North West Corner of Minnesota: Neptune Bridge, Red Lake River Minnesota

North West Corner of Minnesota: Neptune Bridge, Red Lake River Minnesota: In the eastern part of Pennington county where Pennington County highway 27 crosses the Red Lake River is Neptune Bridge. At that Bridge i...

Neptune Bridge, Red Lake River Minnesota

In the eastern part of Pennington county where Pennington County highway 27 crosses the Red Lake River is Neptune Bridge. At that Bridge is the eastern most access to the Red Lake River for boats. The access is improved with rock and concrete. When the river is high and the current is swift it can be difficult to put a boat in. The fishing west of the bridge can be good if you know where the holes are. Fishing can be a challenge on the Red Lake River and most people complain that all they catch are Northern Pike. Crappie fishing used to be very good but has changed over the past few years and it isn't as often you catch a crappie. There are some nice walleye in the river but they are more difficult to catch. East of the bridge is the Red Lake the Reservation. The Reservation is closed to the public.

The interesting part about fishing under this bridge is how the barn swallows have managed to stick their mud nests to a flat smooth surface underneath the bridge. Beakful by beakful theses little birds make up to a thousand trips to build one nest made of mud balls and grass. Reading up on these common birds I learned that they can and sometimes do mate while in flight. Listening to the current lap and echo under the bridge along with the fluttering and chattering barn swallow was relaxing. This area of the river is definitely one of the best places to go if you want to get away from people and cast a fishing line.

Open Lines on KTRF Radio

KTRF Radio Station

One of the more interesting radio shows on KTRF, sponsored by Budget Electronics is Open Lines. It can be heard most week days in the late morning before noon. Many of the guests and subjects are local with Mark Allen hosting and Marty Collins, owner of Budget Electronics a regular guest, Some of the subjects talked about can be local, national or world subjects. No one really knows where the conversation will go especially when guests call in. There really isn't a call screener or producer to limit who calls in, so almost anything can be said. Above is a screen shot of TRFradio.com's web site where you can click on and listen to past Open Lines shows.

Wildfire in Greenbush

The local news WDAZ-TV thinks Greenbush is too small to mention so they say repeatedly west of Roseau Minnesota, like anyone knows were Roseau is more than Greenbush. With the wind and the warm dry conditions a fire was a real danger. The Roseau River Wild Life Management Area is where the fire is concentrated. This area is a tinder box of brush, dry grass and cattails.

Angus Minnesota

Angus is nothing more now than a collection of houses, large grain elevators, a church and the township hall. I never really thought about Angus, until I took county highway 23 heading west to go to Grand Forks. I took this route because there are not any speed traps except one and that is the bump off of the BNSF railroad that runs next to US Highway 75. This bump has now been fixed but at that time you could do the Dukes of Hazzard across Highway 75.

The post office shown below was on the north west corner of County 23 and Highway 75 but was recently demolished. If you are someone who likes the iconic look of tall grain elevators rising out of the flat plain of the prairie then you will like the short drive through Angus. BNSF Elevator Directory lists some of them as belonging to Angus Coop Elevator.

The Chippewa Treaty at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River.

From the 1840's to the 1870's thousands of two wheel ox carts came and went from St. Paul Minnesota to the Red River Colony (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). They carried badly needed trade goods through forested and swampy areas of north western Minnesota. The route used between St. Paul and Winnipeg became known as the "Woods Trail" because of the forested area south of Detroit Lakes. Locally the trail is called the Pembina Trail. The more westerly trail along the Red River of the North was dangerous because of attacks by the Dakota Sioux, so ox cart drivers began using the Woods Trail which was in an area controled by the Ojibwe then known as the Chippewa. In 1863, the lands in Northwestern Minnesota belonging to the Ojibwe were ceded to the United States at Hout, Minnesota.

The Red Lake Band and the Pembina Band of Ojibwe signed away their ownership to over 5,000,000 acres of very fertile lands of the Red River Valley land extending 30 miles on each side of the Red River of the North. This was the sixth session of land in Minnesota by the Ojibwe and it opened up homesteading after the Civil War primarily as a reward to the displaced veterans who had served the Union Forces. There was also pressure from an influx of immigrants from northern European countries looking for land.

The treaty was misrepresented to the Ojibwe bands with some show of force as a needed route for trade and travel and not as a land grab. Episcopal Bishop Henry Whipple stated sometime after the treaty was signed that the treaty was "from beginning to end a fraud...".

Federal Airborne Reaction Twits (F.A.R.T.) screw Minnesotans

The Devils Lake Journal reported in an article titled "clearing air may raise power costs in MN, ND", that a federal program to "cut haze in natural areas like national parks" will raise electric rates even more. The only haze that is polluting this area of Minnesota and North Dakota is from the hot air coming from politicians and bureaucrats.

Kristi Schlosser Carlson, an attorney for Minnkota, said early tests also show the EPA's technology will not work with the lignite coal used in Minnkota's plant. Schlosser Carlson said the cooperative prefers a technology that cleans the air without more big rate increases for members. What the EPA wants would cost a half billion dollars but visibility improvements would not be noticeably. Half a billion dollars from the people of Minnesota and North Dakota who cannot afford it with no visible improvements and no one will say anything because no one want to be accused of being on the side of pollution. Just shut up and pay the bill even if it is a stupid fix that does not work.

Bufo hemiophrys (Canadian Toad)

While mowing the lawn I came across quite a few of these little toads. The Canadian toad also known as the Dakota toad or the Manitoba Toad is remarkable because it survives the cold winters of this area. The cranial boss or bump between the eyes is the only way to distinguish this toad from the American toad. This little guy survives the winter in a burrow below frost line. Many will overwinters communally within small earth mounds, called mima mounds. These mounds sometimes hold several hundred toads over the winter. It would be interesting to find one of these mounds in the fall and spring to see what it looks like. Canadian toads have glands in their skin that puts off a bad tasting liquid that can make animals that try to eat them sick. You will find that this liquid squirts out of them as soon as you try to pick one up.

Clearwater Lake MN East of Clearbrook

One of the most attractive lakes in North West Minnesota is Clearwater Lake and true to its name the water is realitively clear for this area. There is very little published information on this lake and I could find very little information online about it. I would need to go to the county seat of Clearwater County, which is Bagley, Minnesota and do the paper and pen type of reasearch there. What I have found online is that the Clearwater lake as we know it is the result of gravity dam on the Clearwater River. It is owned by the state of Minnesota and has been there since 1931. The length is sixty feet and County Highway 4 uses the dam to cross the river. What is really nice is there are a number of islands on the west side of the lake and a few of the islands have homes and cabins on them.

DNR's Web site is Closed but Gov. Dayton's is up

Without really thinking about the government shutdown I logged on to the computer after coffee and wanted to find the access to a lake I had never fished on. Well that was a dead end because the MN DNR shut down their site "MN Lake Finder" because of the budget impasse. I tried other DNR sites, all of which are shut down. Then, I thought to myself "I bet the governors web site is up and running". I was right on the money. It is up and running and there is a place to contact him with your thoughts.

Now I just wanted lake access information, no big deal, but other people have had to cancel plans because the parks are closed. Some have had made reservations a year or more in advance and payed for them, but yet the governor's site is up.

There are two questions. Number one question if a revenue generating site like the DNR's is compelled to shut down, then why is the governor's still up and running? Number two, is this being done for political reasons?
Blame who you want, any politician who has a Minnesota government fund site up and running should have it shut down and that includes the Governor Dayton.

You Don't Need No Fricking Fishing license!

Midnight, June 30th is the cut off for the purchase of fishing licenses, so says the state Minnesota, but the DNR will still catch you if you are over the limit. Whats funny is the FAQ that the DNR has put out. Fishing is of course number 2 and 3 on the FAQ. This says quite alot about Minnesotans and what matters to them.
Here is the FAQ:

2. Am I still able to purchase a fishing license?

No. The sale of all fishing, hunting and trapping licenses, including online and telephone sales, will be suspended as of midnight, June 30. Likewise, no boat, ATV or other licenses will be sold.

All natural resource and license laws will remain in effect during a shutdown and will be enforced.

3. What are the implications for a shutdown to anglers?

Licensed anglers can continue to fish. All existing rules and regulations will be in force. A mid-season walleye fishing regulation adjustment on Lake Mille Lacs will be delayed or cancelled depending upon the length of the shutdown.

I understand the need for the DNR to enforce fishing laws but wouldn't selling licenses bring in much needed revenue for the state?

Powassan Virus In Minnesota

According to the Winona Daily News the first death in Minnesota was recorded on Wednesday June 28, 2011. The Winona Daily News goes on to tell the history of the virus, where it has occurred and how it is spread.

It is spread by deer ticks in this area. Scientific name is Ixodes Scapularis. While this article contains good information, it leaves out one important thing. What a deer tick looks like and also what a deer tick looks like compared to a wood tick.

I hate ticks and I have found only one way to avoid them and that is stay indoors. That is not going to happen. Winter is long and outside is where I am going to be. So do the normal stuff, wear the right clothes, wear deet and eat garlic and don't freak out if you can help it when you find a tick. Below are a couple of pictures of deer ticks and wood ticks.

Wood Tick, Dermacentor Andersoni

Deer Tick, Ixodes Scapularis

Thief River and Chief Mons-o-mo (Chief Moose Dung)

City of Thief River makes changes to cover up Name??????

This has been bothering me for some time and I have questions that I cannot find answers for and I hope someone who sees this may post an answer. I love history and I love Native American history and with great respect for those who have passed before us I would like to shed light on something that maybe is not quite accurate. The picture on the left according to what is written on the base of the Statue is of Chief Red Robe. Now Chief (Mis-co-co-noy-a) Red Robe was a real Chief and the Picture the writing on the statue base is correct, but the likeness is of Chief Mons-o-mo (Chief Moose-dung, translated). This name unfortunately brings giggles to small minded people. I have no idea why he had such a name but the culture of Natives Americans and other in that time period was different than today. The reason I know this is the likeness of Chief Mons-0-mo is because the statue was modeled after the photograph shown below which is of Chief Mons-o-mo.

There is also another photo that I found that was scanned from a post card that dates maybe back to the 50's or 60's. I am not certain of this time period or where this statue was at in the City of Thief River Falls when the photo was taken, but it certainly was a different color. What ever the reason prudishness or political correctness this should corrected out of respect for those involved, but I doubt it ever will.

The Statue of Chief Red Robe can be found just south of the Red Lake River Fishing Pier off of Highway 1 near Northland Community Technical College in a very nice park at the point where the Thief River joins the Red Lake River. It is worth the time to stop and take a look.

local gas prices in North West Minnesota

According to the New York Post, Goldman Sachs is predicting high gas prices this summer. They are predicting prices around $5 a gallon even though we have seen a drop in the price before Memorial day when prices are normally high. The price increase is to come mid July. Right now the cool weather and wind is affecting my decision to drive to nearby lakes to fish. Where and how far I go may be affected by high gas. The amount spent on gas for both boat and truck really cuts into the food and drinks I put into my cooler and the distance I go to fish. If I drive far enough that may mean a tank fill going and a tank fill coming back. I know from talking to gas station owners that high gas prices hurt them. People have less money after filling the car or truck to spend on beer,soda pop, snacks, and bait. The gas stations only make a fixed percentage off of gas sold and most of the profits come from items like food and soda. So in effect I will make food at home and bring Ice tea and avoid buying high priced supplies at the gas station if I can help it.

Bird Brains

One of the enjoyable things about this area of Northern Minnesota is the wildlife and one of the hobbies of home owners and land owners is feeding birds, squirrels and deer. It is very common to see back yard feeders and there are whole sections in retail stores dedicated to the back yard feeding of birds. In quite a few homes you will see a window with a chair and a bird identification book. Every season brings new species of birds to the back yard from common to rare with out even having to leave the comfort of your home. In this area you can see species of birds that some bird watchers travel thousands of miles to see.

That is why it was shocking to read about Cuyahoga Falls City council trying to pass an ordinance to regulate bird feeders. The argument is that spill from feeders falls to the ground and decays and causes birds to become sick and die. Jerry James, city councilman alleges that the death of bird was traced back to decayed seed from bird feeders. It was not stated how they came to this conclusion. Was there a biologist or veterinarian involved in the biopsy of these birds? If there was some scientific investigation nothing was put out there for the public to see.

When you read about this kind of news you wonder when some do-gooder will porpose the same type of legislation for your area to "save the little animals" from the bad humans so that they will get votes at the next election. Many who live here are close to nature and have a great concern for nature and will do anything they can to conserve nature without the extra help of new laws.

From Jerry James's statement to Akron News Now, you can conclude he knows very little about bird feeding. You would have to assume that people are dumping fifty pound sacks of feed onto thier lawns for birds to feed on, and that ankle deep piles of feed are rotting on the ground. This is probably the idea that Jerry James has about people who feed birds. The truth is bird seed is expensive and most people who feed birds want very little waste. The other truth is that wild birds are quite finiky about what they eat and different species eat in different ways and varied types of seed. A good example of this is that you probably will not see an American finch or House Wren eating wheat or milo seed. If the Cuyahoga Council was serious that would have stated what types of rotted seed had caused bird deaths. My guess is that they don't have a clue. For many birds you want to attract them with expensive types of seed such as Nyjer seed.

According to the Cuyahoga Falls Patch Chris Stranahan, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise says: "I've seen nothing posted on th ODNR (Ohio Department of Natural Resorces) website" about birds mortality from decayed bird seed.

Rural smokers and the Cost of Gas.

The total average house hold income spent on gas according to CNN is 9% of household income, and the national average is $3.99 for the month of April. This is very close to what we are paying in Thief River Falls and the surrounding area. With the distances needed to travel in this area it would be interesting to know how much of peoples income here is spent on fuel and how this changes how we locals have changed our spending and driving habits in order to afford gas. For a long time I have known that I will go with out something and not make a special trip into town. In other words if you forgot the milk, then no cereal in the morning and I will get some on the way home from work. This has even led to some quarrels when it comes to those living here who smoke and need a pack of cigarette's. A forty mile round trip just for cig's is really stupid when you consider the cost of gas just to get a pack. Most times a smokers brain does not see the logic in this but a quick phone call and a reminder can save an argument from happening.

Smilie Bridge

The Smilie bridge road is the name given to Pennington County Road 7. The road starts from State Highway 59 and goes to what is called by locals Kratka Bridge Road. Kratka Bridge Road is Pennington County Road 22. The Bridge itself crosses the Red Lake River and has a boat access on the south east side and is located 9.9 miles down stream from Kratka Bridge which is on County Road 22. The boat access isn't very good. It can be washed out and Rocky if the county has not fixed it. It is still popular when river levels are high because of the access to some good fishing holes on both sides of the bridge. Boaters have to be careful even with high water level because the rocks that can take out a propeller. Deeper water comes after the bend north of the bridge. Some people fish off the bridge but there are signs saying not to do this. Motorist speed on this highway so it isn't a good idea. For canoers a nice day trip through beautiful woods is from Kratka Crossing Carry In off the north side of County Road 22 to Smilie Bridge. I have Canoed this and it does take 12 hours with pit stops.

Local gas price in NW Minn. as of May 7,2011

Today was the day to fuel up the old truck. The gas station I stopped at was the Holiday Station on highway 59.

The price is $3.92 every where in Thief River Falls. Oil prices have gone down since the killing of OBL but this has not yet affected the price of gas. Everyone I talk to grumbles about the price of oil versus gas and the same grumblers are very negative that it will go back down to what it was six months ago. I have to agree with them.

Back Side of Thief River Falls Minnesota

It is the first day that we were able to go canoeing. The water was still very cold and as we cast off the dock by 3rd street bridge. Turning over into the water sent waves of dread over us. I normally do not fear tipping the canoe but today with a cool breeze and cold water I did not relish the idea of paddling back in the throughs of hypothermia. We headed upstream from 3rd street bridge taking a look at houses and stopping now and then to take a drink of beer and try to figure out who owned what house. It was interesting to see expensive homes next to normal family sized homes that were built in the 60's and 70's. Most of the docks and decks were still pull up onto the back yards or lifted up out of the water. We paddled around three bends which would put us behind Kmart and Walmart. With the last two beers we let the current and wind push us back towards 3rd street bridge. Of all the places in this area the Red Lake River in the Thief River falls area is one of the nicest and least taken advantage of. I have in the past Canoed from Neptune bridge (the farthest point east you can start from) all the way to Red lake Falls MN. Great fun and great scenery without crowds of people missing it up.

Local gas price in NW Minn. as of April 30,2011

I decided to blog about the effects of the gas prices on myself and my family. I will post each day that I fill up at the pump. I drive roughly 20 miles to and from work which ends up being roughly 50 miles with the driving around town on daily errands. Buying a fuel efficient tin can of a car is nonsense because of the winters here and the type of work that I do requires a truck or a work van. Many of my neighbors and friend and most people in Minnesota are in more or less the same predicament I am in.

I would love for someone to come up with a fuel efficient truck that I could afford. It would require four wheel drive so I and my family would not die in a snow bank when the roads drift over, something that happens in Minnesota. It would have to be able to plow snow and go off road. It would have to hall large loads and be able to pull a trailer ( I make a living by hauling stuff from time to time) It would have to last a while and be easily and affordably repaired. I just do not see Detroit cranking out practical hybrid fuel efficient four wheel drive truck. In fact I am worried that in the future we may be forced to fix our old trucks just to have something around that works as a utility when we are all forced to drive mopeds and peddle cars, and just as a thought I would like to mention how do you heat an electric car in Minnesota when it is -20F. I bet no one has even thought of this problem, because they do not live here.

The answer is probably fuel efficient oil / diesel type of work vehicles and I have done some reading on this being a solution and do know from experience that farmers and contractors in Europe do use diesel for work. Americans view oil and diesel as dirty but used correctly this is not the case and if there were a shortage we could grow oil seed crops that would meet the need for large trucks and farm vehicles. A Prius hybrid just isn't going to haul a load of grain or sugar beats.

Now today I spent over 80 dollars just filling up my work van and my wife's car. I have not filled up the old ford truck yet. I hate to think what that will cost.

Fuel cost: $3.87 per gallon

Total for today $85.53

Not much left a pop and coffee.

Trading Post on KTRF Radio

If you live north of Plummer Minnesota and East of Grygla Minnesota, chances are you have listened to KTRF's Trading Post presented in the mornings 8:35 am Monday through Saturday. Cards that are dropped off at the radio station or are put in the mail are read over the radio, with the older cards from the day before being read first. Then the next part of the show is where people can call in and say what the have for sale or are looking for.

It is fun to listen knowing how the local culture is and some times is good for a laugh. Anything can come up from some one looking to give away "good barn cats" to selling a coil for a model A Ford. The trading post is currently being sponsored by Hardware Hank of Thief River Falls. Transcripts of what was posted can be seen at: http://www.trfradio.com/trading_post . You can also listen live to the broad cast at:http://www.trfradio.com/page/listen_live.

Death of a Mail box.

Sometime last week our mail box was the victim of the county snow plow. I had blogged about it previously and put up pictures before of the mail box with and with out a Christmas ball, smashed and unsmashed. It is a good thing we took down Christmas ball or it may have ended up shattered or in the next county. We had high hopes this one was going to make it to summer. We were even thinking of painting it green.

While driving to work I notice my neighbors mail boxes some are plain and some are shaped like barns, John Deere tractors or fish. I am jealous I would like a mail box like that.

This is the first time that I have seen the mail box pole taken out. I am waiting in great anticipation on how the county handles this. It may be a while its cold and the ground is frozen. Good thing the mail goes to the post office!