Minnesota Outdoor News Radio

Minnesota Outdoor News Radio
  • 4.2 (42)
  • WILDERNESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Minnesota Outdoor News Radio

Every week, Outdoor News Radio explores timely outdoors topics emerging from Minnesota, the Upper Midwest, and around the country. For one hour, host Rob Drieslein, managing editor and president of Outdoor News, Inc., interviews a slate of natural resource experts, conservation advocates, and top outdoors writers. Along with regular co-host Tim Lesmeister, expect raucous and sometimes irreverent banter about hunting and fishing, shooting sports, wild game cooking, and nature. Among the program’s many guests, get news updates from editors Tim Spielman, Dean Bortz, and Brian Peterson. Hear fishing tips from Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame legendary angler Terry Tuma, hunting tactics from Tony Peterson, and nongame notes and stories from “Birdchick” Sharon Stiteler and Backyard and Beyond columnist Stan Tekiela.

Episodes

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Episode 519 – Winter bird feeding, small game through Jan. 1 and beyond…, music chatter

    As 2024 winds down, Managing Editor Rob Drieslein devotes the first segment of this week’s program to discussing winter bird feeding and off-season “bird travel” with Sharon “the Birdchick” Stiteler. Then Tony Peterson visits to talk about ring-necked pheasant opportunities that still exist through the end of the year, then rabbit and squirrel tactics through the end of February 2025. To wrap it up, Tim Lesmeister and Rob tackle one of their periodic music segments by debating popular modern songwriters.

    54 min

  2. DEC 13

    Episode 518 – Ice update, dead geese, duck recap, flying squirrel research, top 10 stories of 2024

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show talking ice with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman. There’s also a breaking news story regarding hundreds of dead geese in the Fairmont area. Then Barry Allen from Ducks Unlimited recaps the 2024 duck hunting season for the Upper Mississippi Flyway. A scientist from the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute, Anna Mangan, joins the show to talk about intense research on two species of flying squirrels that are clashing in the treetops. Tim Lesmeister then drops in to recap the top 10 outdoors stories of 2024.

    54 min

  3. DEC 6

    Episode 517 – Ice and deer kill update, DNR Fisheries Chief, Tony Peterson on late deer hunting

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with ice-making chatter with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman. Also, deer harvest is up in Minnesota from 2023. Then DNR Fisheries Chief Brad Parsons joins the program to talk about the statewide four-walleye bag limit proposal. Tony Peterson jumps in to talk about how the deer season has gone so far and tactics for December deer either via bow or muzzleloader. Tim Lesmeister shares his thoughts on the latest hunting accident reports and the shrinking sizes of perch in state lakes.

    54 min

  4. NOV 29

    Episode 516 – Ice-making, Wisconsin report, eagle cam, BWCA permit cancellations

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with ice-making chatter with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman. Skim ice is forming across the state, but ice anglers need to be careful until 4 inches of walkable ice is available. Then columnist Patrick Durkin from Wisconsin drops in to talk about top outdoors topics across the St. Croix. The eagle cam has been in the news the past 10 days, and Lori Naumann from the DNR’s nongame program visits to share all the details about the camera’s official relaunch. Then Tim Lesmeister drops in to talk about the incredible number of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness cancellations as well as a letter to the editor that analyzed the growing use of forward-facing sonar among anglers.

    54 min

  5. NOV 22

    Episode 515 – Grand duck finale, late fall river fishing, BHA’s Patrick Berry, and flying squirrels

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman. They preview the final (cold and windy) weekend of duck hunting in Minnesota, and discuss the effects of windmills on conservation habitat. Then fishing guide Darren Troseth drops in to chat about sturgeon fishing on the St. Croix. Patrick Berry, CEO of Montana-based backcountry Hunters and Anglers, then visits to highlight concerns about a State of Utah lawsuit that could affect public lands around the country. Tim Lesmeister helps wrap up the program with talk on President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, and new research examining the dramatic clash of two species of flying squirrels in northern Minnesota.

    54 min

  6. NOV 19

    Episode 514 – Firearms deer opener, DU’s Into the Vault auction, MDHA, “Tackle” Terry, and a 4-walleye limit?

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman quickly reviewing the opener weekend of deer season. David Schuessler from Ducks Unlimited then joins the program to talk about the conservation nonprofit’s Into The Vault annual online auction. Then Jared Mazurek visits the program to promote the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. Old buddy “Tackle” Terry Tuma visits to review the 2024 open water season and preview hard-water walleyes. Tim Lesmeister and Drieslein wrap up the show with chatter on a possible four-walleye (from six) creel limit in Minnesota.

    54 min

  7. NOV 8

    Episode 513 – CWD management, gutpile study update, wild game cooking tips, and election results

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with the Minnesota DNR’s Wildlife Health Supervisor Erik Hildebrand to talk about the state’s efforts to monitor and manage chronic wasting disease this fall. Then Dr. Ellen Candler from the university of Alaska-Fairbanks visits to update listeners on the ongoing Offal Wildlife Watching study she launched six years ago in Minnesota. North Dakota contributor Jeff Benda offers some wild game cooking tips, then Tim Lesmeister helps Drieslein recap some of the results as they affect the out-of-doors from election night 2024.

    54 min

  8. OCT 31

    Episode 512 – Deer preview, cougar on trail cam, election preview, and pheasant chatter

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman on how early deer seasons have progressed, plus a confirmed cougar via trail camera in St. Louis County. Tom Carpenter from Pheasants Forever then jumps in to describe his ring-necked pheasant hunting season thus far and offer his forecast for the remainder of autumn. Nels Paulsen from Conservation Minnesota then joins Rob in studio to make his pitch for Amendment 1, which would rededicate lottery dollars to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The show wraps up with Drieslein and Tim Lesmeister forecasting the firearms deer opener and sharing some stories (like Grizzly Bear 399) from out West.

    54 min

  9. OCT 25

    Episode 511 – Upland birds, firearms deer preview, forest land easements, daughter heads afield

    Managing Editor Rob Drieslein kicks off the show with Minnesota Editor Tim Spielman on how the prolonged heat and drought are affecting upland birds and deer, as well as hunters. They also discuss changes to the trapping season in Minnesota, which includes opportunities for fishers and pine martens in southern Minnesota this winter. Then Web Editor Eric Morken, an avid deer hunter, offers his perspective on whitetail numbers as the state bears down on the Nov. 9 firearms deer opener. Brittnay Vanderwall from the American Forest Foundation joins the show to outline the Family Forest Carbon Program and its easements available to some of the region’s private landowners. Tim Lesmeister helps wrap up the show with thoughts on Drieslein’s first hunting experience with his daughter as well as the bizarre report of a woman with 100 raccoons in her yard.

    54 min
  • 9 Episodes

4.2
out of 5
42 Ratings

About

Every week, Outdoor News Radio explores timely outdoors topics emerging from Minnesota, the Upper Midwest, and around the country. For one hour, host Rob Drieslein, managing editor and president of Outdoor News, Inc., interviews a slate of natural resource experts, conservation advocates, and top outdoors writers. Along with regular co-host Tim Lesmeister, expect raucous and sometimes irreverent banter about hunting and fishing, shooting sports, wild game cooking, and nature. Among the program’s many guests, get news updates from editors Tim Spielman, Dean Bortz, and Brian Peterson. Hear fishing tips from Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame legendary angler Terry Tuma, hunting tactics from Tony Peterson, and nongame notes and stories from “Birdchick” Sharon Stiteler and Backyard and Beyond columnist Stan Tekiela.

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada