Explore Minnesota More

Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Industry Partnership
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Leisure
  • Biweekly

Stories about the outdoor recreation experience in Minnesota.  New episodes every other Thursday!Have an idea for a show? Let us know! Contact: randolph.briley@state.mn.us

  1. 4d ago

    Closing the gap: How Minnesota is opening its outdoors to everyone

    Send us Fan Mail Reaching a park’s parking lot isn’t the same as reaching its waterfall. This episode looks at how Minnesota became a national leader in outdoor accessibility and what’s next. Why it matters: For visitors with mobility disabilities, many trails, beaches and overlooks have been out of reach while friends and family head out without them. New equipment and new funding are changing that. Who’s on the episode: Audra Klinkner, executive director of the Action Foundation in Marshall. After her husband was paralyzed in a farming accident, a family trip billed as accessible turned out to be anything but.Jamie McBride, program consultant with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Parks and Trails Division. He leads the agency’s adaptive equipment work.Hosted by Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, and Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota DNR.What you’ll hear: A very Minnesotan origin story. The first track chair was built in a Minnesota shed from bent tubing, snowmobile tracks and a broken boat seat. Today’s models handle sand, mud, snow and water up to 10 inches deep.Equipment is only half the job. Klinger explains why a track chair sitting in a shed helps no one. Training, staffing, maintenance and honest public information make access real.The insurance gap. Insurance usually covers a primary wheelchair but rarely outdoor equipment, which leaves many families relying on foundations.Retrofitting an older system. McBride describes accessible features that sit like islands in parks built before accessibility was designed in.What’s coming to state parks. Assistive listening devices for interpretive programs, beach mats and floating beach wheelchairs, sit-skis for groomed cross-country trails, and adaptive mountain bikes at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area.By the numbers: $35 million: Get Out MORE funding approved by the Legislature in 2023About 100: accessibility projects underway statewideMore than $1 million: dedicated to adaptive equipment23: track chairs now available in Minnesota state parksHow to get involved: Donate, spread the word or volunteer as a buddy for someone trying adaptive equipment for the first time. Go deeper: Minnesota DNR adaptive equipmentAction FoundationGet Out MORE Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    Closing the gap: How Minnesota is opening its outdoors to everyone

  2. Oct 13

    40 Years on the Cannon Valley Trail

    Send us Fan Mail The Cannon Valley Trail turns 40 this year. In this episode, we look at how a stretch of the old Chicago Great Western rail line along the Cannon River became one of southeastern Minnesota's favorite outdoor destinations. Neighbors who once worried about trail users crossing their land now list "next to the Cannon Valley Trail" as a selling point when they sell their homes. We also cover why this is one of the few Minnesota trails where pets aren't allowed, not even in a carrier, and why that might change. And we stop at Welch Station, where volunteer musicians have played for passing riders on summer Saturdays for more than 30 years. Guests: Scott Roepke has been the trail manager since 1999. In the trail's 40-year history, there have been only two trail managers, and he is one of them. Brenda Owens has coordinated Voices of the Valley, the trail's summer music and programming series at Welch Station, since 2020. She has lived above the trail in the Cannon Valley for more than 30 years. Ryan Cooper lives in Cannon Falls and uses the trail several times a week to run, walk, bike, and photograph the wildlife he sees along the way. In this episode From rail to trail: The railroad abandoned the line in 1983. Local citizens worked with the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota to move the corridor to local governments, and the trail was dedicated in 1986.Winning over the neighbors: Early on, adjacent landowners worried about litter and trespassing. Over time the trail went from a concern to an amenity that adds to property values.How a joint powers trail is different: Cannon Falls, Red Wing, and Goodhue County run the trail together, not the state. That means it's funded with local tax dollars, it charges a Wheel Pass fee, and it is strictly people-powered.The pet policy: The trail is being repaved and widened from 8 to 10 feet over the next several years. Once that work is finished, the Joint Powers Board plans to review the no-pets rule.Economic impact: More than 100,000 visitors a year spend money in Cannon Falls, Welch, and Red Wing on bike rentals, dinner, coffee, and gas. Wheel Pass revenue is also spent locally on trail upkeep.Maintenance: Ryan reports a downed tree in the morning, and it's usually cleared by the next day.Voices of the Valley: The series began around 1992. It features live music, naturalist demonstrations, and food samples from local businesses at Welch Station, which you can also reach by car.A spot not to miss: Ryan's pick is the Anderson rest area. It has a short wooded trail and a creek where he sees newborn fawns every spring. This year he watched a family of woodchucks grow up there.Year-round use: In winter, the trail is groomed for cross-country skiing.Coming soon: The trail is working with the Minnesota Historical Society on a written history, expected as soon as next spring.Plan your visit Route: The trail runs between Cannon Falls and Red Wing, mostly along the Cannon River, with Welch Station about halfway.Wheel Pass: A daily or seasonal pass is required from April through October. [Current pricing and purchase link]No pets: Pets aren't allowed anywhere on the trail, including in carriers.Voices of the Valley: Most Saturdays, June through September, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Welch Station, which is accessible from Highway 61. Bring a lawn chair and a picnic. The 2026 season has ended, so plan for next summer.Go further: In Cannon Falls, you can connect to the Mill Towns State Trail near the fairgrounds and ride toward Lake Byllesby. In Red Wing, a few city streets link you to the Goodhue Pioneer State Trail.Before you go: Check the trail website for construction closures over the next few years.Links Cannon Valley TrailCannon Falls Area Chamber of CommerceRed Wing Visitors & Convention BureauMill Towns State TrailGoodhue Pioneer State TrailParks & Trails Council of MinnesotaCredits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    40 Years on the Cannon Valley Trail

  3. Sep 30

    Detroit Mountain - Basecamp for the Local Community

    Send us Fan Mail Detroit Mountain has been a ski area in Detroit Lakes since the 1940s — and when it went dark in 2004, the community had a hole it couldn't ignore. Roughly a decade later, about a thousand donors helped raise $12 million to rebuild it from the ground up: a new lodge, new lifts, cleaned-up runs, and a year-round operation with mountain biking in the summer. The finished mountain was donated back to the city and is run by a nonprofit. But this episode isn't really about the mountain. It's about the people who make it what it is. In this episode we gather around the lodge table with staff and hill regulars to talk about why a small ski hill in west-central Minnesota has become the region's living room — a place where 90-year-olds come back for cheese curds, sixth graders take their first nervous run, and a crew of "distinguished older gentlemen" will call the cops if you don't show up. In this episode How Detroit Lakes brought its mountain back after a decade dark — and why the community, not a private owner, ended up holding the keysFrom a winter-only hill to a year-round destination: 14+ miles of singletrack and lift-served downhill mountain biking on summer weekendsWhy the Midwest ski hill plays a different role than the East's steep-and-icy race culture or the West's big-mountain playgrounds — a communal, family learning centerThe lodge as a "third space," and why the staff intentionally bends the rules so it feels like everyone's living roomThe Ski D.O.G.s: a no-dues, 65-and-over (or feels-65) crew that skis, volunteers, helps the ski patrol, and notices when someone's missingFriendships made on the chairlift, at the crowded lunch table, on the youth race team, and in the adult "beer league that happens to race"Memorable moments: a 40-below "one more run," a night so foggy skiers emerged like ghosts, and a sixth grader's first trip down the bunny hillSchool groups, first-timers, and the lightbulb moment that brings kids backSnowboarding's early uphill battle — including a firsthand Jake Burton story from Vermont — and why Detroit Mountain has always welcomed boardersWhat kind of person works at a ski hill: first jobs for local teens, lifers who've been there since high school, and people who simply love to hostThe pitch for non-skiers: one of the few sports the whole family can do together, at the same timeA few takeaways Community built it, and community keeps it. The mountain exists because people who skied there as kids wanted their grandkids to ski there too — and they were willing to fund it, from million-dollar gifts to $10 donations.Belonging is a design choice. Letting gear pile up on the lodge floor isn't a lapse; it's how you tell people the place is theirs. You can ski in jeans here and be welcome.Small hills do big work. Quick laps, short lift rides, and no intimidation factor make local hills where Minnesotans learn — and where they keep coming back, at 6 or at 82.The real product is connection. In a moment when it's easy to find reasons not to talk to each other, a five-minute chairlift ride and a packed lunch table still do the job.Guests Jenny Sheets - Former Interim Executive Director, Detroit Mountain/ Founder of Discover OutdoorsTom Thiel - General Manager, Detroit MountainEd Flemer — Regular skier and Detroit Mountain EnthusiastRick Larsen — Founder of the Ski D.O.G.sLinks Detroit MountainDiscover OutdoorsCredits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    Detroit Mountain - Basecamp for the Local Community

  4. Sep 8

    The Mesabi Trail: Minnesota's 165-Mile Ride Across the Iron Range

    Send us Fan Mail After thirty years of construction, the Mesabi Trail is complete — 165 paved, traffic-separated miles from the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids to the edge of the Boundary Waters in Ely. We talk with two people who helped build it about what it took, what it means for the twenty-eight towns along the way, and why it's a far harder ride than "rail trail" suggests.  Guests Sarah Ciochetto — Deputy Director, St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority and Mesabi Trail. With the rail authority since 2021, and previously the engineer on a number of trail sections dating back to 2012.Aaron Hautala — Media and marketing for the Mesabi Trail, with a background in outdoor recreation as a driver of economic development across northern Minnesota. What We Cover Closing the last gap: why six and a half miles between Embarrass and Tower had to be broken into multiple phasesWhat "complete" actually means for a trail this long, and why maintenance never really endsThe four segments and how the landscape changes across them: deciduous forest and fall color along the Mississippi, active and abandoned open-pit mines through the Mesabi, wetlands and wildlife habitat across the Laurentian, rocky outcrops and conifer forest up on the VermilionTwenty-eight towns, none larger than twenty thousand people — and what a protected, town-to-town bike corridor means for the people who live there year-roundWhere riders are traveling from: locals, the Twin Cities, Iowa and the Dakotas, and a growing number of international visitorsWhy this rides more like paved single track than a typical rail trail, and the growth in e-bike groups covering town-to-town distancesBest first rides for families and newer ridersThe best view on the trail — and the runner-upThe full 30th anniversary event schedule If you're a cyclist, you won't want to miss it! Mesabi Trail Information Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    The Mesabi Trail: Minnesota's 165-Mile Ride Across the Iron Range

  5. Aug 25

    Sugar Lake Leadership Lodge: Building Better Leaders in the Great Outdoors

    Send us Fan Mail Sugar Lake Lodge sits in the Sugar Hills near Grand Rapids, Minnesota — a property Abby Oxborough's family rebuilt from bankruptcy and rubble in the early '90s, drawing on generations of Minnesota hospitality roots. Today, Abby runs Leadership Lodge, an experiential leadership program that takes teams out of the conference room and into the elements to figure out how they actually work together. In this episode we sit down with Abby to talk about why the outdoors is the right classroom for leadership, how a COVID-era pivot turned into the heart of the business, and what separates a genuinely transformative retreat from another round of icebreakers. In this episode How a childhood at Sugar Lake Lodge — and a family steeped in Minnesota resort hospitality — shaped Abby's approach to running the placeThe origins of Leadership Lodge, from a Blandin Foundation community leadership cohort to the outdoor-first program it is todayWhy experiential learning ("the what, so what, now what") beats a day of trust falls and slide decksSled dogs as the ultimate team-building metaphor — and why there's genuinely nothing betterThe bonfire as "the original social network," and why every retreat starts thereBad weather as a feature, not a bug: reacting vs. responding when you can't control the conditionsWhere Leadership Lodge fits alongside NOLS and Outward Bound — the outdoorsy experience, with a fireplace and a hot chocolate waitingWhat Abby hopes is measurably different about how a team shows up to work on Monday morningWhere the program is headed: outcome-based retreats, the Prouty Project partnership, the L3 cohort, and building humane leadership for the next generationLinks Sugar Lake Lodge / Leadership Lodge: https://sugarlakelodge.com/Explore Minnesota More — more places, more people, more reasons to get outside. Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    Sugar Lake Leadership Lodge: Building Better Leaders in the Great Outdoors

  6. Aug 3

    The Northwest Angle: Adventure at the Top of Minnesota

    Send us Fan Mail You're on island time now. It just feels different. The Northwest Angle is a geographic oddity — the only place in the contiguous U.S. you can't reach without crossing an international border — and one of the most story-dense square miles in Minnesota. In this episode, host Randolph Briley sits down with Joe Henry (Executive Director, Lake of the Woods Tourism) and Joe Laurin (25-year Angle resident, informal historian, and tour guide) to explore how a place this remote ended up this rich in history, character, and adventure. Guests Joe Henry — Executive Director of Lake of the Woods Tourism. Spent years exploring Lake of the Woods long before working in tourism, including piloting Polaris jet skis around the lake in the early '90s. Joe Laurin — 25-year resident of the Northwest Angle, community historian, and tour guide. Leads history and gold mine tours across the Angle's islands and waterways. What we cover Getting there — why the only road in runs through Canada, the "goods in transit" border rule, and the kids who cross the border four times a day just to get to schoolThe Key West connection — how a chance visit turned into an unofficial sister-city relationship, complete with rum, a hiker named Skittles, and motorcycle "tip tours"Layered history — Fort Saint Charles, the 1732 massacre and the Jesuit priest's letter that took two centuries to reach France, the Ben Franklin plaque at the Angle's K–6 schoolhouse, the Dawson Trail, and the WWII POW camps still turning up glass jars.Petroglyphs and interpretation — a 700-page thesis, hand-calculated GPS coordinates, and how an Indigenous group read the same rock art completely differently than most visitors doFinding a gold mine by accident — the story of stumbling on a mine entrance because of a draft of cold airCommunity character — no stoplights in the county, more deer than people, and a school buoy the sixth graders repaint every springGetting around — the Bombardier ("snow bus"), stretch kits, and why resorts buy two for partsFishing and beyond — world-class walleye, muskie, and 40-inch pike; shore lunch traditions; Garden Island State Park; and what there is to do if you don't fish at allThe night sky — Northern Lights so frequent locals stopped posting about them, and some of the darkest skies in Minnesota for stargazing Takeaways The Angle's biggest obstacle — how hard it is to reach — is also its best asset. That difficulty is exactly what's kept it wild and quiet.This is a place where history surfaces on its own, from a 1732 letter to coins found on a reality TV show to war relics still sitting on the lake floor.A community this small only works because everyone is genuinely invested in each other. Links Lake of the Woods Tourism: https://lakeofthewoodsmn.com/Guided tours with Joe Laurin: https://lakeofthewoodsmn.com/exploring-nw-angle/Explore Minnesota More — more places, more people, more reasons to get outside Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    The Northwest Angle: Adventure at the Top of Minnesota

  7. Jun 25

    Built to Last: Arctic Cat, Thief River Falls, and the People Who Wouldn't Quit

    Send us Fan Mail In a town of about 9,000 people in Minnesota's northwest corner, one company has shared space with the place for more than 60 years. This episode tells the story of Arctic Cat and Thief River Falls — a restless founder, a bankruptcy that impacted the town, and not one but two resurrections, the second sealed on a date almost too perfect to be true. Host Randolph Briley sits down with Troy Halvorson, Director of Product Strategy at Arctic Cat. Troy grew up in Thief River Falls watching his dad build snowmobiles, got turned down for an Arctic Cat job out of high school, spent six years in the Marine Corps, and finally landed the job of his dreams in 1997. He's been there ever since — and there's nobody better to explain what this company means to the people who build it and the town built around it. In this episode: How founder Edgar Hetteen left Polaris, struck out in Alaska, and circled back to a group of Thief River Falls businessmen to start what became Arctic Cat (Polar Manufacturing → Arctic Enterprises, April 23, 1962)The 1982 bankruptcy — and the diehard locals who refused to let the brand die, bringing it back in 1984Textron's 2017 acquisition and 2024 exit — and the anxiety that ran through the plant and the townThe full-circle ending: Brad Darling and a group of investors acquiring Arctic Cat on April 23, 2025 — exactly 63 years to the day — and the sprint back into production on the new Catalyst platformThe "Battle of Brooks Avenue": a charity hockey rivalry with neighbor Digi-Key, played for a trophy welded from an exhaust pipe and circuit boardsWhy the real threat to Minnesota's trail system isn't funding — it's an aging volunteer base, and what it takes to bring young and old riders togetherA line that stuck with us: Troy recalls a quote attributed to Edgar Hetteen — that snowmobiling is "just shy of a religious experience," and once you've ridden, winter holds no terror for you. The machines are built to last. Whether the culture around them lasts is up to the next generation — on the trails, in the clubs, and on the line. Follow Explore Minnesota More wherever you get your podcasts, leave a review, and share this one with anyone who appreciates a good North Country comeback story. Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    Built to Last: Arctic Cat, Thief River Falls, and the People Who Wouldn't Quit

  8. Jun 16

    1K Miles, gummy clusters, and a pair of Gnomes: Kari Gibbons, Wild Winter Women, and Minnesota's Ultra Spirit

    Send us Fan Mail What does it take to walk a thousand miles across Alaska in winter — and finish wishing you could keep going? In this episode, we sit down with Kari Gibbons, a North Minneapolis artist, winter ultra athlete, and founder of Wild Winter Women. Kari made history in February 2025 as the fourth woman ever to complete the Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000 — 1,000 miles on foot from Knik Lake outside Anchorage to Nome — in 27 days, 6 hours, and 42 minutes. She pulled a sled with 55 pounds of gear the entire way. But Kari's story is as much about community as it is about competition. She founded Wild Winter Women after six women gathered for a post-race dinner in Roseville to swap stories and gear tips. Today, it's a 500-person community dedicated to getting more women into winter ultra racing — through shared knowledge, mentorship, equipment lending, scholarships, and a free annual weekend she hosts at her house called Wild Winter Women University, where women sleep outside, talk gear, and build enough confidence to toe the starting line for the first time. This episode covers the full arc: what called Kari to the Boundary Waters as a kid, how she found trail running in her 30s, what it actually looks and feels like to race across Alaska in February, and why she believes Minnesota's seasons — and Minnesota's culture — produce some of the world's great endurance athletes. Connect with Kari and Wild Winter Women Facebook Group: Search "Wild Winter Women" (women-only group; join to access the full community conversations)Instagram: @wildwinterwomenYouTube: Wild Winter Women (race interviews, athlete stories, and resources for women getting into winter ultra racing) Want to Try Winter Ultra Racing? Kari recommends the Saint Croix 40 Winter Ultra at Saint Croix State Park as the best entry point for women curious about this style of racing. Search "St. Croix 40 Winter Ultra" to learn more. Other key races mentioned in this episode: Arrowhead 135 — International Falls to Tower, MN (foot, ski, or bike)Tuscobia Winter Ultra — Rice Lake, WI (80- and 160-mile options)Iditarod Trail Invitational — Anchorage to McGrath (350 miles) or Nome (1,000 miles)Credits:  Producers: Randolph Briley & Cody Nelson  Hosts: Sarah Strommen and Lauren Bennett McGinty Original Music by Andrew Haaheim and Alsever Lake

    1K Miles, gummy clusters, and a pair of Gnomes: Kari Gibbons, Wild Winter Women, and Minnesota's Ultra Spirit
See All (53)

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Stories about the outdoor recreation experience in Minnesota.  New episodes every other Thursday!Have an idea for a show? Let us know! Contact: randolph.briley@state.mn.us

Information

  • Creator
    Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Industry Partnership
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Explore Minnesota More
  • Show Website
    Explore Minnesota More

You Might Also Like