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Beers of the Kaw – Ale Trail!

October 20, 2020 by Dawn Buehler /

Beers of the Kaw – Ale Trail!

Supporting Friends of the Kaw and our work for the Kansas River!

TICKETS on Sale….officially October 26, 2020! Get yours a little early …postcards will go out starting the week of October 26!

Link to ticket sales!

Event Details: Tickets are $25.00 and a donation to Friends of the Kaw!

You will receive a postcard of brewer watershed discount….take it to your favorite brewery, get it checked off and you are on your way! You will have from November 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 to complete the Ale Trail. You can choose to visit the brewery at their location on the map, drink their beer at another venue, or buy their beer at a local liquor store – up to you how you journey on the Ale Trail!

If you return the postcard to Friends of the Kaw and have visited all of the breweries, you will be entered into a drawing for Door Prizes! You can email, mail or post a picture of your completed photo on our Beers of the Kaw Ale Trail Group page on Facebook!

Email to: info@kansasriver.org

Mail: PO Box 1612, Lawrence, KS 66044

Guess who’s coming to BEERS OF THE KAW ALE TRAIL?

9 Brewers….come taste some great brews!

1524 Brew House – Concordia
23rd Street Brewery – Lawrence
Fields & Ivy Brewery – Lawrence
The Free State Brewing Co. – Lawrence
Happy Basset Brewing Co. – Topeka
Kansas City Bier Company – Kansas City
Lawrence Beer Company – Lawrence
Manhattan Brewing Co. – Manhattan
Tallgrass Tap House – Manhattan

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FRIENDS OF THE KAW TEAMS UP WITH GOOD RIVER BEER FOR CONSERVATION

September 18, 2020 by Dawn Buehler /

FRIENDS OF THE KAW TEAMS UP WITH GOOD RIVER BEER FOR CONSERVATION

Good River Beer Expands Distribution to Kansas: Raising 2% for Rivers

(Denver, CO – DATE EST SEPT 28TH) Good River Beer has partnered with Standard Beverage to expand distribution to Kansas and support local conservation efforts. Beginning next week, Good River Beer’s collection of premium craft beers will hit shelves in select retailers, starting with Whole Foods and Balls Food Stores.

Good River Beer is dedicated to brewing quality craft beer while forwarding their mission “to protect and conserve rivers.” As part of their expansion, they’ve teamed up with a Kansas-based nonprofit, Friends of the Kaw, to amplify their effort in uniting the river community around conservation. 2% of Good River Beer proceeds will be donated to the organization to protect the Kansas River, the state’s most prominent river for recreation, and a drinking source to nearly 1 million residents.

“We founded Good River Beer with the intent to build a company that makes a positive impact on the world,” says Co-Founder, Adam Odoski. “Beer is the vehicle to make that happen. The more beer we sell, the more we can give back to rivers and surrounding communities. Friends of the Kaw does some incredible work, and I’m excited to see the impact we can make.”

Executive Director Dawn Buehler is equally excited about the partnership opportunity adding, “We love partners who advocate for clean water and are proud to collaborate with Good River Beer on a chance to protect the Kansas River. There is nothing more important than protecting this waterway as it provides drinking water to over 800,000 Kansans, is a source of recreation, and a home to all that live in and along its shores.”

Good River Beer fans in Kansas can expect to find their full lineup across the state including, Hey Fishy Fishy, a juicy, aromatic, Hazy IPA; Class V (5), a big, bold, and balanced double IPA; American, a clean and crisp Pilsner, Fu Fighter, a gold-medal-winning Belgian Style Golden Ale; Horsethief, an easy-drinking, well-balanced, and malt-oriented, Mango Blonde Ale; and a Variety 12-Pack.

Good River Beer will be available on shelves beginning early-October 2020 with launch events and river-cleanups taking place in the Spring of 2021. Visit goodriverbeer.com to learn more about Good River Beer and stay updated on the latest company news.

About Good River Beer:

Good River Beer is a Colorado-based craft brewery with a purpose-driven mission to share their beer, follow the adventure, and protect and conserve rivers. They brew traditional beers crafted to cover the spectrum of flavor, with unique elements to classic recipes. All of their beer styles are named after rivers or river themes. Styles range from easy-drinking Ales, perfect for a lazy float, to big hoppy IPA’s to enjoy fireside after running a spicy section of Class V rapids. And, they just won their first Great American Beer Fest Gold Medal in 2019.

For more information about Good River Beer, please visit goodriverbeer.com

For more information about 2% For Rivers, a nonprofit founded by Good River Beer, please visit twopercentforrivers.com

About Friends of the Kaw:

Friends of the Kaw is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the Kansas River. Our mission is to advocate, promote, educate, and engage the Kansas River.

Friends of the Kaw supports the Kansas Riverkeeper®, a non-governmental public advocate who holds the community accountable for the health of the Kansas River. The Kansas Riverkeeper is the eyes, ears, and voice of the Kansas River acting in the capacity of a leader, educator, investigator, media spokesperson, and scientist.

Some of our programs include river cleanups, educational paddle trips, ecosystem restoration, and our Kids About Water (KAWS) K-12 education program. To learn more about Friends of the Kaw, please visit www.kansasriver.org. Protect. Advocate. Discover.

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The MERC Co+Op Change Program Recipient

August 5, 2020 by Dawn Buehler /

The MERC Co+Op Change Program Recipient

Friends….we have been selected as The MERC Co+Op Change for our Community Recipient for August 2020! Please join us to shop at The MERC Co+Op located at 901 Iowa St, Lawrence, KS 66044 during the month of August (and all year long!) and round up to donate to Friends of the Kaw!

During the month of August, we will highlight the “Kansas River and Food Connection” with a 3 part series. Learn about “Agriculture along the Kansas River”, “Drinking Water and the Kansas River” and “”Ways to Protect the Kansas River”. Stop by our table and learn more about these connections to our river. We will be at The MERC, outside at a table, during the month of August :

Every Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM
Every Saturday from 9:00 to 11:00 AM!

Come learn about the Kansas River, our work to protect it, and how you can get involved.

We are so grateful for this opportunity…so please join us to thank the fine folks at The Merc when you drop in, for their efforts to help us protect the Kansas River! Learn more about The MERC Change for our Community Program here:  https://www.themerc.coop/change

See you there!

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KAW 173 – Day 7

July 23, 2020 by Dawn Buehler /

KAW 173 – Day 7

River Mile 67 and kayaked 24 miles to River Mile 43 on the Kansas River Water Trail.

We woke up this morning at Beaver Hollow about 4 miles upstream from Lecompton. When we went to bed the night before, it was muggy and hot and the mosquitoes were in full force. Somewhere in the middle of the night things cooled off and this morning was perfectly beautiful. We affectionately call this spot Beaver Hollow because we’ve stayed here before, and there is great beaver activity. All night long, you can hear the splashing in the water. And in the morning you can see that they’ve been there.

We knew we had an early morning, because we had scheduled an early morning public paddle. So we were all up before the sun and on the river by 7 AM. The paddle in the early morning as some of the most perfect times on the Kansas River. The river is still, often there’s mist and the sun is slowly rising. This is the time of the day that you can see the most wildlife activity if you quietly paddle along the banks. We’ve seen so many beavers that we’ve lost track of the count. This morning was no different between beavers and deer… what a glorious place we live in!

We paddled just a few miles before we reached Lecompton and met a great group of people for a public paddle. It was great to see so many of our friends and members, what a wonderful way to come into this part of the watershed and to see the folks that really helped us make this organization what it is today. It was great to see so many friends. We departed and headed towards Lawrence, with a quick stop on the sandbar to cool off. We went ahead and left and some folks stayed back and enjoyed the river for a little while longer. When we arrived at Riverfront Park in Lawrence, we had arranged for a group of our volunteers to come and help us unload all of our gear so that we could portage our boats empty through Bowersock dam. We got back on the river after unloading, and paddled another 2 miles to Bowersock portage. This portage was put in by Bowersock Power and Mill Company and we are so grateful. And it addition to that, Sarah and her crew at Bowersock all came and met us at the portage and helped us get all of our boats to the other side. It’s great to have so many wonderful partners up and down the river. I think one of the things that’s really made me proud and happy about this experience is all of the help along the way. We have so many people that love the river and so many people that want to help and make it so much sweeter.

After portaging the dam, we paddled another 2 miles down to 8th Street boat ramp. When we arrived, there was a great group of people there to meet us including two city commissioners, folks from the Kansas Water Office and the Chair of the Kansas Water Authority. These are people that we have worked with regularly on connections to the city and on solutions to water issues. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to have the support of all of these people that we’ve worked with over the years. We talked about Lawrence and the connection to the Kansas River Water Trail and about future projects below Bowersock that can give even more opportunity for Kansans to enjoy their river.
It has been an incredibly busy day with lots of community visits and interaction.

Special visits from my parents and in-laws as today was my 52nd birthday. What a great way to spend it…and I’m so grateful that I am physically able to do this journey!

Once we got done at 8th Street with the community visit, we all needed some time to rearrange our gear and get loaded up with water for the next leg of the journey. We spent some time getting settled and we also enjoyed lunch courtesy of Free State Brewing Company in Lawrence! We have been so spoiled on this journey but we are so grateful for all of the local connections to the water trail. Next time you’re in Lawrence… you can get off the river and simply walk over the bridge and go to Free State and have a beer and dinner. And this is really at the heart of this entire advocacy for the river trail. How are these communities connected to the Kansas River? Do people just simply drive over the bridge and never think about the connection? We are trying to highlight that you can enjoy the river trail, and stop in these communities along the way and enjoy the local flavors. There are so many wonderful things and all of these little river towns that people often don’t even know about. If you love to kayak, canoe, paddle board, fish, boat, or whatever you can think of to enjoy the river trail…there is a town along the way that can also offer wonderful places to stay along the way and great food to eat to refuel.

Friends of the Kaw started in the basement of a house in North Lawrence and this is our home. It was great to bring the water trail journey back to Lawrence. Thank you to all the people that joined us for the public paddle, the community visit, and just to cheer us on! We are grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey.

On the note of wildlife, today was spectacular. In between all of this visiting, we did see tons of wildlife. We saw at least seven Bald eagle‘s between Lawrence and our camp spot west of Eudora. Of course we’re not sure if it’s the same bald eagle or different ones, but we spotted them seven times. We also found lots of tracks on the sandbar, and many birds including red headed woodpeckers, indigo buntings, and cuckoo. Early this morning as we paddled towards Lecompton, we saw a deer run across the river and another deer off in the distance.

There is never a shortage of wildlife on the Kansas River. This is their home and we’re just dropping in for a visit.

Tonight, we’ve settled in at the sandbar just near Eudora. Tomorrow we will do a public Paddle from Eudora to De Soto and again from De Soto to Cedar Creek. We also have a Community visit at De Soto, which is my hometown. I was born and raised on the banks of the Kansas River in De Soto and graduated from De Soto High and I’m proud to say that I am forever a Wildcat! I look forward to seeing you all in my hometown tomorrow!

Dawn, Your Kansas Riverkeeper