NRHEG grad becomes school's first male paraprofessional

BREAKING GROUND — Geoff Stiegelbauer, a 2005 graduate of NRHEG High School, is the school’s first ever male paraprofessional, preparing for a career as a teacher in the communications field. (Star Eagle photo by Jody Wynnemer)

By JODY WYNNEMER

Staff Writer

Working in a field which has been dominated by women for the past few years might seem a daunting task, but Geneva native Geoff Stieglbauer is up to the challenge. Stieglbauer was hired as a paraprofessional for the NRHEG School District at the high school in New Richland.

Paraprofessionals in the school classroom assist teachers by keeping order, helping students with their studies and assisting students with special needs. Stiegelbauer is the first male hired by the school district as a paraprofessional.

Stiegelbauer is not new to the local school system, having graduated from NRHEG in 2005. He went on to Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with a minor in Business. His mother, Sue, teaches Special Education at NRHEG. Father George and brother Justin round out the clan. In his spare time, he enjoys working out at the local fitness center and playing video games.

You can always blame it on the weather. Sometimes it makes us do weird things.  When I came down to my Mom and Dad’s recently, my mother had a table full of picture albums. She commented that she should do something with them, maybe put them in a scrapbook. She went on to say that it takes so much time - and then said, that is silly because it is time that is going to go by anyway, whether I do something or not.

My mother has always felt flowers are for the living, but she thinks visitations should be too, and would have liked seeing all their old friends and reminiscing about good times and bad while they were still living. So, I guess, for loss of a better explanation, that is what she was doing.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think she expects her demise, just going over things of the past. Pictures and a snowy day can do that to you for want of something better to do.

Do you want to share my slide show - side show - whatever you want to call it?  The first picture I came across was of my dad with his carpenter apron on and hammer in hand, looking down from wherever. That is how I always think of Dad in his younger years - building, making repairs. I realize we haven't taken a picture of him playing dice.  Age, health and handicaps haven't taken away his hammer and nails completely, but he does a better job of shaking dice nowadays.

There was a picture of an ice fishing contest on the lake. There was a lot of snow around those holes. Unfortunately, though the event was identified, the year wasn't. So typical of February. The bright colors of warm clothing, a contrast to the white snow, but everybody was having fun trying to catch the elusive fish to win a prize. Besides, it was a bright, sunny, colorful day.

One year Tom, who lives at St. Olaf Lake, planned a breakfast on the lake for his 50th wedding anniversary. So many people, so many pontoons, so many pancakes. The invitation said, "Just stand on your dock and wave and we’ll pick you up as we go by." Happy days.

Then I saw a clipping, a burned out refrigerator in an empty chasm of ashes and snow, the second time their home burned. It mercifully snowed the next morning, covering the destruction. Not so happy days.

Then there were years when there weren't any pictures for awhile. I don't know why. My parents lived with my sister for some time while they regrouped, ironically in the same house they live in now. Mom said there are lots of pictures missing of the snowmobile rides to the lake in the winter, the saddle club, the family, cousins, aunts, sisters, and uncles, friends sharing the beach.

There are pictures of water that rose in the wet lands behind their home at the lake and reached the bottom floor of their home. Water from the wet lands was the reason they bought the land for ducks, geese and wildlife, a project that their grandson, Cameron, still works at.

A time or two the lake grew high enough to trickle over the beaver dam, but the lake bottom is so solid that they most often had to water the lawn in the summer because, though they lived close to the lake, it didn't get enough moisture to keep the grass green.

At any rate, it was an entertaining and informative afternoon.

Pictures are sort of like money in the bank. Just as money is only paper until you use it, the same is true of pictures. There's "interest" there in the form of memories of things we did, but they are just paper if we don't get them out to enjoy them and share with others.

What's the saying? A picture is worth a thousand words.

There is a story, supposedly true, of one of those photographers who came to stores and took children’s pictures. Somehow the information as to who belonged to each picture was lost. Those involved were told they could have their picture if they could identify the pictures were theirs. Supposedly a large number of parents were unable to distinguish their child from another. The psychological fact was very stressful, especially to the fathers. End of story!

Always identify and date your snapshots. You'll be glad you did.

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented that they like to read about the local happenings and family events such as family and school reunions, birthday & anniversary celebrations, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us, so we can then pass along the news to you. If you have news to share, please contact me.

Also, if our NRHEG Star Eagle readers would like to share birthdays and anniversaries of your family and friends, or you know of some that should be deleted, or names have changed, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and anniversaries this week:

• Thursday, March 17th: St. Patrick’s Day, Ashley Marie Hagen, Shannon Weckwerth Pacholl, Mike Cady, Dakota Ray Janning, Nicole Hanna, Patrick Wobschall, Harvey Zicafoose, Mandy Galbraith, Joel Hill, Jenifer Jensen Pietari, Carol Scott, Kevin & Marsha Jensen

• Friday, March 18th: Ashley Marie Hagen, Lynn Sommer Eaton, Chad Cornelius, Randy Brandt, Michelle Bartness, Dan Enzenauer, Matthew Larson, Wanda Stanley, Kent Toft, Matt & Jennifer Van Hal, Dean & Sue Westrum

• Saturday, March 19th: Samuel Bartness, his 1st; LaVern Klocek, Jill Rye, Jill Neitzell, Tyler Crabtree, Bethany Butler, Tori Lynn Sage, Wyatt Marcus Westergrin

• Sunday, March 20th: Tricia Renae Hanson, Nicole Christensen, Neva Lembke, Gary Reichl, Jim Butler, Tammy Harpel Nielsen, Winfred Bergdale, Shelly Hoeve, Billy Jo Johnson Schwierjohann, Dennis Olson

• Monday, March 21st: Doris Krause, Trent Steven Pence, Kelly Marie Dobberstein, Phillip Ingvaldson, Pam Farr, Kent Paulson, Diane Marlin, Kelly Nelson, Glea Hyland, Doris Krause, Brody Grunwald, Darrell & Cindy Farr

• Tuesday, March 22nd: National Goof Off Day! Gordy Carroll, Brenna Lynn Hagen, Shannon Johnson, Karin Lieberg, Bob Sommers, Leah Elaine Bergerson, Jerry Peterson, Nancy & Jerry Walterman

• Wednesday, March 23rd: Chris Newgard, Penny Obermoller, Alan Edwardson, Troy Johnson, Troy Wagner, Jason Dwight, Alexi Jo Kitzer, Alex Dobberstein, Delaney Sue Vander Syde, Alexander James Thompson, Peter Bergerson, Chris Rutheford, Phyllis Anderson, Glea & DeLores Hyland, Rick & Liz Wangsness

• Thursday, March 24th: Gail Ottesen, Seth Chad Staloch, Dave Meixner, Kurt Hanson, Laurie Phagan, Lucetta Kermes, Wes & Ruth Neidermeier, Angie & Cory Klemmensen, Tony & Sandra Tonsing, Lonna & Dean Broitzman

• Friday, March 25th: Brad Hagen, Michelle Ritz, Pam Anderson, Faith Jensen, Tom Marlin, Trevor Loverink, Bernice Farr Mattson

Surprise somebody. Call someone. Send a card and make their day. Little things mean a lot.

The one thing that I always seem to take comfort in whenever I’m shoveling snow in March is that it will only last for a little while. I guess that is like when I was a kid and would injure myself and my mother, in an attempt to comfort me, would say “it will only hurt for a little while.” Sometimes that little while seemed like an eternity, but I guess that after a long and harsh winter anything that is piled on us now only seems like a temporary setback.

There are many ways to anticipate the arrival of spring, but one sure way to get the fire started is planning a summer vacation. I know that I’ve mentioned it many times before, but I feel that camping is one of the best ways to enjoy a family vacation. The cost of renting a cabin for a week has skyrocketed, which is probably why a lot of the smaller resorts have gone away and many people have found different ways to spend their vacation. I know the operating costs of a resort have risen and of course when that happens, the cost ends up getting passed on to the customer.

If you’ve never tried camping but are interested in giving it a try you can outfit yourself with a pretty minimal investment. A family vacation spent camping can be pretty inexpensive if you tent or even have a camper and know where to go. I have mentioned in past columns about the numerous National Forest Campgrounds available. We also have a great State Park system that offers camping for a minimal fee. Go to a nearby state park and spend the day. Take a walk on the trails available to visitors and check out the campground to see if it is something you’d like. You can have access to any State Park in Minnesota by purchasing a vehicle permit for $25 for a 1-year period and $18 for an additional vehicle. The sticker is good for one year from time of purchase. A state park sticker is a great way to test the waters if you are just curious about camping and want to see what it is all about.

For many years, our family vacations were spent camping and fishing. We started out with a tent, but eventually purchased a pick-up camper that we enjoyed for many years. For some reason, the idea of camping made me feel like I was one with nature and of course, I could never go anywhere without my fishing equipment. It was sort of a “guy thing” with the fishing and being skipper of the fishing vessel. Maybe I was actually more like the outdoors version of Tim the Tool Man.

Once the fishing was over and we were sitting around the campfire, the rest of the family took charge. The boys would beg to start the campfire and, after running the ship all day and cleaning the day’s catch, the skipper was too tired to care much about a fire. Their mother was the master of the campfire and she could and still can have a nice campfire blazing in no time flat.

I really have to say that a hot dog never tastes as good as when it’s roasted over a campfire. We’d roast marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire, have chips and Van camp’s beans for at least a couple of evening meals and top that off with s’mores - it just doesn’t get any better than that. Even though we now have a cabin, there are still times when we do the hot dogs on the campfire thing for supper just because it’s easy and everyone looks forward to it.

So, keeping the simple life in mind, give some thought to trying camping as a fun way to spend time with family. It can be pretty rewarding. Following is some information about camping and lodging at Minnesota State Parks.

Camping / Lodging

• Whether you're roughing it in a tent, or taking it easy in a cabin, you can find the perfect spot for a vacation in a Minnesota state forest or state park.

• State forests provide more than 2,000 miles of forest roads and thousands of logging trails, including 46 campgrounds with 1,000 campsites. State parks offer more than 5,000 campsites or a variety of cabins, guesthouses and other lodging. Plus, there are thousands of miles of rugged or paved state trails and water trails that can lead you there.

• How do you begin? Just use the following information to find places to go, and then check the maps for campgrounds and campsites.

• Reminder: Protect our trees from bad bugs - www.dnr.state.mn.us. Don't move firewood!

Plan Ahead Perfection: Camping reservations may be made up to one year in advance of your first night’s stay.  Whether it is the night before, or the year before, we will have a spot waiting for you. Now you can search by date to find the perfect time for your overnight stay.

Spur of the Moment: up to 30% of the campsites in our parks and state recreation areas are non-reservable. These sites are rented on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Make a Reservation

On line reservations can be made 24 hours a day, except for the first day a reservation becomes available. On that first day, reservations cannot be made online before 8 a.m. go to the website: wwwstayatmnparks.com.

Phone reservations can be made by phone, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. Phone: 1-866-85PARKS (1-866-857-2757)

Until next time; think spring, camping and fishing and enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors!

Remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can keep enjoying the freedoms that we have today.

Mahatma Gandhi played an important role in India, achieving independence from England. His philosophy of non-violence brought India freedom and inspired other movements throughout the world, giving form to civil disobedience. A man of the ages, he was known as Teacher, or Great Soul. A popular description of his teaching is passive resistence. It’s hard to realize it’s been 60 years since his death.

You would think Gandhi’s philosophy would not be a good idea in a sports situation. However, I saw Tubby Smith’s Gopher basketball team employ it on defense a few times when they lost to Northwestern, the No. 8 team in the conference, by 10 points.

It was hard to remember our Gophers were once considered a solid top-20 team. While watching recent games, it seemed that without point guard Al Nolan, they had lost their confidence as the defeats mounted game by game. With that, they also lost some of their ability to be aggressive on defense or offense.

There has been some concern over Tubby Smith’s coaching. Why did players leave his program? Is he recruiting well? Why haven’t certain members of the team improved? Granted, Smith’s recruiting is not his strength. If it was, he probably would not have been urged to leave his previous team. However, his recruitment years in Minnesota have twice been ranked in the top 25. Also people have to realize that the Minnesota program, while a major, is not considered an elite one. It’s not Duke, Michigan St. or North Carolina and the prospects out there know that.

Why haven’t Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III improved more since their freshman year? Tubby could use a big man coach. Maybe he could ask ex-Gopher coach Jim Dutcher to lend a hand.

Players left, but they left for a variety of reasons. One, Justin Cobbs went to Cal because he wasn’t getting enough playing time. He sure would have gotten plenty this year. Another left to be with his very ill sister, another because Tubby’s rules were not to his liking. One question was why did Tubby keep running the same offense even after Nolan was injured? Why not run the ball into the middle with the biggest guys in the Big Ten manning the interior? I don’t know, but perhaps it was because Tubby still felt it was the appropriate offense and then too, it would have been very difficult to change the system with just 10 games left. If he had tried the unfamiliar, perhaps the team would have had a complete collapse. So whatever could go wrong, went wrong. It all came together in a "Perfect Storm."

I think the best thing you can say about Tubby Smith and the team is that the season is finally over and let’s look forward to next year and believe that Tubby and his players are going to work very hard in order to not repeat this year.

One quick note about the Minnesota Twins. Things are looking up. Delmon Young’s "turf toe" is better. Justin Morneau is happy and following doctor’s orders with success. Joe Mauer is being Joe Mauer Nobody is worried about his not playing in Spring Training, because we all remember what happened in 2009 when he missed the early part of the season and won the American League MVP award.

However, do you notice how little has been said about the team’s middle relief? It could be that the middle relievers are being hit hard and the Twins are a little worried. Other than that, all looks well.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

“I heard you got a job cleaning windows.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you get paid by the window?”

“No, I get paid by the boss.”

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: I’ve saved a lot of daylight over the years. I wonder where I put it?

Excusercise

I walked into my office three times before I remembered why I walked into my office. I acquired a facial tissue and a pencil on my first two visits, so my trips were not for naught. This behavior is beneficial in that it provides an exercise program that I cannot forget to do even when I forget to do it.

Café chronicles

The table topic was obituary photos. One of the talkers said that the newspaper obituary photos are never current. Of course, they’re out of date. The photos were taken when the dearly departeds were still alive.

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

My father wore overalls and coveralls. They were the perfect dress for a hard-working farmer. His uniform came with a pocket for pliers. Dad said that if he had a pair of pliers, he was prepared for emergencies.

I read the Boy Scout Handbook when I was a boy but not a Scout. Those guys were prepared. I wanted to be a Boy Scout when I was a lad, but there wasn’t a troop near me. However, thanks to my father, I was prepared. I had my own pliers.

International Owl Festival

I met Roar Solheim at the International Owl Festival held in Houston, MN. Roar is from Norway. A Norwegian and a Minnesotan —the conversation naturally turned to comic books and lutefisk. Roar told me that Donald Duck is immensely popular in Norway and that they do eat lutefisk there. Roar said that he prepared lutefisk a bit differently than we do. He puts bacon, mustard, and bacon grease on the wily cod.

Writing

I was presenting a class for young writers at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato. There had been a substantial snowfall and I went for an early morning walk to listen to the spring songs of birds on a wintery day. I heard another sound. Wwwwiiirrrrzzzz! The sound of spinning tires attempting to scale an icy hill. It brought back memories of the dilapidated cars with bad tires that I have owned.

Snow go

We had snowball fights when I was a boy. They seemed natural. We whipped snowballs at one another at great velocity. Every part of the body was a target. The only rule was that we could not throw iceballs. We’d heard horror stories of bad neighborhoods where iceballs were the norm and some poor child had been seriously injured by one of the icy missiles.

I listened to Joe Mansky, Ramsey County Elections Manager, testify before a legislative committee. Mansky said that 18 percent of Minnesotans move each year. I’ll bet some move just to escape iceballs.

Nature notes

Winter has been a hard, long slog. Spring is just around the corner—Lord willing and the snow banks don’t rise. Some of my neighbors know how to handle winter. They fly to Florida. They can’t be happy there. There’s no ice fishing in Florida. The rest of us stay here and attack winter as if we were shampooing our hair. Shovel, sleep, repeat. I’ve placed robin decoys on my lawn in the hopes of attracting spring. They’ll likely draw in orange barrels. I know it is spring when the zipper on my winter coat starts working. It’s not that difficult to notice spring signs. Smell a skunk? That’s the scent of spring and a sign that spring is just around the corner—sharing that space with winter. Look for yellow in the bills of starlings, the feathers of goldfinches, and in weeping willows. Crows carrying sticks and red-winged blackbird males singing “Look at me!” Chipmunks become active, mourning doves coo, red osier dogwood is a bright red (the red veins of spring), red-tailed hawks are paired up, and Canada geese stand on ice. Earthworms make short migrations to the surface. Spring has false starts. Just remember that other places have winter, too.

Meeting adjourned

Dale Carnegie said, “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”

The scurs were overly pessimistic about last week’s forecast. Although there was snow most days, it was forecast except Monday. Are we headed toward spring this week? The scurs tell all. Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny becoming cloudy overnight with a chance of showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows around 40. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs once again of 50 – 55 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy on Friday and cooler. Highs around 45 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly cloudy on Saturday becoming cloudy overnight with a chance of showers. Highs near 50 with lows near 35. Mostly cloudy on Sunday with a chance of showers. Highs near 50 and lows around 35. Cloudy on Monday with a chance of rain. Highs 45 – 50 and lows near 25. Partly cloudy for Tuesday and cooler. Highs of 40 – 45 with lows near 20. The normal high for St. Patty’s Day is 41 and the normal low is 22. The scurs will be seeing leprechauns after consuming mass quantities of green malted barley beverages.

The Full Moon is upon us on the 19th. This is known as the Full Worm Moon as the worms come to the soil surface, leaving their castings while enriching Mother Earth. It is also commonly known as the Full Sap Moon and the Full Lenten Moon, the last full moon of the winter. This was also known as the Snow Crust Moon by the Ojibwe as the snow that was thawed during the day became crusted and frozen at night. The Sioux called it the Moon When Buffalo Drop Their Calves, same as many farmers in the area. At the ranch we know it as the Moon When Border Collies Are Caked with Mud.

Up to this point, Old Man Winter has done his level best to make sure the landscape is white. After giving us a thaw on Friday, the weather was anything but spring-like for much of the weekend. Water buckets in the lambing barn froze and there were times on Saturday one would’ve sworn it was January with the snow blowing so hard that visibility was greatly reduced in areas. On the way to Owatonna, there were times I wondered if it was a wise decision to attempt the journey. By the time I returned however, the snow squalls had subsided and travel was safe once again. Such is March. It may be like a lamb one day but the next day the lamb grows fangs and takes a hunk out of your behind. Even though the weather is supposed to warm up this next week, most of us have lived through enough March snowstorms to know that just about anything goes this month in the precip department.

There are some glimmers of hope though. On the 18th we are back over 12 hours of daylight once again. Spring officially begins on March 20th with the vernal equinox occurring on March 20th. This of course means lots of irate chickens when their eggs all stand on end. In the house at the ranch, the ladybugs are also coming to life, although their numbers appear to be diminished over some years. Other signs outside this past Monday that indicate we are about to see some change include a red-winged blackbird as well as more robins. There have also been more hen pheasants showing up and that’s a good sign. The snow piles are shrinking and, unless something drastic changes in the forecast, the fields should become bare once again as they basically were during the thaw back in February. The horned larks will appreciate that on their short grass nesting area. Tough to hatch eggs on top of the snow.

The ewes are nearly done lambing. There are only a couple left to lamb now and the crop has been bountiful. The loafing barn is at capacity and we need the weather to melt the snow so the fence can be charged again. Some of the lambs that were born a month ago are about 25 lbs. already, so they really can use the exercise. The snowmelt thus far has created a huge lake in front of the barn, so that needs to melt a channel through the snow banks. Otherwise Ruby gets extra filthy, especially when her first official act each night at choretime creates a rooster tail of water behind her as she zooms into the barn.

The seeds have been ordered for the garden once again before the selection gets picked over. It’s always a great little surprise to find that package in the mailbox, partially because it covers up all the bills. In the early garden, we’re trying several varieties of snap peas this year. The prairie winds always seem to raise heck with some of the taller types, defeating the purpose of putting up trellises for them to climb on. In the late garden department, we’re always heavy on the vine crops as some of the varieties we like are tough to find without ordering through a catalog. Thanks to Betsy’s dad’s cousin, we’re going to give the winter radishes a whirl this year. They were welcome table fare about the time much of the garden produce was done for the season last fall. Kindled thoughts of what to look forward to in the next garden.

See you next week…real good then.

Stafford Breck of Ellendale MN was born August 19, 1930 in Waseca, MN to Ella (Johnson) and Andrew Breck. Each day he lived life to the fullest until his passing on March 7, 2011 in San Juan P.R.

On October 21, l956 he was united in marriage to Ila Priem in Mankato MN.

He was employed by Josten's for 26 years until retirement in 1994.

He is survived by his wife Ila; daughters Faye (Kerry) Johnson and Jane (Ron) Peck; granddaughters Elise Johnson (Adam Ridenhour) and Rikki Peck; great-granddaughters Hayley Kettle and Veyda Ridenhour.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Joel (Orloue) Breck  and Orren Breck.

Services will be on March 26, 2011 at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 609 Lincoln Avenue South, Owatonna, MN. Reception follows the service at the Owatonna Country Club, 1991 Lemond Rd, Owatonna MN.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Ellendale Food Shelf, St. Isidore School or Trinity Lutheran Church Building Fund.

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The shots weren’t falling for the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys’ basketball team.

The Hayfield Vikings were another story.

Hayfield, the No. 3 seed in Sub-Section 2AA South, shot a lights-out 66 percent from the field in the second half and ended the season for No. 6 seed NRHEG 72-58 at Hayfield Tuesday night.

The Panthers, who won 11 of their final 13 regular-season games after starting 2-11, finished 13-13. Hayfield, which improved to 15-10, will face second-seeded Kasson-Mantorville Friday in the sub-section quarterfinals.

On Tuesday, the Panthers fell behind by 10 points early. They battled back to within five, but the Vikings held the ball for a minute and made the final shot to take a 31-24 lead into halftime.

“It seemed early when Hayfield got their 10-point lead, we missed four or five easy bunnies that for whatever reason didn’t go,” said NRHEG head coach Pat Churchill. “It was tough for us to climb out of that hole the rest of the night.”

Although the calendar indicates there are less than 20 days until spring officially arrives, we’ve had very few indications that we can put away the winter garb. One day it’s 30+ and the next day it’s below zero, but hopefully the warm days will soon start outnumbering the cold ones. I have but one explanation for it all – it’s Minnesota and we love it!

Looking ahead to spring and all the good stuff that comes along with it always puts me in a better mood. Have you ever noticed that even if the temperature is below normal, a day of sunshine will put most of us in a better state of mind? Lately each warm day that we have is followed by a few cold days. But alas, the good thing is that the end is in sight and spring will soon be upon us.

I never thought I’d be longing for those hot summer days filled with mosquitoes, but even that seems appealing right now. I have never really minded the winter months, but I’d guess that it’s because I can’t do anything about it. To my knowledge, complaining has never brought about any change in the weather.

One government agency (FEMA) is encouraging many Minnesotans that live in low areas to purchase flood insurance in anticipation of what will lie ahead. I do wonder if these are the same type of folks who tell me that I need to dress warm when its -20 degrees below zero. I am hoping for a slow, gradual thaw that allows ample time for the moisture to disappear without any major flooding. I can still remember a few years ago when we had some major flooding issues in our part of the state. There was one television news report that showed a farmer over by Fairmont picking up his mail in a pontoon boat. I have to wonder if there were any fish in that lake.

Spring is a good time for panfish and perch, but that usually doesn’t happen until April. Although, it’s never too early to anticipate. If you can find the crappies in early spring when they are in the shallows, it can be some mighty good fishing (not to mention eating). For years, I was strictly a walleye, northern and occasional muskie guy; crappies were only a good fish to hunt before the opener. As I have grown older, (wiser?) I have found that crappie fishing is not only rewarding at the table but also a heck of a lot of fun.

Most of my crappie fishing is done with plastics, and only as a last resort will I use a minnow. There just seems to be something special about casting an ultralight with a small jig and twister and tying into a slab crappie.

Last fall, we were doing some October fishing for northern and I decided to take a little break and cast for crappie. Although I didn’t catch a lot of crappies, there were a few to be had. I actually caught two of the bigger northerns of the trip on that ultralight with 4 lb. test and a small jig.

My grandson, Trevor, who is always experimenting with his fishing techniques has taught me quite a bit about the art of crappie fishing. He got me “hooked” on this certain type of twister tail that has turned out to be dynamite for crappies over the past few years. It’s called a split tail Slurpie and  comes in various colors. Last year, I had bought this one color that I wasn’t really confident in, as I had used a different color the year before and had very good luck. I always like to try something a little different once in a while (wonder where Trevor gets it). One day I decided to give this color another try and the fish started hitting it, so I continued to use it for the rest of the season with excellent results.

Last year while fishing in one of our favorite crappie spots, I was using a jig that was “hot” the year before but had little luck. Trevor, who was in his boat a few yards away, was hauling them in one after another on the same colored jig. I asked him what he was doing different and he said he was tipping the jig with a small piece of minnow. That’s why he is such a good fisherman because he’s never afraid to try something different. I used to show him the little tricks that I’d learned over the years and now he’s showing me new things.

I do think a lot of the success that a person has with certain baits is about how confident you are in that particular bait. On more than one occasion, I’ve been rummaging through my tackle box and found a lure and thought, “I’ve never caught a fish on this one so maybe I’ll give it a try.”

More often than not, if I use it for a while with no results, it will again find its way to the bottom of my tackle box. On the other hand, if I do catch a fish on it, there may be a place for it in one of the priority shelves of the box. It’s kind of funny how that works.

Each year I also try to avoid spending too much time in the sporting goods department of any store, but like some magic potion, I am always drawn to that area just like a person who is under some sort of a spell. Once that happens, I am inclined to purchase at least one lure that I just couldn’t get along without. Ahh… so many lures… so little time!

MUSKIE TALK

The March meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54, of Muskies Inc. was Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at the Eagles Club in Owatonna.

Our speaker was Southern Minnesota lure maker, Wayne Carrigan. Our meetings are the second Wednesday of every month. Meetings include informative speakers, door prizes, raffles and updates. We center our programs around guides, lure makers, and helping members catch more muskies and muskie talk tips.

Our goal is to improve muskie fishing in Southern Minnesota. Check out our web site at www.michapter54.com. Anyone interested in muskie fishing is always welcome and need not be a member to attend. Bring a friend and check us out.

Until next time, get ready for spring fishing and take some time to enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors!

Remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can keep enjoying the freedoms that we have today.

The Minnesota Twins are progressing and the team is coming together as they get ready for the season. Ron Gardenhire has named four of the five starting pitchers by adding Nick Blackburn to the rotation of Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano and Brian Duensing. He is talking about including high draft pick Kyle Gibson in the fight to become fifth starter. It doesn’t look good for Brad Radke facsimile Kevin Slowey. Scott Baker has more dominating stuff than Slowey and still retains an upside. And should Baker fail in securing a starting job, Gibson brings his youth and high expectations into the equation. It also doesn’t help Slowey that he is often quite articulate about himself and the Twins. Pat Neshak found that out spending parts of the last two years trying to get out of Gardenhire’s doghouse. I don’t think it would take very much of an offer for the Twins to trade Slowey and his salary to another club for prospects or a solid middle reliever.

Gardenhire has also solidified his starting infield, assigning Tsuyoshi Nishioka to second base and shortstop to Alexi Casilla. The Twins stuck their neck out this season in dismissing both starting middle infielders Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy along with utility man Nick Punto. I still don’t understand why they let Hardy go. What caused them to sour on good-fielding, decent-hitting Hardy, who reminded me a lot of Greg Gagne, who anchored the Twins’ infield on the World Series champs of ‘87 and ‘91?

The official explanation is that Hardy was too expensive and they were able to acquire Nishioka for less money. In an interview with Twins’ blogger Twinkie Town, Rob Anthony Twins’ Assistant General Manager, had this to say: "In the J.J. Hardy situation we just looked at it and said, we may need to take that $6 million and go another route." That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. They paid Tsuyoshi Nishioka $3 million this year. They also had to pay around $5 million for the right to negotiate with Nishioka. Granted, they were able to shed Brandon Harris’s salary in the trade, but my Minnesota math, (to steal from TV announcers Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven), puts Nishioka cost at $8 million after adding $3 million and $5 million together, leaving a cost of $2 milllion over Hardy’s salary. Anthony explained that away by saying the $5 million didn’t come out of payroll. That’s true, technically it didn’t, but that’s just an accounting manipulation. The $5 million doesn’t just disappear; somewhere it cost the Pohlads five million.

It seemed to me that there may have been another reason they didn’t want Hardy back. Here is a possibility: Ron Gardenhire is probably as sick or sicker than we are, of losing to the Yankees. Not only that, he is only human and doesn’t want his epitaph to read: he was a good manager, but couldn’t beat the New York Yankees. His teams have proven over the years that they couldn’t get by the Yankees or compete in the playoffs. Well, Gardenhire, may have thought, "O.K., let’s change the makeup of the team." Nishioka and Casilla are a big change from Hudson and Hardy. It also allows Gardenhire to be a National League-type manager with more control of the game what with hit and run, steals, and bunts. He will have three speedsters in a row with Casilla batting ninth, Span leadoff and Nishioka second in front of Mauer and Morneau.

To give Gardenhire credit, if that was his and General Manager Smith’s plan, it may work. No matter what, it will be fun to see the speedsters in front of the heart of the order. And certainly they can do no worse than they have in the past against the Yankees.