Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026
My Account

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

Main Menu
Menu
Search
My Account
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

Main Menu
Menu
Subscribe to Outdoor News

Gretchen Steele

Gretchen Steele: The best of both sides of the river at Missouri’s Montauk State Park

Featured, Features, Fishing, Hunting, Illinois, Nature Page & Night Sky /

The first thing I noticed at Montauk State Park was the water. Cold, impossibly clear, and flowing straight from the spring that gives birth to the famed Current River, it is the kind of water that stops you in your tracks.
Trout hovered in the current while visitors lined the banks, hoping to hook the fish that’s made Montauk a destination for generations of anglers.

Gretchen Steele: The best of both sides of the river at Missouri’s Montauk State Park Read More »

New digital library opens doors for Illinois outdoorsmen

Featured, Fishing, Hunting, Illinois, Nature Page & Night Sky, News /

For many Illinois hunters, anglers, birdwatchers, and outdoor enthusiasts, the local library may not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a fishing trip, researching wildlife habitat, identifying a mushroom, or preparing for hunting season.
Thanks to a new statewide initiative announced by Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias, that may soon change.

New digital library opens doors for Illinois outdoorsmen Read More »

Gretchen Steele: June has become ‘the season between seasons’

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, Nature Page & Night Sky /

I feel like the title above needs a qualifier. Like everything else this year, what I commonly associate with mid-June down here in the hills and hollers of southern Illinois has been happening early. Generally about two to three weeks early.
It’s confounding for someone like me, who has taught young people not to rely on a calendar but rather to listen to the woods and look around you.

Gretchen Steele: June has become ‘the season between seasons’ Read More »

Gretchen Steele: May in southern Illinois an example of ‘give and take’

Featured, Illinois, Nature Page & Night Sky /

By mid-May in southern Illinois, the countryside no longer feels gentle; it presses in close, demanding attention and resilience from those who venture out. April is a flirt. May is a commitment.
The woods that just weeks ago felt airy and forgiving now press in close, green and insistent. Trails blur at the edges.

Gretchen Steele: May in southern Illinois an example of ‘give and take’ Read More »

Commentary: Illinois recalibrates its fight against CWD

Featured, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting /

There is a quiet that settles over the deer woods after the season. It is not silence, but a pause many of us trust – a familiar, brief stillness in the rhythm of the land.
For over two decades, Illinois hunters and wildlife managers relied on another kind of steadiness. It was determined, often controversial, but mostly effective. The aim was to hold chronic wasting disease at bay.

Commentary: Illinois recalibrates its fight against CWD Read More »

Gretchen Steele: In southern Illinois’ outdoors, April lies

Featured, Illinois, Nature Page & Night Sky /

Easter has just passed through, we’ve been eating big grey morels for a good week, and even the big sought-after yellows were found by a few in the last few days. Lilacs are blooming.
Then today, as I sat down with my plate of morels, bluegill, and an omelet full of spring greens for my lunch, the weatherman on the noon news forecasted snow tonight and in the morning.

Gretchen Steele: In southern Illinois’ outdoors, April lies Read More »

Gretchen Steele: Ideas for getting kids outdoors before summer chaos

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing, Nature Page & Night Sky /

Late March into early April might be the most underrated window of the year for getting kids outside.
It’s easy to wait for “real spring” or push plans into summer, but once school lets out, schedules fill fast – camps, games, vacations, and long, hot days that tend to pull everyone back indoors by afternoon. Good intentions get crowded out.

Gretchen Steele: Ideas for getting kids outdoors before summer chaos Read More »

GET THE OUTDOOR NEWS DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Sign up for the Outdoor News Weekly Newsletter and get 2 months of FREE access to OutdoorNews.com – packed with hunting, fishing, and conservation news. No Catch.

This offer includes digital access only (not the printed edition)

Email Address(Required)
Password(Required)
Name
What outdoor activities interest you?(Required)

PLEASE READ

Accessing Your Full Subscription Just Got Easier. Introducing Single Sign On.

 We’ve simplified things. Now you only need one password to access all your Outdoor News digital content.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Click Continue below.
  2. You’ll be taken to the OutdoorNews.com sign-in screen.
  3. Don’t have an account yet? Create one—it’s quick!
  4. After signing in, click the E-Edition Login button again. When the pop-up appears, just click Continue.
  5. You’ll either:
    1. Land on the e-edition selection screen (you’re in!)
    2. Be sent to a help page if we didn’t detect a subscription.

If you hit the help page, follow the directions so you don’t miss out on any of our great content.

One login. Every edition. Easy.

Let’s get you reading!

Continue...

PLEASE READ

 We’ve simplified things. Now you only need one password to access all your Outdoor News digital content.

Here’s how it works:

• Click Continue below.

• You’ll be taken to the OutdoorNews.com sign-in screen.

• Don’t have an account yet? Create one—it’s quick!

• After signing in, click the E-Edition Login button again. When the pop-up appears, just click Continue. You’ll either:

  1. Land on the e-edition selection screen (you’re in!)
  2. Be sent to a help page if we didn’t detect a subscription.

If you hit the help page, follow the directions so you don’t miss out on any of our great content.

Continue...

Help Shape the Future of OutdoorNews.com!

We know you love the outdoors—now we want to make OutdoorNews.com the ultimate destination for all things hunting, fishing, and conservation.

Take our brief 3 minute survey to share your thoughts, and help us build the best outdoor website on the planet. As a thank you, we’ll send you a special offer!

Together, we can make OutdoorNews.com even better.

Take the Survey

Introducing The Outdoor News Foundation

Donate Today

For a limited time, you can get full access to breaking news, all original Outdoor News stories and updates from the entire Great Lakes Region and beyond, the most up-to-date fishing & hunting reports, lake maps, photo & video galleries, the latest gear, wild game cooking tips and recipes, fishing & hunting tips from pros and experts, bonus web content and much, much more, all on your smartphone, tablet or desktop For just a buck per month!

Sign Up Now

Some restrictions apply. Not valid with other promotions. $1 per month for 6 months (you will be billed $6) and then your subscription will renew at standard subscription rates. For more information see Terms and Conditions. This offer only applies to OutdoorNews.com and not for any Outdoor News print subscriptions. Offer valid thru 3/31/23.

Already a subscriber to OutdoorNews.com? Click here to login.