Sixteen-year-old Nathan Raser knew he had a big turkey on his hands while hunting with dad Paul Raser last month.

What he didn’t know – at least not right away – was that his turkey could be among the largest ever registered in the state of Minnesota.

The Chanhassen High School tenth-grader and his dad were hunting wild turkey in the woods behind their home off of County Road 140 when they first spotted the bird after school on April 26.

“It was the third spot we tried,” Nathan recalled.

With all the advancements in technology in recent years – from high definition televisions and iPods to video games and the Internet- one thing is for sure.

“We don’t get outside as much as we used to,” said Allison Neaton, manager of the Lowry Nature Center at Carver Park Reserve in Victoria.

“There is a disconnect between children and the Earth,” agreed Tim Kenny, educational director for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

If you’ve ever wanted to experience an artist create a work of art before your very own eyes, now’s your chance.

Monday, the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will kick off a three week artist-in-residency program, during which acclaimed eco-artist Patrick Dougherty will create a massive stick sculpture on the center island in front of the Oswald Visitor Center.

Last summer, while drought conditions wreaked havoc on his neighbors’ plants and flowers, Tom Dunlap was able to ignore water restrictions and just sit back and relax.

It wasn’t that Dunlap had a plant-less yard, but what Dunlap did have planted outside his house was ready for whatever that Minnesota summer had to throw at it.

“I just let them be,” he said.

That’s because Dunlap has surrounded his Carriage Lane home exclusively with plants native to Minnesota.

It only took a few run-ins with some less-than-pedestrian-friendly vehicles for jogger Bob Moeller to launch a lifelong pursuit of safe trails for fellow Chaskans.

Today, his mission is focused on creating a trail connection between Chaska and Victoria, and linking both cities to the regional trail system. “The mental will to do it is there,” said Moeller.

The Minnesota River has risen high enough to necessitate the closing of the Carver County 11/Scott County 9 river crossing near Jordan.

According to Chaska Public Works Superintendent Tim Wiebe, the roadway closed earlier this afternoon. Wiebe noted in an email that he expected Highway 101 in Shakopee to close Saturday or Sunday.