For the last two years, Winona State University students have had an unusual tool at their disposal—the River Explorer, a 64-foot-long riverboat that enables students and faculty studying the river to experience it firsthand.
Expeditions on the River Explorer are coordinated by the Center for Mississippi River Studies, an interdisciplinary program at Winona State focused on educating students and community members about the Mississippi River.
Michael Delong, interim co-director of the CMRS and biology professor, said the boat has been employed by Winona State faculty who teach everything from theater to sociology. The Mississippi River can be tied to many different disciplines, he said.
“It varies depending on the nature of the class,” Delong said. “All of it has to do with learning something about the river—whether it’s something about the science, or the history, or the sociology of the river. The whole idea is that here we are, on the banks of this mighty river… so it’s a logical tie-in to the curriculum on campus and components of the river.”
The 50-ton riverboat was originally launched in 1955, custom-built for John Deere, who later donated the boat to the nonprofit environmental clean-up group Living Lands and Waters.
The CMRS acquired the River Explorer from the group in 2005, paying $25,000 for a three-year lease.
“For this type of boat,” Delong said, “it’s a good deal.”
Two experienced captains pilot the boat on river expeditions: Dennis Decker, who has extensive experience working for the Army Corps of Engineers, and Dick Karnath, a third-generation Mississippi riverboat captain who was born and raised in Winona.
Before piloting the River Explorer, Karnath worked as a pilot on larger steamboats, such as the American Queen, the Delta Queen, and the Mississippi Queen.
One of the most enjoyable trips he took on the River Explorer was with 25 first-graders.
“We pulled up to a sandbar, and when we left there were 25 sandcastles along the bar,” Karnath said. “They were covered in sand and mud. They had the best time—they all had big smiles on their faces.”
Somehow, Karnath said, he never gets tired of the river. It’s in his genes.
“It’s always just a joy to be on the river,” he said.
Andy Hamilton, a Winona State student and deckhand on the River Explorer, agreed that working on the river is an enjoyable experience.
“I usually take my camera with me,” he said. “Even though it’s the same river—to most people—you never know what you’re going to see.”
The CMRS coordinates two primary programs. The University on the River program is a combination of WSU classes and continuing education courses for the community. It sponsored eight courses this year that have drawn in members of the community to share their knowledge of the river with the general public. All of those courses filled up immediately, said Delong.
Project WET, another primary subset of the CMRS, stands for Water Education for Teachers—a collaboration between professors Jeanne Franz and Anne Rethlefsen. Its primary mission, according to Project WET’s Web site, is to reach children, parents, educators, and communities of the world with water education.
Using the riverboat has proven to be a great success, Delong said.
“It’s a phenomenal program,” he said. “The idea is giving people experiences—even if they have experience with the river—showing them that there are new experiences that can be had.”
The river should be important to students, Delong said, because the history and viability of the entire region is linked to it.
“By including it the curriculum, we’re giving that sense of place to students,” Delong said. “They take that idea with them, and although they might not stay in Winona or Rochester, when they settle wherever they end up, that will increase the likelihood that they will still find the same type of situation wherever they become established, recognizing things that are important to that community.”
The program has been such a success, Delong said, that they’re studying their options for when the lease expires. They’re talking about extending the lease or even buying the boat, because it has been such a positive link between Winona State and the rest of the local community.
“There’s no argument that the program has been successful for both Winona State and for Winona and for the region,” Delong said.
Educating students about the river makes them into better citizens, Delong said.
“That’s the whole overriding theme of a college education,” he said. “To create citizens. To create good citizens. And part of being a good citizen is having a sense of recognition of what’s important wherever it is that you live.”

Ruth can be reached at RMDefost2404@winona.edu.