Minnesota Outdoor News Radio

Top topics this week include discussion with Rob Drieslein and Tim Spielman regarding the 20th anniversary of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Also, remembering the DNR’s Glenn DelGiudice, who’d been with the agency for 30 years and passed unexpectedly on Dec. 23. Then Backyard and Beyond columnist Stan Tekiela joins the program to chat with Rob about his visit to Costa Rica. They also discuss expanding fisher populations in southern Minnesota. Tim Lesmeister and Rob wrap up the show with a trio of topics from Wisconsin: Fred Prehn’s decision to exit the Natural Resources Board, new leader of the Wisconsin DNR Adam Payne, and CWD found in Buffalo County.

The DNR’s new and finalized grey wolf plan dominates discussion as Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman kick off this week’s broadcast. Then Shannon Fisher joins the show to talk about the Minnesota DNR’s plans to revamp and expand the state’s record fish program. (There is an opportunity to comment through the end of January. Listen to the segment to find out how.) Backyard and Beyond columnist Stan Tekiela then jumps into the broadcast to talk about the annual Christmas Bird Count, which continues through Jan. 5. (Again, listen in to find out how you can participate.) Finally, Tim Lesmeister calls in from Iowa to chat about final deer harvest numbers, plus chronic wasting disease being found in a new South Dakota county, and a fascinating commentary on the origins of CWD in wild deer.

Rob Drieslein is back as host this week, kicking off discussion with Tim Spielman on topics such as the new record fish program, and how Minnesota early teal hunters fared in identifying their birds. Then Dale Gentry from Audubon Minnesota joins the show to talk about the “State of the Birds” report that hit earlier this fall. Author Curtis DeBerg chats with an envious Rob about his book “Traveling with Hemingway.” Tim Lemeister helps wrap up the program with his view on Iowa not funding its version of a state sales tax dedication for the outdoors, why it’s important to carry a compass afield or on the water and his take on the new record fish program in Minnesota.

Tim Lesmeister guest hosts for Rob Drieslein this week, but the content is the same: Great updates on the Upper Midwest outdoors scene. Lesmeister and Minnesota Outdoor News Editor Tim Spielman kick off the show with discussion on the status of the muzzleloader season plus a recap of the rescue of a massive whitetail buck from the frozen Red Lake River. Then Kolt Ringer from Aqua-Vu jumps into the show to discuss the recent St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show and how technology continues to change and improve the world of ice angling. Brian Smith from RiverBend Resort enters the fray to talk with Tim about the outlook for ice fishing on Lake of the Woods, then the one and only Jason Lesmeister joins his dad for a segment to share insights from his multi-state hunting trips this fall. Thank you Tim Lesmeister for guest-hosting this week!

Attorney Paloma A. Capanna, who specializes in Second Amendment litigation and has an active lawsuit challenging several components within new gun laws passed in New York in the summer of 2022, joins host Dan Ladd for an informative, up-to-date discussion on the situation in New York and beyond. Capanna’s case focuses on protecting FFL dealers from numerous new … Great Northeast Podcast: The battle over New York’s gun laws Read More »

Top topics on this week’s Outdoor News Radio: an ice update, including a discussion about the incident on Upper Red Lake early this past week. Also, Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman discuss the 2022 deer harvest totals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jeff Anderson from Lake of the Woods Family Resorts joins Rob to offer a forecast for walleye fishing the big border lake this winter as well as an update on the new group of resorts working together in the area. Just in time for the St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show, “Tackle” Terry Tuma – or “T3” as he’s affectionately known by thousands of anglers across the Ice Belt – joins the show to offer some early ice angling tips and gear recommendations. Tim Lesmeister helps Rob close out the show with items ranging from book reviews to remembering the Helicopter Hanky effort from the late 1980s.

Full show this week kicks off with discussion about ice conditions on destinations like Upper Red Lake and the latest updates on deer hunting harvest in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Host and Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman also discuss the retirement announcement across the St. Croix from Wisconsin DNR Secretary Preston Cole. Also the announcement that the state’s Fish and Wildlife Legislative Alliance, an outdoors umbrella group, is shutting down. Then fisheries biologist Paul Radomski joins the program to talk about his new book, “Walleye: A Beautiful Fish of the Dark.” Other guests include Danny Thomson from Garmin, who updates listeners on the latest updates to the popular Panoptix electronics system, and Mike Fogelson from Up North Sports, who shares details of his company’s big Grand Gear Giveaway at the St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show next weekend. Tim Lesmeister wraps up the show with discussion on what’s affecting hunting license sales and the return of the black bear hunt in New Jersey.

Podcast host Dan Ladd welcomes Vermont’s Gary Moore from the New England Outdoor Writers Association. Dan and Gary talk about the relevance between outdoor communicators and the sporting public and how trends that affect the sporting community are reflective in outdoor writer groups, including recruiting new members and holding events.

Kicking off this week’s broadcast, host and Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman recap the midterm elections and what they mean for natural resources laws and policy-making in Minnesota for the next couple of years. Then, David Schuessler from Ducks Unlimited joins the program to chat about how waterfowl hunting seasons in 2022 have unfolded and shares insight into the organization’s upcoming “Into the Vault” online auction promotion. Tim Lesmeister helps Rob wrap up the show with chatter on the deer hunting season in Minnesota, wolf trail-cam images, plus gun-control discussion and the upcoming consumer ice-fishing shows in Blaine and St. Paul.

This week’s Outdoor News Radio begins with staffers Rob Drieslein and Tim Spielman recapping the slow start to the 2022 firearms deer hunting season last weekend. Perhaps more normal weather this weekend will improve the participation and kill. Then new Minnesota Deer Hunters Association Executive Director Jared Mazurek joins Rob to talk about his background and his vision for the...