DECORAH, Iowa — Luther College anthropology students, led by Professor Colin Betts, have utilized remote sensing technology to locate unmarked graves at three pioneer cemeteries in Winneshiek County. This summer, students Evan McElroy, Benson Newhouse, and Rebecca Zheng worked at Big Canoe Norwegian Methodist, Springwater Cemetery, and Crossroads/Metcalf Cemetery.

The team employed non-invasive methods such as ground penetrating radar and soil resistivity, aiming to detect burial sites without disturbing the ground. Newhouse noted the educational value of the project, saying, "This summer we learned how to use remote sensing. I hadn’t had any experience with this equipment previously, nor the software involved in processing the data and how to analyze it, so it was a great opportunity."

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