Saturday, October 21, 2023 | Country Acres South • Page 1 PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #278 Madelia, MN 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN 56378
SOUTH SOUT SO S OUTH OU Saturday, October 21, 2023
Focusing Foc using on Today’s Tod Rural Environment
Volume 2, Edition 10
Step 2
Step S te ep 1 PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
(Left) Step 1: Grow a giant pumpkin. Jim Courson stands behind his giant pumpkin Sept. 22 in his garden near Eyota. The pumpkin weighs 1,805 pounds. (Above) Step 2: Cut the pumpkin off the vine. Jim Courson cuts his giant pumpkin off the vine Sept. 22 in his garden near Eyota. Courson started the pumpkin from seed in his house in early April.
giant,
Courson grows monster pumpkin
colossal
BY AMY KYLLO STAFF WRITER
EYOTA — The sky was gray and cloudy as a John Deere tractor cautiously lifted hundreds of pounds worth of prized pumpkin into the air. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and a decent amount of stress as months’ worth of grower Jim Courson’s hard work and dreams was upraised. “This is the nerve-wracking thing,” Courson said. Courson lives near pumpkins, watermelon Eyota and grows a variety and tomatoes. of produce including This year, Courson show-stopping giant grew an 1,805-pound
Step 3: Clear away the vines. Jim Courson uses a tractor and loader to clear away the vines around his giant pumpkin Sept. 22 in his garden near Eyota. The pumpkin vines covered approximately 1,600 square feet.
Step 3
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pumpkin. Lifting the pumpkin would quickly reveal whether there was rot
This month in the
COUNTRY: Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on November 4, 2023
underneath or if mice chewed holes into the flesh. The time spent
getting to that moment was immense. Courson had spent an hour to an hour and a half every day
during the growing season working on his two pumpkin vines and up to two hours a day in peak season. He spent time watering and weeding the plants and burying the vines to protect them from insects and windy days and to aid in better uptake of water and nutrients. The plants can grow 18 to 24 inches in a single day. Before the pumpkin could even be lifted, Courson started cutting it loose from the vines. The pumpkin lay about 15 feet from the base of the vine.
Courson page 2
4
Living our lives with purpose Amy Kyllo Column
10 Home-brewed knowledge Fountain
6
A successful wild goose chase Rochester
14 A careful fall Hunting Safety
Page 2 • Country Acres South | Saturday, October 21, 2023
Courson from front
SOUTH Published by Star Publications Copyright 2023 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 | Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF Sarah Colburn, Editor, sarah.c@star-pub.com Amy Kyllo, Assistant Editor, amy.k@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake, Writer, mark.k@dairystar.com Tiffany Klaphake, Writer, tiffany.k@dairystar.com Jan Lefebvre, Writer, jan.l@star-pub.com Ben Sonnek, Writer, ben.s@saukherald.com Hans Lammeman, Writer, hans.l@star-pub.com Story ideas send to: sarah.c@star-pub.com SALES STAFF Laura Seljan, 507-350-2217, laura.s@dairystar.com Julia Mullenbach, 507-438-7739, julia.m@star-pub.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899, missy@saukherald.com Robin Brunette, 320-293-5911, robin@star-pub.com Tim Vos, 320-492-6987, tim.v@star-pub.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825, mike.s@dairystar.com Jaime Ostendorf, 320-309-1988, jaime@star-pub.com Bob Leukam, 320-260-1248, bob.l@star-pub.com Neil Maidl, 320-292-4454, neil.m@star-pub.com PRODUCTION STAFF Amanda Thooft | Nancy Powell | Maddy Peterson Cheyenne Middendorf | Karen Knoblach Annika Gunderson | Nadiia Zalitach ISSN Print: 2834-6491 | Online: 2834-6505
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Once the pumpkin was loose, the surrounding vines were scraped out of the way to give easy access. With a few swipes of a loader tractor, a summer of work and the majority of 1,600 square feet of the pumpkin’s vines were rubbed away. Next, Courson and his good friend Tim Mayer worked to get the pumpkin situated into a circular sling structure. The sling is composed of heavy-duty straps connected on top to a circular metal frame with chains extending up to ring where a log chain secures it to the loader tractor. Underneath the pumpkin, the straps noosed together with a cord. Courson’s first attempt to lift the pumpkin failed as his 44-horsepower tractor was unable to lift the dense weight off the ground. It was a good problem to have for a farmer looking to grow as many pounds as possible. Soon, his neighbor Bob Jech arrived with a bigger tractor. The pumpkin, after much maneuvering, was safely deposited on top of a cushioned pallet on a trailer. The next day at an official weigh in at the Nowthen Heritage Festival in Nowthen, Courson’s pumpkin broke his unofficial weight record from the year before of 1,420, a difference of nearly 400 pounds. He won the weigh off and received a prize of $1,000. Courson’s giant watermelon weighed 153 pounds, again setting a personal record and again, taking first place.
Step 4
PHOTOS OTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Step 4: Get the pumpkin in the harness. Tim Mayer (left) and Jim Courson urson work to get the pumpkin harness on the giant pumpkin Sept. 22 in Courson’s garden arden near Eyota. Courson buys pumpkin seed through online auctions.
Step 5 Step 5: Try to lift the pumpkin. Jim Courson lifts the loader of his tractor as Tim Mayer touches the harness Sept. 22 in Courson’s garden near Eyota. Courson’s tractor was not strong enough to lift the pumpkin.
To round it off, his giant tor is why he likes to grow tomato, which weighed 2.6 pumpkins. pounds, took second place. “We’ll go up the interCourson said it was an state, people come racing unreal day. by you, and then you see He said the wow fac- them hit the brakes,” Courson said. “Then they pull out the cameras, and then they take pictures of it, and then they wave at you and give you the thumbs up.” His pumpkin story began at a card club in the winter of 2008-09 when his friend told him
all about growing giant pumpkins and gave him a few Atlantic Giant seeds to try. “I got them started and grew the plants and just was in sheer awe of what these things can do,” Courson said. “Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.” Courson has grown giant pumpkins nearly every year after.
Courson page 3
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Step 6: Try to lift the pumpkin again. Jim Courson (left) and Tim Mayer get the pumpkin harness attached to Courson’s neighbor Bob Jech’s tractor loader Sept. 22 at Courson’s garden near Eyota. Courson said the process of lifting the pumpkin is nerve wracking as it reveals whether the pumpkin has rot underneath or damage from mice.
Saturday, October 21, 2023 | Country Acres South • Page 3
Courson
fertilizer. Over the winter, from page 2 Courson watches online auctions to buy seeds. The process of grow- Each seed is sold as an ing a giant pumpkin starts individual lot. Courson in the fall when Courson said most of the seeds selects the ground he range in price from $5 to plans to grow on and $75, although he has seen, plants a cover crop of but not purchased, a seed rye grass. The rye grass that sold for as much as is incorporated into the $1,200. ground as green manure “It’s all about the gein the spring, helping netic potential,” Courson provide the large amounts said. of nitrogen needed by the The pumpkin grower pumpkin. starts his seeds in early Courson also fertiliz- April in his house. By es with his own compost April 25, Courson transfrom his sheep, p, ppigs, g, planted the ppumpkin p p into steers and chickens which the garden with a greenhe ages for two years. house over it. Each spring, he takes “If you’re going to be a soil sample and sends competitive — and I’m it to a lab in Idaho which always competitive, that’s can determine the full my nature — you have to nutrient profile his soil start them really early here needs specifically for in Minnesota,” Courson growing giant pumpkins, and applies appropriate
said. Once the vine begins to grow, he trains the vines, burying them with dirt so they will put down roots to deliver more nutrients. Once the vine has flowers far enough from the base of the vine, Courson starts to pollinate. All the pollination happens by hand, and the female flowers are covered in plastic baggies to prevent pollination by insect pollinators. This year, the first fruit Courson pollinated was only about 10 feet from the base of the vine. He said the fruit starts out the size of a softball, and within 10 days, it should be basketball-sized, at minimum. Courson said that by 25 days he usually knows for sure whether the fruit is going to
Step 7 wants to stay and if he want has keep it. Once he ha pumpkin, he decided on a pump removes the other fef the vine male flowers off th growing for most of the grow season. gains for a The weight gai pumpkin stay fairly averthe growage throughout th about ing season at ab pounds per 25 to 30 poun day, Courson said. pumpkin vine Thee pumpki tremennneeds a tr amount of dous amo Courson water. C irrigates for 90 minutes a day
Step 8
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Step 7: Maneuver pumpkin onto the trailer. Jim Courson (left) and Tim Mayer guide the pumpkin onto the trailer as Bob Jech drives the tractor Sept. 22 at Courson’s garden near Eyota. The giant pumpkin’s weight gains during growing season are approximately 25 to 30 pounds per day.
with the goal of giving the vine 100 gallons of water. Once the giant pumpkin is grown and weighed, it goes to the Dover-Eyota Elementary School where kids and families can enjoy it. This year, Courson is also trying to get the pumpkin into a Plainview-Elgin-Millville
elementary classroom for educational purposes. Courson said families have told him that they have gotten their holiday card photos by the pumpkin at the school. Bringing it to the community to experience, Courson said, helps him to justify the costs incurred to grow.
Step 8: Success! The giant pumpkin rests on a pallet Sept. 22 on a trailer by Jim Courson’s garden near n Eyota. The next day at a weigh off at the Nowthen Heritage Festival, Courson took first place.
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The question of living my life with pursyllable/ Hope can live or die.” pose is something I think about. I ask myself Over the summer of 2019, our family if the life I live, and the work I do, helps read a book together about the doctrine of bring greater good or if I am merely living a vocation entitled “God at Work” by Gene self-serving life. Veith. The greater premise of this concept of This idea of working to bless the world vocation is that each of us in our honest work is something I have thought about as I have serves our neighbor and helps provide them taken this job as a journalist. I really enjoy with their daily needs, and they do the same my work, but sometimes I have wondered if for us. Sunshine & Flowers I am actually making any difference. After At the time we read the book, I was by Amy Kyllo all, no one has to read a newspaper. I have working full time on our dairy farm over worried that my work is just adding to the summer break, and it was easy to see the prolific mounds of entertainment and noise surrounding application. Farming can be very unglamorous work, every one of us every day. but in feeding calves and milking cows, I was helping to Recently, I received an email from a reader. They make sure my community had nutritious food. Suddentold me of how they enjoyed reading my writing and ly, my work mattered. It was not just the daily grind how it has helped them learn about resources and of scraping manure or coaxing a newborn calf to drink people. They finished by saying that I do an important its bottle. The work had meaning because I knew that community service. Those words meant so much to me. through it, I was blessing my neighbors. They helped me feel confident that my work mattered. With work where I literally helped my neighbor to Confident that what I do is actually making a difference eat, it was easy to understand my purpose then, but as in the lives of my unknown friends and neighbors in I took a job as a full-time writer a few years later, that southeast Minnesota. connection was less easy to discern. Her words also reminded me of how powerful the The effort of the aforementioned kind reader to effect is of giving unexpected encouragement. One of email me and go above and beyond to give a gracious my favorite artists, TobyMac, talks about this power in word impacted my mental struggle. It helped resolve the one of his songs “Speak Life.” thing that had been bothering my heart. I know my work “Well, it’s crazy to imagine/ Words from my lips as has purpose. the arms of compassion/ Mountains crumble with every I am not the only person who deals with these fears and wonderings. One of the more haunting current pop songs is Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” “I used to float, now I just fall down/ I used to know but I’m not sure now/ What I was made for/ What was I made for?” Her song is a saddening cry over the radio. It searches for purpose and gives insight into the collective www.bigelowlennon.com Construction L.L.C. $2,000 heart of our culture. The song’s longing words are heard so often that it sits at No. 28 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Full-Time HIRING BONUS as of early October. To bring this column back to some joy, I want to Experience or will train. Great starting wages. $22/hr. encourage you that your work matters. Together, we are Health Insurance · 401(k) · PTO & Holiday Pay building communities worth living in. Together, we are APPLY TODAY! blessing our neighbors in myriads of ways through di507-775-7068 · 507-951-3409 · jill@bigelowlennon.com verse vocations in a singular circle of blessing and being blessed. Our work matters.
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Page 6 • Country Acres South | Saturday, October 21, 2023
A successful wIlD GoOsE chase
Fanning brings clients decades of experience through guided hunting business
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Todd Fanning stands beside the calling tree Oct. 9 at one of his goose guiding fields near Rochester. Fanning has been working as a goose hunting guide since 1985.
fields. Todd Fanning, the owner of Westline Guide Service, has been operROCHESTER — ating the business since The sun shines on a 1985 near Rochester. warm October morning “I truly love to do onto what looks to be a it,” Fanning said. “I truly, flock of Canada geese truly love to hunt and gathered around a square guide for geese.” shaped pond. However, Fanning has about a closer examination of five fields with goose the flock reveals each pits in them as well as of them to be decoys, about 10 other guides he displayed to create an employs. During huntinviting atmosphere for ing season, he and his touch down to the travel- company are out leading ing geese overhead. hunts four to five days a The setup is on week. one of Westline Guide Canada geese decoys stand and float Oct. 9 at one of Todd Fanning’s goose guiding fields near Rochester. The Service’s goose hunting Fanning page 7 number of decoys in the spread depend on the time of year.
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Saturday, October 21, 2023 | Country Acres South • Page 7
Fanning from page 6
PHOTO BY AMY KYLLO
Ross Nordean (from left), Rory Martinson and Adam Kirwin, one of the guides, stand in the goose pits Oct. 9 at one of Todd Fanning’s goose guiding fields near Rochester. Todd Fanning said they get many repeat customers.
Each field’s pits can accommodate 12 clients. Fanning said after Thanksgiving is when his business gets particularly busy. Fanning’s first hunt was over 50 years ago with his dad. On that first hunt, they had no decoys, just a hunting spot near a refuge where they sat with the hopes geese would fly by. At 12 years old, he went with his uncle using decoys for the first time on a property less than a mile from a field he owns as a guiding spot today. As time went on, Fanning bought himself equipment, asked permission for areas to hunt and would go hunting with friends. Through this, Fan-
ning realized he had what he needed to be a guide for Canada goose hunting. “I just thought, why not give that a try?” he said. That try is now 38 years strong. Fanning does not guarantee his clients will get geese, but instead the goal of his guide service is to give the clients the opportunity to take a safe, close shot at a goose and, throughout the whole day, to feel comfortable and have fun. “We have a lot of repeat business,” he said. “That means a lot to me, too, and the fact that they know that we’re trying our hardest.”
A client’s hunting day begins early. Fanning will pick up the clients at a local gas station and take them to the field before shooting hours begin. There, Fanning and his crew set up the decoy spread with the help of the client if the client wants to assist. The size of the spread varies by time of year, going from smaller in the early stages of the season to larger as the season continues. Once set, generally, clients hunt until around noon.
Fanning page 8
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Trees reflect into the water of the pond Oct. 9 in the view looking back toward the goose pits on one of Todd Fanning’s goose guiding fields near Rochester. Each of Fanning’s five goose pit fields can accommodate 12 clients.
Fanning from page 7
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a chance interaction with at a waterfowl event. Most of his guides have other jobs as well. Fanning’s guides every hunt. Even though Fanning said client work to call in the geese he is the owner, Fanning close to the hunters. One is out calling in geese and safety is their priority. “That’s our job to try of Westline Guide Serhelping ensure quality and control things,” he vice’s techniques to bring hunts for his clients. said. “We want to make in geese is to put a guide Fanning said on a out of a pit and upwind recent Saturday, they had a it a great experience for from the hunters to help hunt that went well. Geese them, ... but yet, we want call the geese in. had come in perfectly, the you to be going home with what you came here with.” “A lot of times, these clients harvested all the Some of these safety birds are going from A to birds in that small flock, precautions include exerB,” Fanning said. “Your and the hunters cheered. cising muzzle control and job is to stop them and “(That) puts a big get them to do something smile on your face,” Fan- guns being immediately placed on safe after a shot different that they weren’t ning said. and then reloading and thinking.” Fanning said he has resetting. Clients are told Once the geese are respect for the geese. not to go out to retrieve the close enough for a good “These birds are trowaterfowl; instead, guides shot, the guide will press a phy birds,” he said. retrieve all harvested buzzer that lets the people Fanning finds his game. in the pit know to shoot. guides in various ways. Fanning said Westline There are generally One of his guides is a fortwo to four guides on mer client; another, he had Guide Service also works
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to communicate with the point person of each group of clients on the rules and regulations for a legal hunt, such as having the proper, signed licensure as well as making sure their ammunition bags do not contain lead ammunition which is illegal for goose hunting. Fanning, who is a retired Mayo Clinic employee of 30 years, plans to continue his guide service for at least 10 years. In addition to using it for the guiding business, he also wants to make one of the goose hunting fields into an outdoor wedding venue for the off-season. The outdoor space has already held the wedding of one of his guides.
Ben Fanning (from left), Todd Fanning and Adam Kirwin talk Oct. 9 during a guided goose hunt at one of Todd Fanning’s guiding fields near Rochester. Fanning generally has two to four guides for every guided hunt.
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Page 10 • Country Acres South | Saturday, October 21, 2023 PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Home-brewed knowledge
Crushed grapes process Sept. 5 in the wine making room at Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery near Fountain. Each type of wine the Logues make is processed differently depending on what they are creating.
Logue brothers create a wine, mead experience at Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery BY AMY KYLLO STAFF WRITER
FOUNTAIN — Being a lifelong learner looks different for each person, but for Kevin Logue, it looks like thousands of bottles of wine being crafted from start to finish. Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery is managed by brother duo Kevin and Bryan Logue. Their winery, tasting room and main 4-acre vineyard is located in the rolling hills west of Fountain on Kevin’s property. Bryan lives on another farm with another 1.5 acres of grapes. The brothers also source local grapes. The Logues have been selling wine since 2021, and in 2023, they completed construction of an on-site tasting room for on-sale and off-sale purchases. Last year, the winery produced 660 gallons of wine and mead. This year, production has ramped up significantly. They expect to produce 2,500-3,000 gallons. Bryan said his target for their facility is to process 10,000 bottles of wine each year, a
goal they will be close to attaining this year. Kevin taught himself to make wine through home winemaking, community education classes and reading. He started making home wines about 20 years ago and planted his first grapes in 2010. The types of wine Kevin makes depend on the variety, the unique makeup of the grapes being produced that year and what wines they have in stock. The winemaking room has a deceiving aura of simplicity. Large barrels covered in thick blanket-like material or covers pull back to reveal warm, bubbling fermentation. Though just fermenting, already the barrel of rosé is a vibrant pink, and the wines have the distinctive sweet sour smell. To the side in a square vat, 1,500 pounds of crushed grapes begin their initial fermentation before the skins are removed. Yet, though the room feels simple, the attention to detail and knowledge that makes it happen is anything but. “A lot of winemaking is microbiology and chemistry,” Kevin said. “It’s competing organisms
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Kevin and Bryan Logue stand behind the bar of the tasting room Sept. 5 at Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery near Fountain. The Logues have been selling wine since 2021 and in 2023 completed construction of an on-site tasting room for on-sale and off-sale purchases. (Right) Grapes hang on the vine Sept. 5 at Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery near Fountain. The Logue brothers do most of the vineyard maintenance themselves from pruning and weed control to keeping the vines attached to their trellises.
and figuring out how to make the organisms you want … work for you the best.” Each type of wine is processed a bit differently depending on what they are creating, whether it is cold processing to drop acidity or sometimes double fermenting a red wine to give what Kevin said is a velvety feel with a buttery finish. The Logues also age wine and
mead on oak wood spirals. “(It) gives it flavors that you didn’t sense before you put it on oak,” Kevin said. “You get sometimes vanilla or caramel, and of course, you get that aroma of the oak.”
Logue page 11
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Kevin Logue adjusts netting on grape vines Sept. 5 at Sugar Creek Vineyard and Meadery near Fountain. The Logue brothers walk through their vineyards daily to maintain the vines.
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“If you want to go buy a bottle of wine, you can go buy one from Total Wine for $8-$9,” he said. “If you want to have an experience, you come out here.” on the wines they are making. Bryan spends time The brothers also do most of the vineyard mainworking with guests at the tasting room helping tenance themselves. Every winter brings pruning, them find an option they enjoy. The brothers said they and spring comes with weed control and keeping the do not have best sellers because their options change vines attached to their trellises. The brothers walk often. When they change or introduce something through the vineyards daily to maintain the vines. different, Bryan is ready to steer guests to find their Bryan said he spends 1-2 hours every day on the next pick. vines on his property. “They bounce around from one to the next,” Bry“It’s fun to see something start from a little plant an said. “For a lot of people who come here, this is a to 100-gallon barrels of wine,” Bryan said. “The new experience for them. They’re not wine people.” comments we get and people just loving what we Bryan likes to keep the menu short so he can be have is just very satisfying.” familiar with each option.
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A cArEfUl fall
safe hunt. Hunting is one of the safest recreational activities, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In the last four years, the BY AMY KYLLO DNR has sold nearly 3.4 family and friends, the STAFF WRITER million hunting licenses, excitement of harvesting game or just taking and of those there have For many Minneso- time to be outside, every been two documented tans, fall means hunting. hunter has a role to play fatalities. In 1955, the DNR Whether hunting to in making sure they, and spend quality time with those near them, enjoy a implemented firearms safety classes, which the DNR said has decreased the number of incidents and fatalities. During in-person firearms safety HUNTING & FISHING classes, local conservation officer often speak to students on hunting GET YOUR laws and ethics. HUNTING “I get to see firstLICENSE HERE! hand how important it is that youth, and adults La Crescent Ace Hardware as well, go through 507-895-2522 this firearms safety 32 S Walnut St., La Crescent, MN program,” said Derek
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Hunters walk in a line through a field. Muzzle control is very important to making sure everyone in the vicinity is safe.
Schneider, conservation officer. One of the important skills learned at firearms safety classes is safe muzzle control. This is an issue Schneider said he notices when people accidentally point their guns at him during his checks, a serious safety hazard. Schneider shared two incidents from his professional experience that illustrate the importance of a hunter knowing what is beyond their target before taking a shot. A deer hunter participating in a deer drive fired a shot at a deer that was standing on a gravel road. Not only is it illegal al to fire at an animal in the road right of way, ay, the shot also lso ricocheted d off of the gravel and d struck a building Emergency signaling device in a yard like a whistle,flashlight, signal while flare or walkie talkie. Also the ownbring matches, emergency er was in blanket, extra clothing, the yard. water, compass and Two hunters head from their Schneieipicku pickup to their hunting place. fully charged cell der said deer eer All gun guns must be unloaded drives tend d to phone. when tra transported in a motor be more prone to vehicle. unsafe shots ots because the deer are re running versus stationary. just went through the just have a finger in the In a second situaclass (firearms safety) or trigger guard without tion, Schneider said a adults.” thinking about it,” Moua deer hunter shot at a Another important said. deer crested on top of a safety rule taught at Beyond following hill. The shot traveled firearms safety class is to basic firearms safety over the hill and through always keep fingers out rules, the conservation a shop where someone of the trigger guard until officers recommend was working. ready to shoot. Conhunters stay safe by “It’s just the respon- servation officer Meng communicating their sibility of everybody Moua said kids need to plans with someone else. to have good muzzle be constantly reminded control and gun safety,” of this. Hunting safety Schneider said. “Wheth“It’s natural for page 15 er they’re a youth who them to grab a gun and
HUNTING PACK LIST
Saturday, October 21, 2023 3 | Country Cou Co un ntry Acres South • Page 15
Hunting safety from page 14
A hunting plan should called onX that shows include the location and the location of property timing of the hunt and lines. Moua said hunters an anticipated return should be careful not to time. go on anyone’s propLast fall, Moua reerty without permissponded to a call where sion, even if it is only having a hunting plan the crossing of a field. Firearm ea proved important. “(It is) a respect safety y rrules: A farmer noticed a issue,” Moua said. “We car parked in the same respect other people’s Treat at ever every firearm ea as if it w was place in a public land land and their private loaded. access parking lot for property.” Always control the muzzle of the gun. PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MINNESOTA DNR several days. Concerned If a landowner A young hunter aims a shotgun in the woods. The young man Be sure of your target and what is that something might witnesses trespassis wearing hearing protection which is recommended when have happened to the ing, Moua said to beyond. shooting a firearm. hunter, the farmer concall a local conserKeep fingers out of the trigger guard tacted Moua with the vation officer and until ready to fire. Waterfowl hunting: license plate number. avoid confronting Wear safety gear such as ear Moua called the the trespasser. Use working running lights while moving to avoid number on record for the protection and safety glasses. collisions. plates and got in touch Always abide by blaze Tree stands: s: with the hunter’s wife. Life jackets are required by law. orange and blaze pink The hunter had shared Always wear a The cold c water of late-season hunting could result in regulations. his hunting plan with as harness that has hypothermia if a hunter comes in contact. his wife, she had spoken been checked for to him recently, and she possible wear or knew he was safe. Bedamage. cause of the hunter’s forward-thinking planning Always unload and communication, before getting in an emergency response or out of a tree through the county was stand. called off. Schneider said it Always maintain is also important for three points of hunters to have a contact contact while who knows how to climbing in or out directly locate the place of a tree stand. of a hunt, and be able to lead emergency respondNever use a ers to it, if there is an permanent tree incident that requires an stand built by emergency response. anyone besides If a hunter accidenyourself. tally does something illegal, Schneider said Never climb a tree it should be reported to stand carrying a Hunters interact with a Minnesota DNR Conservation the local conservation gun or bow; use a Officer. If a hunter accidentally does something illegal officer. He said these during a hunt, they should immediately give their local haul line instead. situations can often be conservation officer a call. resolved without paying a ticket. “Honesty goes a long way,” Schneider said. “But, if we find out about it later, and people don’t report it and they’ve broken the law, then the consequences are much more severe.” Schneider and Moua said they frequently respond to trespassing complaints in the fall. “If you’re hunting on private ground or looking to, ... you have to get permission,” Schneider said. “The best rule of thumb is to try to get permission whether the woods is posted or not and you won’t have any issues.” A hunter gets adjusted into place in a tree stand. Hunters Schneider said hunt- Two youth hunters hold guns. Firearm safety classes teach youth basic rules and ethics hunting from tree stands should always wear a harness of firearms and hunting that can help keep them safe. that has been checked for wear and damage. ers can use a paid app
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