A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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I spent most of the morning lost in thought. As always, I contemplated what direction a deer might appear and what I would have to do to make a good shot. I was also enamored with the lever action on my lap. I tried to imagine it new. Great-great-grandpa as a young man picking it up at a local store - maybe one like Oleson's mercantile on Little House on the Prairie? Or picking it out of a Sears and Roebuck, excited for its arrival. Did he hunt out of a stand? Did he make drives with his...
Hunters, media members and anyone interested in deer harvest data can find current deer harvest figures and harvest reports for past years available on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources deer reports and statistics webpage. “A key objective of our statewide deer plan is to provide timely and accessible information about deer management and one of the more popular metrics of interest — especially this time of year — is up-to-date deer harvest data,” said Barbara Keller, DNR big game program leader. “We’re excited to provide the...
There is no way he could have imagined my world, and I find it difficult to imagine his. We are separated by a century or more: generations of Bakers have come and gone. Nothing directly connects us, except for the gun cradled across my lap, 12 feet up a birch tree. He was my grandpa's grandpa; I know very little about him, and his name even escapes me at the moment. That saddens me. I hope my great-great-grandson will know my name - know a little something about what made me tick. The morning...
The four-day MEA weekend is a Minnesota tradition. A holiday without the stress and busy schedule of an actual holiday. By the time everyone rolled out of bed Thursday morning, I was heavily gauging interest in a day trip. Two of my boys took the bait. Joseph, David and I loaded up and headed west. By mid-morning, we pulled into the market at Malmo on the northeast side of Mille Lacs. I topped off the gas tank in the Big Blue Lund as Joseph and David ran inside to gather armfuls of sugar- and...
The recent wind and rain have taken a toll on the leaves. In turn, the crinkly debris is strewn all over, leading to the debate on collecting or ignoring them. Whatever side of the fence you sit on regarding handling the leaves, one place they most assuredly shouldn’t be is the street. Why? Because the end destination, come the next rain, is a nearby storm drain leading to a nearby water feature. “What’s the big deal?” you might ask. Let me explain. When fall approaches, trees begin taking...
Since the start of the 2019 fishing season on the St. Louis River in May, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend roughly 75 days on the streams, rivers, reservoirs and lakes in the region. I’ve strived to continue to grow as an angler, constantly pushing myself to break down new water and add different techniques to my arsenal. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the fish I love to chase and the multitude of ways to catch them. Reflecting on the open water season, I can conclude one thing with...
Welcome to autumn: cooler, wetter, mushrooms galore, and changing leaf colors. We see green leaves all summer and now those same leaves are turning yellow, orange, red, and even purple; what's up with that? The causes of these changes are fascinating. The pigments in the leaves are also responsible for the red in apples, orange in carrots, blue in blueberries, purple in eggplant, and the yellow in "dandy lions." The functions of these pigments vary: they can attract pollinators such as bees,...
I had my article for this week almost completely written when I got a short and simple text from my oldest brother, Bob, on Saturday night. His wife Julie had boated a monster muskie. Exciting, for sure, but better yet, the fish was good enough to win the Fortune Bay Resort Casino muskie tournament on Lake Vermilion. I scrapped my article, realizing their story was better than mine. Remembering the weather kept me off the water on Saturday, I could only imagine the conditions farther north on...
I was heading back down the Gunflint Trail from a full day of guiding on Lake Saganaga, or Big Sag as the locals refer to it. I had a young couple from the Cities who were excited about the cooler of fresh walleyes, bass, and lake trout collected from the rootbeer-stained water of Sag. But they both hoped to end their day laying eyes on their first moose. Somedays I would get lucky and a cow or calf would linger in the moose pond adjacent to the guides' landing on the Sag corridor. Always a...
Fall is my favorite time of the year, or at least it’s a tie for first with spring. The weather is favorable and the pestering insects are well suppressed thanks to the mild temps. All this adds up to the great outdoors being a welcoming getaway, especially for a walk in the woods with the abundant colors. Lucky me, I had such an opportunity on Sept. 24 when Carlton SWCD hosted a “Walk in the Woods” event with our highly knowledgeable forester and the local Kettle River forestry chapter. The e...
I stood parallel to the Cloquet goal line cheering on the hometown Lumberjacks football team Friday night under the lights of Bromberg Field. The moon struggled to break through the thick white clouds intermixed with the blue smoke rolling off the B&B wagon. It finally busted free over the visitor's goalposts. I noted the time: 8:30 p.m. on the nose. The Harvest Moon. It only rolls around once a year, so I knew I needed to take full advantage of its presence. (For the record, the Lumberjacks...
We enjoyed a big cake pan of crappies and brook trout fillets for dinner the other night. The crappies were freshly pulled from the deep weed line of a nearby lake. The brookies had a longer journey. They recently swam the cold streams of Cook County, making their final splash in the hot grease of our fryer. My brookie chasing days are winding down. Now, I rely almost entirely on my kids to gather them. When I was young, one of my jobs was to supply three freshly caught brookies on demand for my dad. Luckily, Big Otter Creek flowed on the...
My phone rang just late enough to make me nervous that something was wrong. I was right. My brother, Bruce, had fallen from his deer stand. He was in the emergency room. My heart raced. My mind whirled. I thought about how high he hangs his stands. Always has. I recalled the aspen tree above Gunflint Lake he told me to sit in one morning. In the darkness, I remember staring up at the metal platform of his portable stand 30-some feet in the air. Small screw-in steps alternated on the path of...
Back to reality. The Baker household held tightly onto summer for as long as possible. But with two kids in middle school, one in high school, another off to college, and both parents teaching, responsibilities have firmly taken over. Looking back, we spent a good chunk of the summer pursuing walleye gold, yet we wrapped up the season chasing silver. Crappies have started their fall transition. A couple of weeks ago they were loosely packed in small pods. Our trips over the last couple of days...
I have a little secret my wife and kids already know. Sometimes, I have no idea what I'm doing. The last couple of weeks on the water, I've been making it up as I go. Some trips have worked out, others have bombed. The only way to grow as an angler is to stretch yourself, and I've grown comfortable being uncomfortable. Ten days ago my brother Bruce and I ventured miles offshore onto Lake Superior in pursuit of roaming schools of walleyes. Chasing walleyes is not new to us. But piecing together...
My wife, Jamie, loves to put her fall decorations out at the first sign of autumn. A couple of cold mornings triggers her to journey to the recesses of our basement in search of her stash of scarecrows and pumpkins, just as the first snow of the year signals all her snowmen to report for duty. Noticeably missing in her bin this year was a bundle of cattails we’ve had for years. Our black lab, Mogli, ripped them to shreds at the height of his “puppy chews everything phase” last September. I kno...
We loaded the Suburban with most of the Baker crew plus an omnipresent extra child, and headed north. The big blue Lund stared back at us in confusion as we pulled away — it would remain unhitched for the day. Our destination was the Hibbing baseball field to support Carsen Psyck, Zachary Tyman, and Joseph Baker as they represented Cloquet in the VFW All-Star game Sunday afternoon. Tucked into the massive wooden bleachers of Al Nyberg field, I had time to reflect on summers of long ago playing o...
Recent reports from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers in the area: Scott Staples (Carlton) attended training at Camp Ripley during the week and gave assistance at a work detail in Duluth when the tall ships arrived. A complaint of littering was looked into after pictures were taken of a truck on a prohibited trail. The truck was pulling a trailer full of garbage with a bed full of garbage as well. The investigation is still ongoing. ATV and dirt bike operators were contacted for various violations near Nemadji Stat...
You can still find birds in August. They're not as noisy and easy to spot as in April or May and during fall's migration. They've found their mates - the goal of the glorious singing they treat us to in spring. In this season, they're training their young ones, demonstrating finding food and venturing farther from nests. They're emerging from a silent stretch during June and July, when crooning can attract predators. Last weekend, my cousin Martha and I went "car birding." Early mornings, when...
An open house meeting for discussions about deer and deer management with Minnesota Department of Natural Resources area wildlife managers has been scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Carlton County Transportation building at 1630 County Road 61. People can arrive any time during the scheduled meeting. For those who prefer to talk on the phone, people are welcome to call their area offices. In addition to discussing general concerns about deer, individuals can ask DNR staff about last year’s harvest data, provide topics that the DNR’s dee...
The fog rolled across the surface of the water as we slid Keith Nelson's Alumacraft into the coffee-colored waters of Big Sandy Lake. I relegated myself to the back deck of his boat. I was here to learn - catching fish would be a bonus. Today, I would be front and center of Nelson's master class on dissecting manmade structure in pursuit of slap crappies. "I've been fishing these docks for over 20 years," Nelson said with confidence as he punched down on his 175 Yahama outboard. As we pulled...
One of the most important things a person can do in their life is to find their passion. Some people spend years experimenting and seeking out their passion, while a lucky few find what they are passionate about at a young age. One's passion can range from painting to riding bikes to stargazing or, in Carlton resident Abbie Valine's case, bird watching. A homeschooled student, Valine discovered her interest in birds while fulfilling her second-grade science curriculum, which touched on insects a...
Hunters can start planning ahead for significant changes to deer season regulations, including a youth deer season that’s expanded statewide, expanded bans on deer feeding and attractants, and other updates related to managing chronic wasting disease. The 2019 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping regulations handbook is now available on the DNR’s deer hunting page at mndnr.gov/hunting/deer. Hunting licenses went on sale Thursday, Aug. 1, and are available at any DNR license agent, by telephone at 888-646-6367, or online at mndnr.gov/buyalicense. The...
Stretching out in front of us, dozens of boats jostled for position, awaiting blastoff. My oldest son, Joseph, and I tucked into the back of the pack; based on the 200-300 horsepower motors surrounding us, we weren't going to beat anyone to our fishing grounds. It was Saturday morning and we were competing in the Twin Ports Walleye Association walleye tournament on Fish Lake. Our anticipation built as the minutes ticked by. Our planning and preparation would soon be put to the test. Tournament...
Somewhere deep in the Colorado Rockies is an unnamed gravel road that twists and turns on its way up past little-known Grayback Mountain. Indiana Pass crests at 11,910 feet right on this road, and the occasional travelers in their SUVs or pickup trucks often find it difficult to breathe. But the challenge of breathing at that altitude was made even more difficult for Cloquet-area resident and Fond du Lac Band member Alexandera Houchin. She was on Indiana Pass in late June this year "just riding...
