 Well it was a celebratory afternoon in Brainerd today as Brainerd Lakes and statewide organizations held the 15th annual Lake and River Friendly Awards. The awards ceremony is held each year to recognize homeowners, business owner, contractors and local units of government that have implemented policies or practices to protect lakes and rivers. The ceremony was sponsored by a number of businesses and multiple awards were given out including the Shoreland Stewardship Award and the Protection Strategy Award. I want our Cascone AIS prevention program to be considered a model that the state can follow and my plan is to continue to work with all the partnerships that we've worked so hard to create and continue to grow the scope of our projects. The ceremony was kicked off by a presentation on Minnesota Loons and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by Carol Henderson of the Minnesota DNR Non-Game Wildlife Program. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.