Minnesota Outdoor News Radio

Top topics this week include a rough start to the 2026 pheasant opener, plus remembering former Outdoor News columnist and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent Richard Dickinson. Then the Minnesota DNR’s Paul Burr and Patrick Hagen join host Rob Drieslein for a discussion on the outlook and changes (including CWD management) for the firearms deer hunting season this fall. Brian Myres and Dave Zentner from the Duck Summit Group then jump into the broadcast to talk about why they’re advocating for the Citizen’s Conservation Advisory Council concept. Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein wrap up the show talking about a hunter who encountered Petunia the Emu and why a Minnesota school district would ban the John Deere Farm-to-Table Kids Cookbook.

The post Episode 614 – Pheasant opener, deer preview, Citizen Conservation Advisory conversation, emu afield appeared first on Outdoor News.

Top topics this week include the 2026 pheasant opener Oct. 10 in Minnesota and Oct. 17 in South Dakota, a Minnesota archer gal who killed a buck in velvet last month, plus a Minneapolis man who ran the entire Twin Cities Marathon carrying a canoe to bring publicity to the threats facing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein break it all down. Then Drieslein wraps up his conversation Jim and Will Pattiz of the website Morethanjustparks.com. They have a whole new page devoted to the controversial Alaskan Ambler Road project. Drieslein and Lesmeister wrap up the conversation with a story that’s not quite “man bites dog” but rather, “man attacks bear attacking dog.”

The post Episode 613 – Pheasant opener tips, rare MN velvet buck, marathoner hauls canoe, man attacks… bear? appeared first on Outdoor News.

With Bob Hautman’s fourth federal migratory bird stamp victory last week, the Hautmans have collectively won the contest 17 times. Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein break it all down. Then two of Drieslein’s new friends, Jim and Will Pattiz, share the story behind their website Morethanjustparks.com and their commitment to public lands. Blane Klemek from the Minnesota DNR then joins the show to talk about elk in northwestern Minnesota and 300 new miles of hunter walking trails in the state this fall. Drieslein and Lesmeister wrap up the show talking about the muskie frenzy on Lake of the Woods that highlighted the Professional Musky Tournament Trail there off the Northwest Angle in mid-September, and a humpback whale swimming up California’s Sacramento River.

The post Episode 612 – Another Hautman duck stamp win, new hunter walking trails, Lake of the Woods muskies appeared first on Outdoor News.

Minnesota’s regular duck season kicks off this weekend, and Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein offer some hunting tips before talking “truth to power” and reminding listeners that the comment period on rescinding the federal roadless rule now runs through Oct. 6. Then Kara Swickey from Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington joins the show to talk about the refuge’s 50th Anniversary and special events happening on Saturday, Sept. 26. Old friend Hank Shaw shows up to talk about his new and improved big-game hunting cookbook “Buck, Buck, Moose” and events happening around the region where you can meet Hank and learn some slick new wild-game cooking tips. Drieslein and Lesmeister wrap up the show talking about new research that aims to grow Dutch-elm disease-resistant trees, and concerns about neonicotinoids and wild turkeys.

The post Episode 611 – Duck opener, Minnesota Valley 50th anniversary, Hank Shaw, Hope for American elms appeared first on Outdoor News.

Minnesota regular duck season kicks off next week, and Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein preview the season and kick around bagging a few coots (mud hens?) if the mallards and teal do not cooperate. Then Sharon “The Birdchick” Stiteler joins Drieslein for the second week in a row; lots of hawk talk with Shaz this week. Special DNR guest Jennifer Teegarden then shares information with listeners on a great cost-share program that helps small landowners pay for trees and materials if they’re looking to reforest their property. (Sign up while dollars are still available!) Then Lesmeister and Drieslein rendezvous again to talk music and the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame’s upcoming induction ceremony in November. Instead of talking about this year’s inductees, they debate the biggest snubs in the Hall’s history.

The post Episode 610 – Coot hunting? Cost-share for woodland owners, hawk talk, and Rock-and-Roll HOF snubs appeared first on Outdoor News.

The Minnesota DNR released its 2026 August roadside survey results, and the numbers bode well for ring-necked pheasant hunting this fall. Tim Lesmeister and Rob Drieslein break it all down. Then Sharon “The Birdchick” Stiteler joins Drieslein to talk hungry hummingbirds and other aspects of fall migration. Eric Morken, the Outdoor News web editor and a hardcore bowhunter, shares his insight on whitetail behavior so far this late summer and previews his top tactics for the Minnesota archery opener next Saturday, Sept. 19. Lesmeister and Drieslein chat about some national topics, including the flash flood in the Grand Canyon and Bassmaster’s youngest ever Angler of the Year, Trey McKinney.

The post Episode 609 – MN pheasant count, early autumn bird migration, archery deer preview with Eric Morken appeared first on Outdoor News.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally has released the results of its 2026 annual spring waterfowl survey, and the results aren’t stellar. Rob Drieslein and Tim Lesmeister offer their gut response to the data, then John Devney from Delta Waterfowl chimes in to break the report down in detail. Becky Marcelliano from onX then joins the program to discuss the company’s latest tool for conservationists around the continent: its awesome new Public Lands Comment Hub, which will make it easier for you to chime in on national public policy issues affecting the outdoors. Other topics include an upbeat Iowa pheasant forecast, wild rice reports, and another new state record catch-and-release bowfin (dogfish.)

The post Episode 608 – Federal duck numbers, new tool from onX, record bowfin, hunting season, Iowa pheasants appeared first on Outdoor News.

Did you know the humble bluegill has become an aquatic invasive species in Japan? Host Rob Drieslein and Tim Lesmeister kick that topic around, as well as grizzly bear debate in California, and Drieslein gives a first-hand, fresh wild rice report from last weekend. Other guests include bear biologist Andrew Tri from the Minnesota DNR who offers some insight into the 2026 black bear hunting season, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 1. Drieslein also spends a segment with Doug Hartke from the Fox Lake Conservation League and Ducks Unlimited who talks about the 20 wildlife management areas in southern Minnesota’s Martin County. Conservationists played a big role in creating most of them, and there’s a special open-to-all dedication for new public lands in the area on Sept. 19.

The post Episode 607 – Bluegills in Japan, wild rice, black bear preview, Doug Hartke, Ambler Road debate appeared first on Outdoor News.

National issues dominate random chatter this week, including the Trump administration announcing that it intends to move forward with ending the popular 2001 U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule. Also, much to U.S. Sen. Kevin Kramer’s chagrin, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced no further action examining drain tile easement setbacks. Here in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz delivered an executive order halting copper/nickel sulfide ore mining in the Boundary Waters watershed. Hosts Rob Drieslein and Tim Lesmeister break all that down, plus the latest upbeat state waterfowl spring breeding counts. Other guests include Backyard and Beyond nature columnist Stan Tekiela, and Brian Myres from the Minnesotans United for Conservation, who makes the case for a Citizens Conservation Advisory Council.

The post Episode 606 – Roadless rule, USFWS backs off drainage rules, Walz and BWCA, Citizens Council appeared first on Outdoor News.

Alaska tops the discussion this week following Rob Drieslein’s fishing trip there last week. He talks with Tim Lesmeister about fishing shallow August lake trout and Arctic grayling, then Stan Tekiela joins the show. He and Drieslein discuss the incredible, wild ecosystem in the north-central region of Alaska near Gates of the Arctic National Park where the Ambler Road threatens fisheries and wildlife. Lesmeister and Drieslein also break down Amy Klobuchar’s interview about outdoor topics last weekend at Game Fair and preview Lisa Demuth’s interview this coming weekend. The program also unveils the 2026 Outdoors Leaders Award recipient – tune in to find out who took the award this year. Finally, Erin Haws, Leech Lake large lake specialist, explains the process and ongoing public comment period behind the new fisheries management plan for the third largest lake entirely within the state of Minnesota – Leech Lake.

The post Episode 605 – Recapping Klobuchar interview, Alaska and Ambler Road, Outdoor Leaders, Leech Lake appeared first on Outdoor News.