Site Staff

The youth, Michael J. Mathiason, was participating in the Youth Waterfowl Day hunt with family and friends in a state management area between Sanborn and Lamberton in southwestern Minnesota, according to the Redwood County Sheriff’s Department. Mathiason died of a gunshot wound from the shotgun he was carrying, according to the sheriff’s department.

Field Editor Grand Portage, Minn. Expect more scrutiny from customs agents at the Canadian border, but don’t change your travel plans says a U.S. Customs official. “We’re trying to inspect all cars and trucks,” says Craig Rantala, port director at the Pigeon River border crossing at Grand Portage. “Both the U.S. and Canada are increasing

The expansion would include a 10-mile stretch of the river, from the Wabasha County Road 7 bridge, downstream to Zumbro Falls. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and be held at the Ponderosa Supper Club in Mazeppa. For more information, call the DNR at (651) 345-3365. Written comments can be sent to the Lake

The public is invited to attend a Sept. 19 meeting to determine if the current experimental regulations (24- to 30-inch protected slot, six-fish limit) are altered, eliminated, or made permanent. The meeting will be held at the Richardson Town Hall, beginning at 7 p.m. Written comments will be accepted through Oct. 29 at DNR Fisheries,

The workshop uses “A Sand County Almanac,” written by the late conservationist Aldo Leopold, as a guide. The workshop attempts to instill in students the ability to develop problem-solving strategies pertaining to current environmental issues. Cost of the workshop is $20. For more information, call the refuge at (612) 854-5900.

Robert Kline, 33, of Bena, Minn., and Kenneth Eliason, 57, of Kanawha, Iowa, were convicted in Fort Frances court and fined $800 each. They also forfeited 25 pounds of leeches and a cooler to the court. A complaint from the public lead a Ministry of Natural Resources Sioux Lookout District conservation officer to the men.

Although record books measure bears by skull size rather than weight, Manitoba officials believe this may be the heaviest black bear ever reported. A bear weighing 880 pounds was killed in North Carolina in 1998. The Manitoba bear was struck near a garbage dump along Lake Winnipeg by Steven Fontaine, who was driving a 1986

Sept. 22: East Central MDHA 20th Annual Banquet at the Princeton Hockey Arena in Princeton. Social: 5 p.m.. Dinner: 6:30 p.m. For more info call Dave Jackson at 763-389-5522. Sept. 25: Morrison County Chapter of MDHA Banquet at the Falls Ballroom in Little Falls starting at 6 p.m. For more info call Jerry Waltman at

To help harvesters, free workshops have been scheduled as follows: Sept. 18, at Deer River; Sept. 19, at Aurora, Cook, and Cloquet; Sept. 20 at Blackduck and Chisholm. Call the DNR at (218) 327-4455 or the Extension Service at (218) 327-4177 for more information. Workshops will cover the outlook for 2001, techniques for sustainable harvest,