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CROOKSTON – The Crookston-based Get Kids Outdoors nonprofit is offering scholarships to help offset costs for area youth interested in attending three outdoor learning camps in northern Minnesota: Laketrails Base Camp on Oak Island of Lake of the Woods in the Northwest Angle; Deep Portage Learning Center near Hackensack; and Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Lake County.
According to Fred Parnow, a founder of Get Kids Outdoors, the organization has consulted with the three camps, and all are onboard with the idea of helping kids offset costs for attending.
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“We have a dollar budget in mind, depending on which of these camps the kids go to,” Parnow said. “We’re thinking that the average cost is probably $600-$800. We’d provide half of that, is kind of what we’re thinking.
“It all depends on the kids and where they want to go and which camp it is. I don’t think we’ll get 100 phone calls, but it would be nice if six, eight, 10 kids took advantage of it through the summer.”
The focus, Parnow says, would be on youth who live within about a 40-mile radius of Crookston, the area that has given Get Kids Outdoors the most support.
“I’d be very surprised if we had 10 kids that are really serious about it, but you never know,” Parnow said.
Get Kids Outdoors was established to honor Parnow’s son, Adam Parnow, an avid outdoorsman who was killed in a spray plane crash June 27, 2023. Since the Parnow family formed the organization, Get Kids Outdoors has hosted summer and winter fishing events and offered the free use of a fish house this past winter on the Red Lake River in Crookston.
A total of 41 family groups used the fish house, Fred Parnow says.
For more information on the Get Kids Outdoors camp scholarships, contact Parnow at (218) 280-6344 or check out the website at www.getkidsoutdoorsmn.org .
— Brad Dokken
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MEDORA, N.D. – National Park Week is April 19 to April 27, and park entrance fees will be waived April 19 to kick off the celebration and to encourage everyone to enjoy their national parks in person.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota is celebrating National Park Week with a trio of events offering opportunities for adventure, exploration and giving back to nature.
— staff report
EAGAN, Minn. – The shooting sports season is underway for 39,069 students participating in USA Clay Target League programs this spring, the organization said in a news release. Those students are competing on 1,973 high school, college and homeschool teams nationwide, supported by over 11,200 coaches, team staff and other volunteers. This is the 30th consecutive season of record-breaking participation since the league was founded in 2008, the league said.
“The league provides schools with the opportunity to give their students an place to develop their confidence, sportsmanship, and teamwork without the high costs and limited playing opportunities of traditional sports,” John Nelson, president of the USA Clay Target League, said in a statement. “Clay target shooting sports are accessible to everyone, and the opportunity to participate on their school’s team influences athletes’ lives for the better.
“This spring over 9,000 new athletes joined the league through their school’s teams, thanks to the efforts of the shooting ranges, coaches, and parents that make teams flourish.”
For high school students, the nine-week spring season is already underway and will conclude May 25. Tens of thousands of students will participate in state tournaments across the country in June, with the top participants qualifying to compete at the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship in July.
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College students compete in a shorter season in the spring and return to compete in the fall, culminating with the USA College Clay Target League National Championship in October. The league saw a 19% increase in collegiate athlete participation this season, with a similar increase in the total number of college teams.
“More and more colleges and universities are capitalizing on the growth of the league to find and recruit students looking to further their education,” Nelson said. “By providing clay target sports they’re providing an appealing, well-rounded education experience to their prospective students.”
— staff report
BISMARCK – North Dakota landowners applying for deer gratis licenses will notice improvements to the online application process, the Game and Fish Department said in a news release.
The new system simplifies land selection by allowing users to click on property descriptions rather than manually entering lengthy details.
During the first year, applicants need to search and select their lands. In subsequent years, a convenient renewal button will speed up future applications. An additional link is available to reference records from previous years.
These changes help validate eligible records more efficiently, ultimately reducing the time required to process the deer lottery, Game and Fish said. By improving accuracy and preventing errors, the system ensures a smoother experience for applicants and a timely lottery for those eager to receive their results.
Step-by-step guidance is available on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov/buy-apply/help/gratis-application .
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General deer and muzzleloader lottery applications will be online in early May. The deadline to apply is June 4.
— staff report
BISMARCK – The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual spring aerial mule deer survey is set to begin in early April in the western part of the state. Weather permitting, the survey takes about two weeks to complete, the department said in a news release.
During the survey period, people could notice low-flying small airplanes over some parts of the Badlands.
Game and Fish biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 Badlands study areas since the 1950s. The purpose of the survey is to determine a population index to assess mule deer abundance in the Badlands.
— staff report
ST. PAUL – A pair of peregrine falcons has returned to the nest box featured on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ popular FalconCam . The webcam has captured this pair of falcons demonstrating courtship displays and preparing for eggs by creating a nest in the gravel, called a scrape.
The two adult falcons using the nest box have been identified by the Midwest Peregrine Society as the same pair who used it last year: a 12-year-old female and a 16-year-old male. This female falcon fledged from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and has nested in the box since 2016. The male fledged from Gary, Indiana, and this is his second year paired with this female.
Watch the DNR FalconCam to see the falcons engaged in courtship and maintaining their scrape, as they prepare for their nesting season. Last year, this pair laid their first egg on April 11, so an egg could potentially appear around that same time this year.
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Stay informed on FalconCam happenings by signing up for updates on the FalconCam webpage. Learn more about peregrine falcons and the Minnesota restoration project on the DNR website .
— staff report
CROSSLAKE, Minn. – This year’s Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener will take place May 9-10 on Cross Lake and the Whitefish Chain of Lakes. Additional participants include Explore Minnesota Director Lauren Bennett McGinty, DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen and other DNR staff, and Explore Minnesota staff and local representatives.
The annual Governor’s Fishing Opener highlights the importance of fishing traditions to Minnesotans and the state’s outdoor and tourism economy.
— staff report
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