Minnesota Outdoor News Radio

It’s the second weekend of Game Fair, and top topics on Outdoor News Radio this week include announcing the recipient of our 2025 Outdoor Leaders Award. Editor Tim Spielman joins host Rob Drieslein for the announcement, then the two also discuss the confirmation of new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. Tony Peterson jumps into the show to discuss a host of topics, from planning a fall bird hunt to a nearby state, to bear baiting, to late summer fishing in the great North Woods. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with debate on North Dakota making it harder for nonresident waterfowlers, plus the Leech Lake muskie study, and the upbeat wild rice forecast.

The post Episode 553 – Game Fair, Outdoor Leaders, fall bird hunts, ND waterfowl shenanigans, muskie study appeared first on Outdoor News.

It’s the first weekend of Game Fair, and top topics on Outdoor News Radio this week include a discussion with Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman on the proposed walleye limit changes and a federal report on how the state is managing its forests. Then Nate Huck, Minnesota DNR migratory gamebird consultant, offers his take on waterfowl populations in the state. Scott Anderson, the nontraditional fund-raising and promotions director from Ducks Unlimited, then offers his take on duck habitat and previews the group’s online National Trip Auction, which kicks off on Thursday, August 14. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with chatter on a multitude of topics including Mark Johnson’s impending retirement from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, and that black bear kicking around Wisconsin with a plastic bucket on its head.

The post Episode 552 – Game Fair weekend, MN duck survey, wild rice, DU auction, Mark Johnson to retire appeared first on Outdoor News.

Top topics on Outdoor News Radio this week include a discussion with Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman on the results of the 2025 spring waterfowl survey in Minnesota. (Blue-winged teal are down significantly.) Then Amy Shipley from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources joins the program to talk about research in her state examining the effects that Canada geese and trumpeter swans are having on wild rice beds. Tim Lesmeister joins Rob for the back half of the show. Chatter includes the end of the 3B license in southeast Minnesota, Aldo Leopold’s complete journals being available online, Patrick Berry leaving the top job at Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and America… land of the shark attacks!

The post Episode 551 – MN duck survey, trumpeter swans and wild rice, no 3B deer license, BHA changes appeared first on Outdoor News.

Top topics on Outdoor News Radio this week include a discussion with Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman on how swimmer’s itch has created wrath toward common mergansers on some western Minnesota lakes. Then Charlotte Roy from the Minnesota DNR joins the program to break down the pretty good forecast for ruffed grouse hunting in Minnesota this fall. Josh Ahlberg, sales and marketing director from Outdoor News, jumps in to give listeners a first-hand report from last week’s ICAST angling trade show down in Orlando, Florida. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with chatter on whether or not the western “corner crossing” case will qualify for review by the U.S. Supreme Court and what Coca-Cola buying more cane sugar might mean for corn growers, set-aside programs, and pheasant habitat.

The post Episode 550 – 2025 grouse forecast, swimmer’s itch and mergansers, ICAST recap, corner crossings appeared first on Outdoor News.

Top topics on Outdoor News Radio this week include a discussion with Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman on a possible liberalization of the walleye regulation on Lake Mille Lacs. The pair also highlight a habitat and land acquisition milestone for Nobles County Pheasants Forever. Then DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen joins the program to discuss multiple issues including bag limits, status of the electronic licensing system overhaul, and long-term funding. Tim Lesmeister helps wrap up the program with chatter on the bear attack on a 69-year-old woman in western Wisconsin, the Make America Beautiful Again executive order, and Boundary Waters permitting.

The post Episode 549 – Mille Lacs walleyes, Nobles County PF, DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen, WI bear attack appeared first on Outdoor News.

Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman discuss a multitude of topics to start the show including a lake access closed down thanks to a few bad apples. Then Andrew Schmidt, a government affairs guru from Pheasants Forever, joins the program to talk about some good news for conservation that came out of the big congressional budget reconciliation bill last week. Longtime friend of the program, John Devney from Delta Waterfowl, visits to share updates on the status of duck numbers across the north-central portion of the continent this year (it’s not good) plus his thoughts on snow goose and trumpeter swan management. Tim Lesmeister helps wrap up the chatter breaking down the big story in Wisconsin of a game farm buck that someone tried to declare a nontypical record, plus the compelling commentary from the guys at the Voyageurs Wolf Project.

The post Episode 548 – Conservation in Big Beautiful Bill, duck forecast, WI farm deer, wolf commentary appeared first on Outdoor News.

On this Fourth of July summer weekend edition, Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman break down the latest upbeat news from the U.S. Congress where Sen. Mike Lee’s public lands liquidation language failed to pass. The Minnesota DNR also is requesting comments on lowering the walleye limit from 6 to 4. Then Valerie Brady from the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute joins the show to talk about invasive rusty crayfish and how if you can beat ’em, eat ’em. Matt Jensen, the VP of marketing from Rapala, spends a segment previewing the 2025 ICAST show later this month, plus outlines new offerings in the brand’s popular CrushCity line of soft plastics. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the program outlining the Trump administration’s plan to rescind the roadless rule and former U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck’s thoughts on the issue. They also share the latest on the investigation into the two recent deaths on Isle Royale.

The post Episode 547 – Public lands win, roadless rule, tasty (?) rusty crayfish, ICAST preview, Asian carp appeared first on Outdoor News.

Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman talk about the eight new counties banning feeding and baiting, plus status of chronic wasting disease meetings in southeast Minnesota. Roy Heilman joins the show to promote canoeing opportunities for Minnesotans outside the BWCA, as in the state’s many remote and incredibly fishable rivers. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein talk up the Trump administration possibly rescinding the roadless rule, a ban on importing pangolins, and the possibility of sharptail grouse hunting in Wisconsin for the first time in 7 years. Twice a year, Rob and Lesmeister talk music, and this week they devote a segment to choosing their Mount Rushmore of great rock-n-roll guitarists.

The post Episode 546 – CWD zones, canoeing MN rivers, roadless rule, Wis. sharptails, greatest guitarists appeared first on Outdoor News.

Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Editor Tim Spielman start the show remembering former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her impact on outdoors issues the past decade. They also discuss elk tag drama in Minnesota in 2025. Then state Conservation Officer Jake Swedberg joins the program to discuss the expanding K9 program in DNR Enforcement. Ron Hustvedt visits to talk about the large increases in Boundary Waters permit fees that the Superior National Forest is considering, and he reminds listeners of Game Fair 2025 dates. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with chatter on U.S. Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, North Dakota’s decision to allow baiting for deer hunting, and part two of the Ernest Hemingway story, Big Two-Hearted River.

The post Episode 545 – Remembering Melissa Hortman, new DNR K9 units, higher BWCA fees, North Dakota baiting appeared first on Outdoor News.

Managing Editor Rob Drieslein and Staff Writer Natalie Ryder begin the program with her recapping the special session and how issues like the shotgun zone and continuous bass season wrapped up. Then Captain Adam Block from DNR Enforcement explains how the new boating operator’s permit will unfold for Minnesotans beginning July 1. Lake Detective Steve McComas jumps in to share insight into what’s happening on state lakes this spring/early summer. As usual, Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with multiple topics including U.S. Senate language affecting the Boundary Waters watershed, state elk tags, and the questionable idea of stocking sturgeon in Lake Minnetonka.

The post Episode 544 – Capitol wrap-up, new boating permits required, Lake Detective, BWCA temporary reprieve appeared first on Outdoor News.