WTIP Outdoor News Podcast

The time of the great harvest is here, as is abundant snowfall on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Many households are getting ready to prepare a turkey on Thanksgiving. Prior to that, WTIP Outdoor News Podcast Hosts Joe Friedrichs and Kalli Hawkins are thinking about what to do with things like brook trout, venison, and fall vegetables. In this episode of the podcast, they talk with Cook County...

In 1948, United States lawmakers passed the Thye-Blatnik Act to buy resorts and private lands in what would eventually be named the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The bill also provides payments in-lieu-of-taxes (PILT) to Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties for federal wilderness land to make up for lost private property taxes. A valuation process is completed every 10 years to determine how...

Hunters will take to the woods this Saturday, Nov. 5 for the traditional and highly anticipated deer season opener. While portions of the state are experiencing increased deer populations, the northeast region population is of concern for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials. In this episode, podcast host Kalli Hawkins speaks with Dr. Lindsey Shartell, acting northeast regional wild...

Election Day is less than two weeks away. An issue that remains important for many voters in northeastern Minnesota is copper-nickel mining. WDIO TV in Duluth recently hosted a candidate forum with Rep. Pete Stauber and DFL candidate Jen Schultz in the race to represent Minnesota's 8th Congressional District. The topic of copper-nickel mining was discussed during the forum, as heard in a segment o...

Minnesotans are expected to arrive to the North Shore this weekend during the annual fall break for most of the state's schools. The Minnesota Educator Academy weekend, more commonly referred to as MEA weekend, means that most students in Minnesota have Thursday and Friday off. It's a popular time for families to visit Cook County and the North Shore. It's also a great time to see wildlife near La...

After more than 90 years, the U.S. Coast Guard closed its station in Grand Marais this summer, finalizing a plan it made public in 2021. The Coast Guard station was established in 1928. It's been staffed on a seasonal basis since the late 1980s, up until the complete closure this summer. The facility is situated on Artist Point near the breakwall housing the Grand Marais Lighthouse. As WTIP report...

The peak of fall is settling over the woods and water of Cook County and the North Shore. In this episode of the podcast, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Kalli Hawkins celebrate the season of harvest. From fresh-caught trout to a homemade batch of potato leek soup, Joe shares his reflections on this important time of transition for many in the community. Kalli takes listeners on a fishing trip during the...

Reports of bears guzzling rancid barrels of oil, tipping garbage cans in Grand Marais and breaking limbs off of apple trees all reached the WTIP News Desk in autumn arrives to the North Shore. In this episode of the podcast, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bear Project Leader, Andrew Tri, shares reminders on how to stay 'Bearwise' during this busy time of year for local wildlife.

Hunters across Minnesota took to backroads and forests Sept. 17 for the opening weekend of grouse hunting. Ruffed grouse and spruce grouse hunting season started Sept. 17. It lasts through Jan. 1. In Cook County and throughout the WTIP listening area, there were reports of numerous successful hunts during the first week of the grouse hunting season. Among those who had a successful hunt on the ope...

Fly fishing conjures many images for spirited anglers: Remote streams, waders and a brimmed cap, looping line from a roll cast dancing behind a setting sun. And then there’s the Cook County canoe version: trolling. It doesn’t always have to be fancy or romantic to go fly fishing on inland lakes in northeastern Minnesota. In fact, trolling a fly that looks like a minnow is a fine way to pursue fish...

The fall season is a welcomed time of the year for many. Before Minnesota hunters take to the woods this upcoming deer hunting season, there are a few changes to be aware of. The Minnesota DNR has decreased antlerless lottery permits in the Superior Uplands Arrowhead region of northeast Minnesota as deer populations remain low. In addition, the DNR has updated regulations regarding chronic wasting...

The multi-year Parkside Public Water Access project in the Grand Marais harbor is completed. The project began in 2019 to revamp and improve the west side of the Grand Marais harbor. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officially signed off on the project on August 31, just in time for Labor Day weekend. Podcast hosts Kalli Hawkins and Joe Friedrichs visited the boat launch to see the ne...

The Margaret A. Cargill (MAC) Lodge renovation at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center near Finland was the first renovation project in the world to receive full Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification by the International Living Future Institute. To achieve this standard, the 22,000 square-foot dormitory has proved its ability to achieve net positive energy and net positive water over a...

The Becoming An Outdoors Woman (BOW) program began in the early 1990s, thanks to the research and foresight of one Dr. Christine Thomas. In addition to being a professor at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, Thomas is an avid hunter and angler. She identified common barriers that hindered women from participating in outdoor recreation compared to men. In today's episode, Linda Bylander,...

The Greenwood Fire burned nearly 27,000 acres in northeastern Minnesota following a summer of heat, drought and smoky skies. The fire started August 15, 2021, and led, in part, to the complete closure of the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last summer. Along the way, the fire destroyed more than a dozen buildings and led to the evacuation of hundreds of homes near Isabella and Highway...

Rock snot, officially called didymo, is an algae native to Lake Superior. The algae was the centerpiece of research the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recently conducted on and in Lake Superior. Heidi Rantala and several other DNR researchers, fisheries biologists and members of the state agency’s aquatic invasive species unit traveled to Grand Marais to collect samples from the bottom...

Loons are an iconic species of the North Woods. From Lake Superior to the many lakes across the Boundary Waters, the call of a loon is a signature sound for many who live here and visit the area. In this episode of the podcast, Kalli Hawkins gets involved with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources citizen science project and the 2022 state loon count. Kalli visits a lake in Cook County to...

WTIP Outdoor News Podcast hosts Kalli Hawkins and Joe Friedrichs were on Lake Superior in mid-July watching staff from the DNR conduct the juvenile lake trout assessment for 2022. After nearly being wiped out in the 1950s, the Lake Superior lake trout fishery has bounced back in a big way during the past 70 years. The decline of lake trout in Lake Superior was caused by overfishing and nonnative s...

Calf recruitment for Minnesota’s moose is the process of young moose surviving to become adults. This spring, in the far reaches of northeastern Minnesota, calf recruitment of moose does not present an uplifting narrative. “It’s abysmal. I think this is the worst calf recruitment year we’ve seen in 12 years of study,” said Dr. Seth Moore, the director of biology and environment for the Grand Porta...

Wolves are the focus of this week's episode. Reports of wolves being fed on Superior National Forest near the Sawbill Trail reached the WTIP news desk in July 2022. Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak said recent reports of humans feeding wolves near the Sawbill Trail led to the closure of a dispersed camping area on Superior National Forest, not far from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area...

Lake trout in Cook County are on their own when it comes to sustaining their populations on lakes in or near the Boundary Waters and Gunflint Trail corridor. A recent decision by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to discontinue – at least temporarily – lake trout stocking is both a success story and an indication into how hard it can be to reintroduce fish species into area lakes once...

The Superior Hiking Trail is a 300-mile pathway leading from the Duluth area to the Canadian border, following the rugged Lake Superior coastline along Minnesota's North Shore. In this episode of the WTIP Outdoor News Podcast, Kalli Hawkins talks with hikers on the SHT near Grand Marais, Minn., and the Devil Track River area. Thousands of hikers from all over the country hike the SHT annually. In...

Commercial fishing on Lake Superior is a centuries-old practice that includes Isle Royale, Grand Marais, Duluth and nearly every corner of the massive freshwater lake. The industry, however, sometimes raises the eyebrows of common sport anglers. In this episode of the podcast, we hear from Cory Goldsworthy, the Lake Superior Area Fisheries Supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourc...

In this opening segment of WTIP's Outdoor News Podcast, we hear from hosts Kalli Hawkins and Joe Friedrichs. The installment comes from the banks of the Cascade River along Minnesota's North Shore, not far from where the river flows into Lake Superior. Kalli and Joe share their stories and background in reporting outdoor news near Lake Superior, the Boundary Waters and the many trails zigzagging a...