the river, is a name used by many tribes of Native Americans throughout the Americas, including the Hopi of the Southwest, Dahlheimer pointed out. He encourages all people to become informed about what Wakan truly means and try to understand the strong and universal concept behind the word. "I want people to think this through." he said, "and not make a snap judgment."

Dahlheimer can be reached at 320-279-3010

Dahlheimer's mailing address is P.O. BOX 24 - Wahkon MN 56386

Dahlheimer's e-mail address is Wahkon@scicable.com