High and dry in Grafton

In no danger of getting their feet wet, Andy Gieschen and Grant Matthews walked recently on the mudflats along Veterans Memorial Park in Grafton that were exposed earlier this year when a gate in the Bridge Street Dam failed and essentially drained the Milwaukee River millpond in the heart of the village, leaving the kayak launch in the park high and dry (left). Whether the new look of the river is temporary or permanent hinges on officials, who have directed village staff to investigate the options of repairing the dam and restoring the millpond or removing the structure and allowing the river to flow as it does now.    Photos by Sam Arendt