The Army Corps says they'll release the findings of their study on how to stop invasive Asian carp in 2015. State officials say they must move faster. Minnesota is leading the charge by filing a federal lawsuit.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will come up with a short list of options for blocking the spread of the invasive fish by the end of next year. The Corps had earlier said the process would take until 2015. Asian carp have already invaded the Mississippi River watershed. Officials hope to keep them from migrating into the Great Lakes.

Army engineers say they're restoring a high-power setting on an electric barrier that they hope will prevent the invasive Asian carp from migrating from Chicago waters to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. One official with the Army Corps tells the Associated Press he's confident the barrier is working, and that the higher setting is just an extra precaution.

The Army Corps of Engineers wants authority to close the lock and dam at Minneapolis' St. Anthony Falls at a moment's notice if invasive carp are found nearby. Supporters of the idea include the Minnesota DNR and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who say stopping the migration of Asian carp up the Mississippi is needed to protect northern Minnesota waters.

A privately funded group continues work on a fast-track plan to stop invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The group hopes to release its plan in January. The Detroit Free Press reports one of the options includes a series of barriers in the Illinois River to stop the destructive species from traveling from the Mississippi River through Chicago to Lake Michigan. Minnesota is part of a suit to force federal officials to speed up the effort to halt the fish before they spread further.

Researchers are taking water samples from nearly 300 different spots in the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix rivers to determine whether the invasive carp have spread this far upstream.

The Associated Press reports the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal filed by Minnesota and other Great Lakes states. The states asked the court to order the closure of shipping locks in the Chicago area to prevent the invasive Asian carp from spreading farther north.

It allotment comes after the DNR asked for $10 million in emergency funding in order to build a barrier on the St. Croix River to deter the invasive fish. The council says they're shaving off money from several other projects in order to free up the money.