Along the Shore

[L TO R] Linda McClellan, her daughter Holli and Bryann Bockovich. Holli is an award-winning Special Olympics athlete in bowling. | SUBMITTED

Holli’s Hope team to take 12th Polar Plunge

By Rae Poynter

DULUTH—Would you jump into Lake Superior in February? What if it was for a good cause? For Cook County resident Bryann Bockovich, the answer is yes–12 times over. The Duluth Polar Plunge takes place in February in the big lake and Bryann Bockovich and her team will be participating again, as they have since 2010.

“This will be my 12th year doing the Plunge,” Bockovich said. “I’ve done it in Duluth multiple times and also in St. Cloud and Maple Grove.”

Special Olympics is a sports organization for people with disabilities. Special Olympics Minnesota is a program of Special Olympics, and provides sports training programs and competition opportunities for a wide range of sports such as skiing, basketball, equestrian, and track and field to people in Minnesota. Although competition is part of Special Olympics, it is a broader movement promoting inclusive opportunities for sports.

The Polar Plunge is Special Olympics’ most well-known fundraiser, and was started when police officers from the Law Enforcement Torch Run, a different fundraising event for Special Olympics, decided to start the Polar Plunge. Polar Plunge events take place in over 20 cities in Minnesota each winter, including Duluth. (In fact, 2023 marks 25 years since the Polar Plunge started in Minnesota.)

Participants, known as Plungers, register for the event and need to raise a minimum of $75 to participate, with all proceeds going to Special Olympics Minnesota. Many Plungers, including Bockovich, organize into teams. Bockovich’s team is called Holli’s Hope.

“I started with my best friend whose daughter is in Special Olympics,” Bockovich said. “It started just the two of us, then it grew and grew with friends and family. This year there are 14 people on the team, many from Cook County along with a few from Duluth and the Twin Cities.”

Bryann Bockovich and her team has been participating in the Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics Minnesota, since 2010. | SUBMITTED

The idea of jumping into freezing water may seem daunting, but Bockovich said the event is well-organized and takes place in a supportive environment. Plungers typically check in the night before and are given a plunge time for the next day. There are changing areas and a warming tent where Plungers can warm up after getting out of the icy water. And as for the jump itself?

“I’m not going to lie–it’s cold,” Bockovich said. “Every year I still stand at the hole and think, ‘Why do I do this?’ But the rush is crazy and every year I’m glad I did it. I think once you do it, you’re hooked. I’ve gotten a lot of people hooked on doing it over the years.”

It’s the spectators that make the event so memorable, Bockovich said.

“The day of is amazing and the spectators are the best part,” Bockovich said. “People are out there cheering for you and there’s a whole camaraderie. People dress up in costumes or different themes–they had a costume contest one year which was a lot of fun. And you have a lot of the athletes there cheering, and people usually always know someone who is involved in Special Olympics, so you all have a tie to each other. It’s a sight to see even if you don’t jump.”

The Duluth Polar Plunge will be held on February 18 this year. Registration for the Polar Plunge typically opens the October prior to the event and remains open until right before the event.

“I’d say got for it. If nothing else, mark it off a bucket list,” Bockovich said. “I think jumping into Lake Superior is one of the best ones because everyone knows Lake Superior and how cold it is anyway. Even if you’ve done other ones in the state, the Duluth one is one to attend or to do. It’s a cause that needs to be supported, so I say just do it.”

To learn more about the Polar Plunge, visit: plungemn.org.

Cloquet Forestry Center: Bringing science to the wilds

By Chris Pascone

CLOQUET—The Northern Wilds are an inspiring place to be, as readers of this magazine know well. Towering cliffs overlook Lake Superior, hundred-foot-tall waterfalls plunge into deep river canyons here, and snow-covered peaks beckon extreme sports lovers. Catchy toponyms like Palisade Head, Devil’s Kettle and Sawtooth Mountains instill fear and awe of the area’s wildness. We’ve got a true abundance of rugged beauty in the “Heart of the Continent,” as a Canadian-American coalition of land managers calls the region.

But what if you’re actually looking for a less wild place for your next outdoor jaunt? Someplace more civilized, with an address on “University Road” and a big welcome sign as you enter a calm, cultivated forest retreat. Are you dreaming of exploring a forest with an extensive network of wide, flat trails? A semi-secret forest, with ubiquitous, easy-toread maps, all located just a half-hour drive from Duluth down Interstate-35. Is this even possible in our remote region, you’ll ask?

The place exists, and this unique niche belongs to the Cloquet Forestry Center—a University of Minnesota project which provides opportunities for forest research and education to U of M students and the general public within the boundaries of the Fond du Lac Reservation of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Forestry Center provides free, low-frills year-round human-powered recreation opportunities to snowshoers, birders, photographers, botanists and naturalists, among others. Its managed forests take you to a place of refined beauty, while innovative science is being practiced all around you to promote forest health, cultural vitality and economic prosperity.

The CFC’s ski and snowshoe trails are groomed to perfection for classic skiing. | CHRIS PASCONE

The Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC) is one of 10 research and outreach centers connected to the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. It is the only forestry center of its kind operated by the U of M, although there are other experimental forests within Minnesota, such as the Lake County Demonstration Forest in Two Harbors, or the U.S. Forest Service’s Cutfoot, Marcell, and Pike Bay Experimental Forests in the Chippewa National Forest.

The CFC’s mission is to connect people and ideas to build understanding of northern forest ecosystems through field-based research, education and outreach. Research, education, and forest management projects at the CFC explore holistic and specific aspects of forest ecosystem communities such as silviculture, wildlife populations and habitat, forest genetics, forest ecology, entomology, pathology, and hydrology.

With a staff of 12 people at the CFC, these objectives may sound overwhelming. But for Kyle Gill, forest manager and research coordinator, the CFC blends many scientific fields of study together through one common concept: relationship to land. Gill asks, “When you think of a forest, what do you think about?” For Gill, there are many possible ways to look at a forest: “How do non-humans, like wildlife populations, use the forest? How do the trees utilize the forest? How do fungi survive and grow in the forest? How do all these different aspects contribute to the forest?” Gill sees the CFC’s role as being a facilitator in answering these questions. Gill’s overarching approach is, “If you can think something about a forest, or somebody can ask a question about a forest, then we’re here to help them ask that question.”

Over the last 114 years (the CFC was founded in 1909), there have been a great number of researchers who have explored all the different aspects of what it takes for a forest to be a forest, and how we as humans can interact with that, as well as how wildlife utilizes the forest. The CFC exists to facilitate this research.

“We’re not doing every single research project ourselves,” explains Lane Johnson, research forester at CFC. “We’re here as hosts and facilitators and synthesizers and practitioners. We’re working to then translate the science into management. We step back and think about how we’re integrating all these different views of the forest into a bigger perspective about what the forest is, and how it functions, and how we as humans can interact with the land.” The CFC currently has 55 active research projects taking place on its grounds.

The CFC’s location (just three miles west of the City of Cloquet), with easy access off of Minnesota State Highway 210, makes it a true Carlton County gem.

It also places the CFC on a sandy outwash plain, a soil substrate which Johnson notes is “perfect for growing pines.” He adds that portions of the Fond du Lac Reservation, along with the Leech Lake Reservation further west, are droughty site types. Johnson recounts the historical importance of forest fires to the local ecosystem.

“Forested systems here have evolved over millennia with fire as a presence, and it’s only over the last 100 years that we’ve intentionally pulled fire out of these systems to promote the production of timber. Fire has essentially been the primary predator, if you will, to trees over millennia,” says Johnson.

Johnson explains that the tribal communities of Minnesota are re-introducing fire to the ecosystem today, providing continuity with the past.

The Cloquet Forestry Center is a perfect place to let young children romp around in the woods. | CHRIS PASCONE

“It’s of increasing interest for the Leech Lake and Fond du Lac Bands that prescribed burns be used to promote the historical character of those systems which once had fire present at intervals of 10-15 years on average,” he says. “That would have created more open woodland conditions. You can imagine that if you were a hunter or gatherer, you would have conditions that would be much more conducive to subsistence, and other cultural practices.”

Johnson highlights that the CFC, area tribes, and the U.S. Forest Service have an ongoing knowledge exchange that’s placebased and cooperative.

According to Gill and Johnson, Minnesotans care deeply about the region’s forests. For Gill: “We as Minnesotans have strong feelings about our relationship to the woods.” Johnson concurs, saying “That’s why it’s so fun to be in a state like this, working in this realm.”

The CFC is currently doing more than ever to welcome the public. An Open House was started in 2018, and is offered annually, usually in the third week in August. Gill notes that the event is held then so that the public can interact with university students doing field research at the CFC at that time of year. An autumn 5k walk/run is held the first Tuesday of October starting at 5:30 p.m.

Johnson highlights the personal interactions that happen at the Open House, saying “We offer a more intimate experience that allows a smaller group of people to come out and learn, go on a wagon ride, get food, and ask questions of individuals who are working on site.” Tours of the forest are given for both adults and children.

Previous to 2012 the CFC was not open to the public, and Gill and Johnson stress that the community is now invited to share the forest’s wealth.

A major way the public interacts with the CFC forests is through trail use. The “UMN Cloquet Forestry Center Marked Walking Routes and Ski Trails” map has had 8,330 views on Google Maps as of early 2023. Skiers in the know come out to take advantage of the “adequate” grooming for classic skiing only, done by CFC staff as time allows. Last year, the CFC got a compaction drag groomer, pulled by a snowmobile, so that it can turn up the snow. The ski trails are tracked on the CFC’s internal road network, meaning the trails are quiet and are more heavily traveled by local wildlife than people in the winter months.

The CFC’s entire internal road network is open to non-motorized recreation yearround with the intention of giving the public the chance to experience the research forest. There is no fee to use the trails and they are good for beginning cross-country skiers (flat and wide). Skiers, bikers and walkers are treated to a spectacular setting in one of Minnesota’s most well-studied forests. Visitor information can be found online (cfc. cfans.umn.edu).

Overall, the CFC represents a tradition of applied scholarship that is both cutting edge and traditional at the same time. Gill describes the significance of CFC’s continuity, saying, “You can’t replicate time, so the beauty of a forest like the Cloquet Forest is that really good data has been collected in consistent ways for a long time.”

For Johnson, “Ultimately, we’re here to demonstrate what sustainable forest management looks like. We are in essence, a 114-year-old experiment. We’re still learning, through the process of experimentation, what sustainability is, and what that means in a forest management context.”

No, you don’t have to be a researcher yourself to enjoy this secret forest. But if you’re going out to recreate, please respect that the forest is primarily first and foremost a research and experimental forest. The CFC is a modest place, yet it’s an internationally recognized research forest right in our backyard. And this benefits us all for the future.

Breweries with a mission

By Michelle Miller

DULUTH—Minnesota boasts nearly 190 breweries statewide and the North Shore is home to a handful, each with their own unique mission and commitment to community. One such business is Warrior Brewing Company in Duluth, owned and operated by two veterans determined to produce some of the regions finest craft beer, while simultaneously continuing to serve and support military, veterans and first responder programs.

Matt Caple, co-founder and director of operations, was first exposed to craft beer and homebrewing while in the Army and stationed in Colorado Springs, CO. After moving back to Duluth, he joined a local area homebrew club, where he continued to refine his craft. Ben Gipson, co-founder and head brewer, shares a similar story. Having had a passion for craft beer, Gipson turned it into a career after his service in the Air Force.

Feeling somewhat incomplete after leaving the service, Caple found solace in continuing to serve veterans, volunteering at the VFW, and eventually co-founding the Lake Superior Warriors—a non-profit dedicated to helping disabled veterans reintegrate back into society following their military service. After meeting Gipson, the two bonded over their interest in creating great brews. They began building their brewery in late 2020 and by the spring of 2021, Warrior Brewing Company was officially in business. They now distribute throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Staying true to their military roots, 100 percent of their employees are veterans, as well.

Warrior Brewing Company co-owners Ben Gipson and Matt Caple. | MICHELLE MILLER

The brewery is open to the public for on/ off sales with a comfortable atmosphere among the brewing tanks. The flagship, year-round brews include an Imperial Stout, Lactose Double IPA, and a Golden Ale. Seasonal brews rotate every two to three months and vary depending on the time of year. Gipson says he begins the process with deciding “what do I want this to taste like” and goes from there. Their style of brewing generally generates a higher percentage of alcohol brews and each beer is named to loosely pay homage to different warriors. Caple explains they are not a specific individual’s name, rather they are “celebrating broad clans and tribes.” Patriot, Valkyrie, Samurai, Spartan and Apache are among a few of the beers they’ve created.

A special component of the Warrior Brewing Company is including local non-profits that serve veterans and first responders in the brewing process. These brews created are given a special name and highlighted for a month—50 percent of the profits are then donated to the organization. The next partnership is a statewide effort benefiting the 260 American Legion Posts in Minnesota with the Legion Lager, available throughout February. They welcome requests from non-profits to be featured.

To learn more and read their whole story, visit: warriorbrewingco.com.

Travel just 30 minutes up the shore to Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors to experience another community-based business with a passionate mission. Castle Danger Brewery was established in 2011 by Clint and Jamie MacFarlane as a small, three-barrel production brewery in the small, unincorporated township of Castle Danger. For three years, the duo sold growlers out of their small location, but after outgrowing their space, the brewery moved to Two Harbors in 2014.

Now, their large tap room and sprawling deck serves as an inviting space for their weekly highlight of events, ranging from Teacher Tuesdays, Pizza Night and live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Castle Danger Brewery also hosts the annual White Pine Project where a seedling is given with each purchase of a brew during Arbor Day weekend, and they also engage volunteers for an Earth Day clean up each year.

Castle Danger flagship brews include a stout, IPA and a premium lager and are distributed state-wide and in parts of Wisconsin and North Dakota. Their pilot system beers are available once a month or so, with a batch being only three barrels versus the typical 30 barrels of other brews. February’s brew will be very limited over President’s Day weekend and available only in the tap room.

The brew team has creative freedom in creating the seasonal and specialty flavors and in naming each batch. Some are inspired by a local partnership, like the small business focus this winter in the 218 area code, which resulted in a 2.1.8 IPA.

“It is great to work with local businesses throughout the year to create something special for the community,” says marketing and events manager Maddy Stewart.

To follow the release of their newest brews and history, visit: castledangerbrewery.com.