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LAKES COUNTRY

2023

2024

A MAGAZINE FOR AND ABOUT OUR REGION'S OUTDOORS ENTHUSIASTS

Blane Klemek

Nothing better than being in nature

PLUS:

A floating sauna:

Menahga cousins embrace Finnish roots

Pickleball pals:

Growing sport builds community and friendships

Zoom zoom:

Detroit Lakes man races Miatas around the country

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A PUBLICATION OF:

16 A special supplement to the October 21, 2023 Detroit Lakes Tribune and Park Rapids Enterprise, and October 26, 2023 Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal.

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Nathan Bowe Robin Fish Shannon Geisen Vicki Gerdes Frank Lee Barbie Porter Elizabeth Vierkant ADVERTISING Britanie Rentz Kathy Dennis Kristy Helmbrecht Julie Lake Jayne Merila Kelly Hoeke Jordyn Bement Viola Anderson

Contents TABLE OF

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16

26

Blane Klemek loves an outdoor adventure

The DNR Region 4 wildlife specialist talks about his love for everything outdoors

‘I had the best job in the world’ says former game warden

Roger Lueth reflects on 28-year game warden career

Finnish cousins build floating sauna

Menahga families turn heads with their inventive watercraft

MAGAZINE EDITOR Tris Anderson tanderson@dlnewspapers.com

36

PUBLISHER Pete Mohs pete.mohs@brainerddispatch.com

42 Paul Pridday trades racing Superbikes for Miatas

PAGE DESIGN Mollie Burlingame mburlingame@bemidjipioneer.com

48 Black’s Grove is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts

On the cover Blane Klemek. Submitted photo

4 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

Pickleball brings Perham together

The ever-growing sport gave BJ Peters a sense of belonging and community Racing has taken the Detroit Lakes resident around the region and country From mountain biking to cross-country skiing, the park is Wadena’s best

52

LAMBAT aims to grow mountain biking

Building trails and getting youth involved is core to the group’s mission

26

36

The Adventure

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Blane Klemek loves

an outdoor adventure Nathan Bowe | Detroit Lakes Tribune

Blane Klemek with a lake trout in the Boundary Waters.

Photos contributed

by Blane Klemek

6 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

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Klemek on a family hunting trip.

S IT’S ALL FAMILIAR COUNTRY TO ME. Blane Klemek

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ometimes it just makes sense to change careers and follow your heart.

Blane Klemek did just that. He spent nine years on the management career track for Kmart Corp., taking new positions and moving from store to store and town to town.

Then he decided to do what he loved most – working with wildlife, and he gave up the retail management career to go back to college.

That was no light decision since it meant committing five years to higher education – earning a fish and wildlife associate degree at Bemidji State University, then a bachelor’s degree in fish and wildlife biology at the University of North Dakota, where he also earned his master’s degree in wildlife biology.

Klemek, who lives near Becida, is now the DNR’s regional wildlife manager for the 24 counties that make up Region 4 in northwestern Minnesota.

Becker and Mahnomen counties are roughly in the middle of that region, which also includes Otter Tail, Hubbard and Wadena counties.

Along the way, Klemek has lived, worked or gone to school in Perham, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Alexandria and Morris.

Add in the fact that he grew up on an Otter Tail County dairy farm and graduated from BerthaHewitt High School south of Wadena, and it’s fair for him to say of this whole part of the state “it’s all familiar country to me.”

Klemek said he “grew up in a family of hunters and anglers – on both sides of the family – my mom’s maiden name was Greenwood. Both my mother and father grew up on farms, they were rural people themselves.”

A calm moment in the canoe on an Alaskan trip.

But in their younger days, his parents had left farming and found work in the Twin Cities.

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Blane Klemek and his traveling pack make breakfast during a late-winter fishing trip to the Boundary Waters in April of 2022.

Klemek was about 10 years old and living with his family in Coon Rapids when his parents bought the dairy farm in Otter Tail County.

“It was a dream come true for me,” he said. He had always spent his share of time around farming, “but to actually get to live on one – day in and day out! Not only was I a farm boy, I got to play around in the woods.”

He wasn’t fazed by the work involved on a dairy farm – which 10 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

is good, since it involved things like picking rocks, pitching manure out of the barn, baling hay, and helping with the harvest, and the planting, and the milking chores. ”Dairy is 24/365 – I learned a good work ethic, growing up on the farm,” he said with a laugh.

Interest rates were high back then, but his parents were able to get an agricultural loan to cover the farm, all the equipment, and all the cattle. “Farms were still profitable

then,” he said. “They raised us three kids just on the dairy farm income – they didn’t have other jobs.”

Klemek and his wife, Jo Ellen Klemek, have been married 21 years. Both were single parents when they met as students at UND. Both their kids are now in their late 20s. Their daughter Emily Headbird lives in Bemidji and their son Nidhal Keddah lives in Omaha. Jo Ellen works for the DNR Parks and Trails division in Bemidji.

I TRY TO GET TO THE BOUNDARY WATERS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, WHETHER IT’S A SUMMER OR A WINTER TRIP. Blane Klemek

Klemek loves his family, and he also loves to get out and enjoy nature.

“I try to get to the Boundary Waters at least once a year, whether it’s a summer or a winter trip,” he said.

Usually, it’s a late winter trip in March to fish for lake trout with a group of college friends, and friends of friends.

Winter camping is getting more popular, but that time of the year “you pretty much have it to yourself,” he said with a laugh. “In late March it’s getting warmer, but it’s still pretty cold at night. That’s what good equipment is for – Thermarest winter sleeping pads, down sleeping bags, warm clothes, and cutting a lot of wood for the fire.”

Klemek is knowledgeable about all manner “Small enough to know you, of game and nongame wildlife, but in his free time,to hisSERVE passion is big game and elk hunting, Large enough you!” usually using a bow and arrow or black powder musket.

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Klemek and friends on a late-winter fishing trip to the Boundary Waters.

IT WAS THE BEST ELK HUNT IN MY LIFE. Blane Klemek

Since 2006, he has been hunting in western Colorado. “I used a muzzleloader on an elk hunt in Colorado a few years ago,” he said. “It was in the San Juan mountains, hunting elk during muzzleloader season – close to Wolf Creek Pass and Pagosa Springs – really beautiful deep, deep country, full of mule deer and elk.”

That’s become an annual tradition, too, he said.

“Spending seven days or two weeks hunting deer and elk in Colorado.”

That group of friends changes over time, and in the past few years, he has hunted with a couple of neighbors in the Becida area.

12 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

“We just got done with our last trip in September – an archery elk hunt.

It was the best elk hunt in my life.

More close encounters than I’ve ever had. Bow-range encounters.

But I never had that perfect shot. I’m not going to take an iffy shot with a bow and arrow. You have to be an ethical hunter.”

The trip involved traveling on horseback to a remote hunting site.

Guides took them there and left them with pre-set-up tents, then returned on a predetermined day to bring them back.

“It’s an on-your-own hunt, but they got us up there,” he said.

The horseback ride up into the mountains and then back down again was more fun than he expected — Klemek hadn’t been on horseback for years.

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THERE IS A DEEP, DEEP APPRECIATION I HAVE FOR THE READERS OF MY COLUMNS … WITH SO MUCH STRESS IN THE WORLD, WILD BIRDS AND WILDLIFE ARE SOMETHING PEOPLE APPRECIATE. Blane Klemek

Brown bears doing some river fishing in Alaska.

He also enjoys hunting in the heavily forested Nebraska panhandle, which is home to plenty of deer and elk. With its deep canyons, lodge pine and Ponderosa pine trees, the panhandle is a different world than most of Nebraska, he said.

Klemek has also made several trips to Alaska – a rafting trip down the Goodnews River in the southwestern part of the state to fish for salmon and trout, and a canoe trip in Katmai National Park, known for its salmonhunting brown bears. The park has one of the highest population densities of brown bears on the planet, with an estimated 2,200 to 14 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

2,500 coastal brown bears calling the park home.

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Like the 11-day Katmai trip, some of those adventures have been unforgettable, but Klemek said “the bulk of my hunting and angling and fishing adventures are right here in Minnesota – I’ve been out hunting ruffed grouse and hunting deer. I use both a traditional bow and a contemporary (compound) bow.” In late November he hunts with a black powder muzzleloader.

Over the years, the column has been printed in newspapers from Bemidji to Detroit Lakes.

He also gets a lot of pleasure from writing a weekly outdoors column that he started in the early 1990s when he was a student at Bemidji

“As a result of the weekly writing, I’ve received hundreds of emails from people sharing stories and their own observations, telling me things they’ve seen,” Klemek said. “There is a deep, deep appreciation I have for the readers of my columns … with so much stress in the world, wild birds and wildlife are something people appreciate. What’s a more relaxing thing to do than go on a nice nature trail and observe the wildlife?”

Klemek took this photo of a mamma bear with her cubs.

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‘I had the best job in the world’ ROGER LUETH

reflects on 28-year career as game warden Robin Fish | Park Rapids Enterprise

16 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

Lueth calls being a game warden the best job in the world, but admits that he might not do it again today. “Just the fact that you put on a shirt with a badge on it these days, you’re a target,” he says.

Photos contributed

by Roger Lueth

R

oger Lueth made it almost 28 years as a conservation officer with the Minnesota DNR before he retired on his 55th birthday, 20 years ago.

“I started out up at Waskish, on Upper Red Lake,” he said, recalling a precise date in 1975. “I did four years up there. Then there was an opening in Bemidji at the regional office, for the safety training programs. I took that coordinator position for 21 counties in northwest Minnesota.”

During his year in the position, Lueth said, “I found myself sitting on the wrong side of the glass,” often doing secretarial tasks to fill time.

“I had a bottle of Rolaids on my desk and would stare outside at the squirrels, messing around the oak trees and stuff. Yeah, the field was really where I wanted to be.”

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I HAD A BOTTLE OF ROLAIDS ON MY DESK AND WOULD STARE OUTSIDE AT THE SQUIRRELS, MESSING AROUND THE OAK TREES AND STUFF. YEAH, THE FIELD WAS REALLY WHERE I WANTED TO BE. Roger Lueth

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Lueth encounters an injured eagle on July 31, 2001. Describing eagles that have been hit by vehicles, he said, “most of those, they can patch up pretty well.” Not so lucky, he said, are eagles that eat ducks wounded by lead shot. Even when treated promptly, he estimated that only one in four eagles will survive lead contamination.

In 1980, the Minnesota Legislature opened about 10 new stations, including Itasca State Park. “They made the station in Lake George,” said Lueth. “I put in for that, got it and finished my career there.”

During the next 23 years, he said, “I fell in love with the job. I used to tell people I had the best job in the world. I get to do year-round what

18 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

you have to take vacation days to do – to get up here, ride around in a boat or snowmobile or ATV. It was a great, great job.”

When to be a stickler Lueth’s duties varied with the season, from hunting enforcement in the fall to fishing in the spring

and summer, plus recreational boating in the summer.

Besides checking boat registrations and fishing licenses, he said, “I’d want to see life jackets for everyone. I was a stickler on the flotation devices. If there was a pontoon boat and there were 11 people on it and 10 life jackets, somebody got a citation.

“Most law enforcement, if they’re living in the country with a rural mailbox, it’ll end up getting beat up,” said Lueth. “That one, I had a dozen eggs broken in it. Another time, before fishing season, a pile of walleye guts were thrown in it. This particular damage here, someone was launching 2-liter bottles of pop – full bottles, the seal hadn’t been broken – out of a vehicle going by.

Maybe one out of four bottles hit the mailbox, and when it did, it did substantial damage.”

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Lueth shot this photo on Nov. 12, 2002, after a party of deer hunters broke camp, leaving behind a pit full of garbage. “I thought these guys really needed to be taught a little harder lesson,” he said, describing how he took down their license plate numbers, waited until deer season was over, then shot pictures of the scene and mailed citations to them.

“I had one drowning in my patrol area in my entire career,” he recalled – a shore swimmer who wandered too far off shore and drowned. “I feel strongly about the personal flotation devices. I’d rather have you mad at me and come back next year, than have to be out dragging for you this summer.”

Lueth also called himself “a stickler on garbage,” stopping whenever he saw a garbage

20 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

I WOULD TAKE A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF THEM JUST THE WAY THEY SAT, THEN GET IT UP INTO THE BACK OF MY PICKUP AND OPEN IT AND START GOING THROUGH. Roger Lueth

bag in the ditch. “I would take a couple of pictures of them just the way they sat,” he said, “then get it up into the back of my pickup and open it and start going through. In about 80% of cases I could find an envelope addressed to somebody. I’d send them a $100 ticket through the mail.

but my son’s buddy picked it up and he was going to take it to the landfill for us,’ and they’d give me the information, and I’d dismiss the case against the landowner and go after the other (person).

But nobody ever contested that (citation) to where I had a jury trial on it.”

“Just about everybody paid. There were probably half a dozen cases where I got a call back and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s my garbage,

However, he didn’t feel hunters who accidentally shot a buck during doe season deserved harsh consequences.

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IT’S AMAZING, I THINK, THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION A $300 CITATION GETS VERSUS A WARNING Roger Lueth

“I always felt, if they’re honest enough to give me a call and say they made a mistake, I’m going to write them a warning and seize the animal, and we both part happy,” said Lueth. “In areas where they were issued citations, people just stopped – I mean, who in their right mind is going to call in to get a $300 citation? I think some of those officers slipped behind because they made criminals out of people who were trying to be honest.”

Changes in the job During his career, Lueth said, snowmobiles advanced greatly from the “one-for-one” era, when for every hour you spent riding them, you spent an hour making repairs.

ATVs were new on the scene, and there were no trails or regulations for them.

“There was lots and lots of activity,” said Lueth, with ATVs riding the shoulders and property owners complaining about ruts across their driveways.

“When JetSkis showed up on the lakes, again they were fairly unpopular with the lakeshore owners. It took a while to get a bunch of regulations in place.

“We went from mainly fish and game enforcement to spending a higher percentage of our time on recreational activities.”

In some areas, the pace of change didn’t move fast enough in Lueth’s view. Two or three years into regulations to prevent the spread of Eurasian milfoil, he said, officers were still issuing warnings when he thought there should have been a $100 to $300 citation.

“It’s amazing, I think, the amount of attention a $300 citation gets versus a warning,” he said.

Dangerous work At times, his job put him in danger, including high speed chases. “Besides taking a 30 mph curve at 65 mph, I never did lose control of a vehicle,” he said. “But I have run through stop signs at 80 mph.”

Early in his career, he had a standoff with a man threatening to blow up a resort with a pillowcase of what turned out to be bed linens. Luckily, Lueth defused the situation. “It was my first introduction to somebody who was really high on drugs,” he said.

22 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

Another time, Lueth pursued a Laporte man into the woods after the ATV operator evaded a traffic stop. Guided by the glow of the man’s cigarette, Lueth caught up on foot, grabbed the ATV and was dragged through a stand of second-growth popple before forcing the vehicle to hit a jackpine. The driver surrendered instantly.

“I could have hammered him under the fleeing violations and taken his vehicle, but he got a pretty good deal,” said Lueth.

“The worst thing that happened to him was when word got around Laporte that he was on a motorized ATV and the game warden caught him on foot.”

Pictured with his elk hunting trophies sometime after 2000, Lueth called the sport one of his pastimes. “I was fairly successful with that, mostly in Colorado and Idaho, on my vacation,” he said.

During hunting season, of course, Lueth was constantly approaching armed people.

“That never seemed to bother me,” he said. “I had deputies and city policemen ride with me and literally go bonkers when they see a long gun in a vehicle.”

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Lueth did this damage to his pickup in the early 1990s, when he fell asleep at the wheel at about 3:30 a.m. on the way home from a late-night stakeout for a report of spear-fishing for walleye. He woke up in the ditch going 40 mph and ran into a 10-inch jackpine.

Playing fair After 20 years of societal change, Lueth has often thought about whether he would do it again.

“Just the fact that you put on a shirt with a badge on it these days, you’re a target,” he said. “You don’t need to stop somebody. You could be sitting in a coffee shop and

24 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

I TREATED PEOPLE THE WAY I WOULD WANT TO BE TREATED IF I WAS IN THEIR BOOTS. Roger Lueth

somebody shoots you in the back of the head.”

and have to wonder if they’re going to make it home that night.

Recalling a recent case in Fargo, where an armed man ambushed multiple officers at an accident scene, he said, “It’s a whole different ball game out there.”

Nevertheless, looking back on his career, Lueth still calls it the best job in the world.

While rural areas are safer than the big city, he said, many officers put their uniform on every morning

“One of the things I’m probably most proud of was treating people fairly,” he said. “I treated people the way I would want to be treated if I was in their boots.”

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Lori and Durwin Tomperi and Jim and Ruth Pulju co-own the floating sauna.

Shannon Geisen/ Park Rapids Enterprise

26 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

D

urwin Tomperi and Jim Pulju are cousins and practically neighbors.

Both have homes on Spirit Lake in Menahga, Minnesota (population 1,340), located in northern Wadena County.

Their homespun watercraft pays homage to their Finnish heritage, but also has been turning heads.

Pride in Finnish traditions In true Finnish fashion, the Tomperis and Puljus polar plunge on Spirit Lake.

“We’ve got a little sauna. We drag it out on the ice,” Tomperi said. “We do a lot of family things together with Puljus and Tomperis.”

WE’VE GOT A LITTLE SAUNA. WE DRAG IT OUT ON THE ICE. WE DO A LOT OF FAMILY THINGS TOGETHER WITH PULJUS AND TOMPERIS. Durwin Tomperi

They heat up their body core, then jump into a hole drilled through the ice. (Jim holds the “American” record for staying in the icy waters for 6 minutes and 3 seconds.

A Canadian friend lasted more than 7 minutes.)

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This is the original boat that the Tomperis and Puljus purchased in 2012.

Contributed by Durwin Tomperi

“Both of our families’ relatives go back to the 1800s,” he said. “My greatgrandfather came to Minnesota, east of Menahga, in 1892.”

Tomperi adds, “The connection is my great-grandfather and his greatgrandfather married sisters.”

A labor of love

Jim repairs one of the pontoons.

Contributed by Lori Tomperi

“We were coming back from the Cities one time. In Little Falls, we saw this little boat,” recalled Tomperi.

“Long story short, I spotted it on the road and I told Jim because we’d talked about making a floating sauna.

He said, ‘Hey, let’s go for it.’ That was back in 2012. Every year, we try to do an upgrade.”

IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE, WE MADE IT FUNCTIONAL. Jim Pulju

The floating sauna has evolved over the years as they continue to make changes.

Contributed by Durwin Tomperi

Tomperi’s wife, Lori, tried to dissuade them from buying it.

But they hauled the rickety, cabinstyle pontoon back to Menahga and got to work.

“The wheelhouse, we gutted everything out and reconstructed it from the inside out,” Durwin said.

It was on drydock while they refurbished it.

“We put in a whole new membrane for the roof because it was leaking in different spots,” he continued.

The white rubber membrane on the roof transformed into an ideal suntanning spot. Durwin said they’ll place bean bag chairs on the upper deck for lounging and sunbathing.

They bought a new electrical system.

“We invested a lot on the motor because you definitely want a reliable one. We call it ‘bump and go,’” Jim said.

Tomperi owns and manages Omega Hardwoods, Inc., a wooden pallet supplier for the upper Midwest that’s based in Menahga.

He currently sits on the Menahga City Council.

Pulju is a partially retired gastroenterologist. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Denver, but return every summer.

30 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

“We both have Finnish ancestry in our blood,” Tomperi said. “We love saunas.”

Floating saunas are common in the home country, he added, where saunas are known for their detoxification benefits.

Pronounced “sow-nuh,” Jim said it’s the only Finnish word that made it into general English use.

“You want to be able to hit the key and go. You don’t want to sit there and listen to the motor whirring,” Durwin said.

Initially, they put a trolling motor on the structure.

“When a wind would come up, we’d always be blown into the weeds and it’d be fouled,” recalled Pulju.

Today, there’s a 20-horsepower boat motor.

“It’s a labor of love,” Jim said. “We made it functional.”

Durwin and Jim prepare to launch on another summer day in Menahga, Minnesota.

Lori Tomperi, at right, and Durwin’s sister, Monica, wait on the deck.

Shannon Geisen/ Park Rapids Enterprise

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2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS | 31

The boat was named “PT Saunasaari.”

PT stands for Pulju and Tomperi.

“Saunsaari is a sauna island,” Jim explained.

They even have customized coffee cups with their insignia.

Making it sea-worthy The original, steel pontoons were “guaranteed” to have been pressure tested.

“The first day, we took it out. We had fun, christened it, parked it on the shore and the next morning, it was sunk,” Pulju recalled.

Fortunately, they are expert welders. Using air compressors, they refilled the pontoons.

They added extra barrels. After some research, they used floating foam in the hopes of increasing buoyancy.

Finally, they found that five pontoons – three steel ones, two aluminum – hold up the weight of the 28-foot-plus boat and numerous passengers.

They no longer have any issues.

“Once we mastered that, then all these little bump outs we kept adding on,” Durwin said.

Walkways on each side of the boat offer easy access to the bow and stern.

Shannon Geisen/ Park Rapids Enterprise

Amazing amenities Over the years, they’ve extended the bow, added catwalks, installed a wood-heated sauna and put a slide on it.

“We can get, comfortably, 12 adults and a bunch of kids,” Tomperi said.

The sun deck, under camo netting, is a popular spot. It provides “dappled sunlight,” Jim said.

“That’s why it’s tilted up a bit, because we put extra flotation at the front because this is where everyone sits, listens to music, talks, has a beer. Kids play in the back, and then we go into the sauna periodically,” he explained.

The catwalks were necessary, Durwin explained, because little kids were constantly walking

32 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

through the sauna to get from the bow to the stern or back again.

“The heat would go out,” he said.

houseboat for aesthetics in the captain’s helm.

“If it gets windy or the kids get cold, this is where they congregate,” Jim said of the windowed wheelhouse.

It’s adjacent to the sauna.

They used real leaves to stencil a camouflage pattern onto the sides, revamping the pale blue into a natural-looking forest.

They installed some old, nonfunctional gadgetry from a

“I still think it’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s fun,” Lori said.

There’s a speaker system for music.

A view of the slide and Spirit Lake from the upper deck.

Shannon Geisen/ Park Rapids Enterprise

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Summer fun on Spirit Lake Jim waterproofs the boat annually and gets it ready for the season.

All summer long and during Menahga’s Midsummer Celebration, “we have a blast out here,” Lori said.

Kids and grandkids get a thrill by jumping or sliding into the water.

“We never anchor,” Pulju said.

Typically, they drive the boat upwind, then turn off the motor. “We’ll just yell out ‘pool’s open.’”

The boat slowly drifts downwind.

“Once we get close to the weeds, we say, ‘Everyone out of the pool’ and start the motor up,” he said. They repeat the process.

Photos from interior and exterior of the sauna. The life ring bears the name of the boat, which translates from Finnish into “sauna island.”

Shannon Geisen/ Park Rapids Enterprise

Spirit Lake is “the crown jewel” of Menahga, according to Durwin.

Tourists and locals alike love its sugar-sand beaches, he said. They fish for northern pike, crappie or bluegills. The lake is only 48 feet deep.

The families enjoy watching loons, otters, beavers, muskrats and ospreys.

“There’s an eagle with a very naughty toddler,” Lori said.

“It’s a juvenile. He’s always squawking,” agreed Durwin.

Yes, it’s a legitimate boat Others enjoying the lake will motor up to their boat, scratching their heads and asking, “What is that?”

Jet skiers will tie on and join them on the deck.

Locals may be invited to enjoy the sauna, along with friends and family. “When you get hot, you dive into the cool water, cool off. It’s very refreshing,” Durwin said.

“Probably the biggest compliment we’ve had, one day we’re riding the boat and a father and son were going by in a fishing boat. The little kid was probably six or seven. He points out, ‘Hey, Dad, is that that redneck pontoon boat?’ So I guess we’re kinda rednecks,” he continued, chuckling.

“Everything is legal. It’s a registered boat. We’ve got lights, so we can go 34 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

out at night,” Jim said. “I think it’s considered an experimental craft …

We’ve had the DNR come and try to figure out what the heck we own.”

“Sure enough, the game warden comes up, makes one walk around, looks it over. He understands the story. He went on his merry way,” Durwin said.

There’s a story behind that, Durwin said.

Oddly, no one has asked them to replicate their unique watercraft for a commission.

One day, another boater saw smoke billowing from the sauna and thought the PT Saunasaari was on fire. They called the DNR.

“It was a lot of work. I’m not sure we’d go into business like that,” Jim points out.

WHEN YOU GET HOT, YOU DIVE INTO THE COOL WATER, COOL OFF. IT’S VERY REFRESHING. Jim Pulju

Jim Pulju and Durwin Tomperi relax on the sun deck of their homemade boat. Shannon Geisen/Park Rapids Enterprise

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BJ Peters dives to hit the ball in a game of pickleball at the KLN Pickleball Courts in Perham.

Photos by Elizabeth Vierkant/Perham Focus

PICKLEBALL BRINGS PERHAM

together Elizabeth Vierkant | Perham Focus

BJ PETERS HAS SEEN AND FELT THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF THE SPORT 36 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

W

hen one thinks about outdoor recreation, the first word that often comes to mind is “exercise.”

While that’s certainly a huge part of outdoor life, there’s another major component that motivates one Perham athlete: community. In fact, that’s one of the biggest reasons Perham Pickleball Vice President BJ Peters fell in love with the sport in the first place.

When she moved to the Perham area around winter 2018, she didn’t really know anyone in the community.

“I made it through the summer, and then in the fall, I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something different,’ Peters remembered. “So I’m going to join the community center. So after church on Sunday, I stopped at a little table, and a gal was talking about pickleball at the community center. And I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to join the community center tomorrow.’ And she said, ‘I’ll meet you there at 8:30, and I’m going to introduce you to pickleball.’ And I thought, ‘... Okay?’” Peters laughed as she recalled her nerves.

Peters didn’t really know what to expect when she arrived at the Perham Area Community Center that

BJ Peters has been dedicated to Perham Pickleball since she moved to the area around 2018.

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The winners of the mixed upper division at the Perham Pickleball Club’s Showcase Showdown Tournament, from left: Zach Smith, Amanda Logan, Larry Laudon, BJ Peters, Trish Cyr and Tom Janke. Contributed/BJ Peters

next morning, but showing up to try out something new definitely paid off. She immediately fell in love with the activity.

“So, I was there,” Peters continued. “(The gal from church) came. She said, ‘Come on in,’ and it was so much fun. That was kind of the start of it. For me, pickleball — it’s a source of exercise; it’s a source of socialization. What it’s kind of become has created an opportunity 38 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

for a lot of really great friendships and a lot of opportunities for me to be involved in the community and to give back because we’ve fallen in love with this area and the community.”

Though pickleball was first invented in 1965, it’s recently seen a surge in popularity — especially in the Perham area. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association Topline 2023 Participation Report found that

participation in pickleball grew 158.6% in just the past three years.

When Peters herself joined in 2018, the group was smaller and they only played indoors, without the new outdoor KLN Pickleball Courts in Perham. A lot of things have changed in just those short few years.

With the eight-court pickleball complex at Arvig Park completed in fall 2022, area people have their

eyes on the community and sport. As the person who runs communications for Perham Pickleball, Peters sends out an email newsletter, and she now has about 250 subscribers — many of whom are couples who share a single account. The Perham Pickleball Facebook group, which was created just four years ago, now has over 460 members.

In the summer of 2023, the group was even able to host their first Showcase Showdown Tournament, in which 83 individuals and 50 different teams played a total of 162 games. Attendees traveled from Duluth, Bemidji, Alexandria, Fargo and many other areas just to play in the tournament.

People don’t just travel to the KLN Pickleball Courts for the tournaments either. They also travel far just to practice at the facility.

“It’s grown,” Peters reflected. “I mean, one day here, I counted 80 people in the morning …

Lots of visitors — they love our complex. On this court, we had people coming up from Battle Lake to play in the morning.”

There are a lot of different factors that could have contributed to the growth of pickleball, but one of them could certainly have been that it’s a game for all ages. The rules level out the playing field, Peters said.

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BJ Peters, who earned gold in the mixed upper division and bronze in the women’s upper division, dives with her paddle in hand at the Perham Pickleball Club’s Showcase Showdown Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 19.

“It’s one of the few games you can have enjoyment as a whole family,” she explained.

Games are played to 11 points and normally won by two. You only earn points when you’re serving. If you’ve played ping pong or tennis before, pickleball is pretty similar.

There is one unique rule, however, that sets it apart and makes it

40 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

more accessible for all ages. Each court has a non-volley zone that stretches 7 feet on both sides of the net. It’s against the rules to volley in this area of the court, so it keeps players who are larger than others from having an advantage.

Because of this, Peters has seen kids playing with their parents or grandparents playing with their

grandkids. Sure, it’s a good sport to get outside and get in some exercise, but at the end of the day, it’s all about socialization — the community — which can be seen all the way to the beginning of Peters’ story, when she was brought into the sport and group with open arms from welcoming community members.

“I just loved it,” Peters said when asked what made her keep coming back to pickleball. “I had fun. It was a challenge to learn it — to learn the rules and learn how to get better. And I think I knew I could have a little success and enjoyment out of it. And the camaraderie — the people were so nice, so inviting.”

If you’re interested in getting involved, you can always visit the Perham Pickleball Facebook group and send a message. Though the warm weather is coming to an end, Perham Pickleball will continue to play throughout the winter at the indoor PACC courts.

They typically play every morning from Monday through Friday.

“It’s creating that opportunity for quality socialization that we all need,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good inside — gives me those warm fuzzies. It’s not all about winning; it’s about playing and having fun, getting out there and getting those endorphins running.”

IT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD INSIDE — GIVES ME THOSE WARM FUZZIES. BJ Peters

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Paul Pridday trades racing Superbikes

for Miatas Barbie Porter | Detroit Lakes Tribune

DETROIT LAKES RESIDENT CONTINUES TO ADD TO HIS RACING RESUME

Paul Pridday added endurance racing to his resume in 2022.

Photos contributed

by Beth Pridday

42 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

T

ime on the race track has taught Paul Pridday patience and to appreciate moments for what they have to offer.

“I’m never going to be a Formula 1 driver, so I better just have fun,” the Detriot Lakes resident said. “We have decided that if we are not having fun at it, then it’s time to be done. I’m not quite ready to be done yet.”

Pridday is a driver for Dog Days Racing, which is named in honor of the two dogs he raised with his wife, Beth.

“We don’t have kids,” he said.

“This is beneficial when racing, as college funds can go right into the car.”

After Paul Pridday entered his first Superbike race in 1994, he was hooked. He shifted to racing cars after a hiatus away from racing.

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Pridday grew up in Peterbourough, Ontario. As a child he wanted a mini-bike, so he found odd jobs and saved what he made. While he put his hard-earned cash into the purchase, he suspects his parents added to the fund so that he could bring home a blue 1971 Honda CT70.

PAUL PRIDDAY’S FIRST LOVE FOR RACING WAS ON THE SUPERBIKE.

“At 9 years old, it was the coolest thing in the world,” he recalled. “It was my pride and joy. I went everywhere on that bike. In 2015, I found one like it on eBay, and just had to buy it – second childhood or something like that ... maybe third or fourth childhood.”

On the mini-bike, he learned the basics of driving a motorcycle. As his peers may have dreamed of

44 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

emulating the great players of baseball or football, Pridday wanted to be behind the wheel pitted against the likes of Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwen.

“One of my early grade school yearbooks had my future job listed as a race car driver,” he said.

In time, Pridday added racing “most two-wheeled vehicles” to his resume.

His career spanned motocross, enduros and cross-country races on dirt bikes. Then he found Superbike racing. The sport utilizes highly modified production motorcycles to grip the paved track as they zip around the track.

“After my first Superbike race, I was hooked,’ he said.

The initial adrenaline rush and the jitters that follow became commonplace on race day. However, as he gained more experience there was a calmness that came with the dropping flag that started the race.

Paul Pridday raced most motorbikes prior to modifying his Miata to be race-ready in 2013.

“Physically you need to be in decent shape, and your mental acuity has to be on point as well,” he said. “There is a lot going on during a race, and your reaction has to be quick or you can be in trouble in a hurry.”

Pridday has found trouble while racing. His first crash came at Race City Speedway in Calgary, Canada.

As he rounded the track to face the front straightaway, Pridday hit the brake and slowed to 110 mph. A slight miscalculation sent his bike

cartwheeling in front of him as he slid 60 feet on the track and into the grass.

“It takes a long time to slow down on wet grass from 110,” he said. “My bike was destroyed, but I was mostly just banged and bruised up. The safety gear did its job.”

Mistakes proved to be a valuable learning tool for Pridday. He learned from the errors and saw continual progress throughout his rookie season in 1994, particularly

in quicker lap times. When his sophomore year rolled around, he won the Amateur 600 Championship in Alberta, Canada.

“The next year I was racing in the professional class, and ended up second in 750 Supersport Pro,” he said.

While racing was his passion, Pridday’s full-time job was working as a consultant/auditor for inspection systems on deepwater pipelines.

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“Most of my work is centered around the pipelines that go from the sea floor in 7,000-plus feet of water up to the platforms,” he said.

For Paul Pridday, being a race car driver includes being able to modify the car in the pits before the race.

By 1998, Pridday had concluded his Superbike racing career. Travel for work outside of his home country of Canada took priority. While he missed racing, the decision may have proved to be one of his wisest, as a year later he found himself working in North Dakota, smitten by his future wife Beth.

“The rest is history, and in 2001 we moved to Detroit Lakes; our forever home,” he said.

While racing seemed to be in his rear-view mirror, a friend from Texas began racing Spec Miata race cars. In 2012, he devised a plan to return to his favorite hobby, with the approval of his wife. Pridday decided on a plan to take her to a Superbike race.

“Turns out I was pretty much spot on about her ideas of me trying it (Superbike racing) again,” he said.

“But, she did concede into letting me go auto racing, so it seems as if my strategy worked.”

In 2013, Pridday was behind the wheel and shifting gears. He purchased a Spec Miata from a friend and entered what he called a “fun” and “somewhat affordable” race series.

“Once you are back out again the strategy is the same as it ever was,” he said. “A good lap is a series of events that are all put together in a precise manner. Any one of those goes wrong and your lap time is off.

Everything has to be just right for it to happen.”

In addition to racing, Pridday keeps his skills sharp by partaking in track days.

“I also do numerous track days with it at Brainerd International Raceway every year,” he said. “These are just fun days out with your car that anyone can do, even with their street car. I highly recommend it. It lets you get your speed fix in a safe, controlled environment.”

Pridday has since added endurance racing to his repertoire. In the fall of

46 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

2022, he zoomed into an online forum and connected with a team from Minneapolis. He later met them during a track day in Brainerd and made plans to race.

“I have now raced in some endurance series with a team out of Minneapolis in an E36 BMW,” Pridday said. “I’ve done two at Brainerd International Raceway, which were sevenhour races on Saturday and eight-hour races on Sunday.

Our team placed in both weekends in our class.”

This past April, Pridday also raced a 14-hour endurance at the famous Daytona Speedway in Florida.

“This was always a bucket list track for me, and it did not disappoint,” he said. “I was like a kid on Christmas morning out there. Racing at night under the lights at a famous track is

In addition to racing, Paul Pridday enjoys traveling to the Brainerd International Raceway for track days when race cars and street cars can spend time on the fast track. almost surreal for a race enthusiast.”

Now that Pridday has found a balance between

home, work and racing, he is considering changing his Spec Miata into an endurance car.

“Beth and I have decided to try setting up a team and bringing in drivers to race with us,” he said.

2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS | 47

Black’s Grove is perfect for

TRAILS FOR HIKING, BIKING OR SKIING IN THE WINTER ARE WELL MAINTAINED.

outdoor enthusiasts Frank Lee | Wadena Pioneer Journal

N

othing is better for fun in the sun than the great outdoors.

And for Tricia Taggart’s money, no outdoor spot is better than Black’s Grove Park.

She loved the multi-use park so much she even got married at that site at 33825 620th Ave., a few miles west of Wadena and east of the Wadena Municipal Airport.

“There’s been a couple of weddings a year out there.” said Taggart, a customer service secretary for the city of Wadena “And there are family reunions, birthday parties, weddings, showers held out there.”

According to Taggart, about 10% of all park shelter reservations the city receives are for the log cabin and picnic shelter at Black’s Grove Park, and the city park’s other amenities may explain its popularity with locals. (To reserve the log cabin at Black’s Grove Park, call 218-632-2753.)

48 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

“Half of it is closed in – and there is a fireplace – and the other half of it is open,” Taggart said of the log facilities at the park.

In 1997, there was a severe wind storm which downed many of the big white pine trees. The city determined the logs should be used to build a log shelter south of the parking area.

“We have picnic tables inside, and they do have wood out there if people want to have a fire, so it looks like a little fireplace kind of in the middle of the log cabin,” Taggart said of the structure.

The park’s amenities include primitive restrooms and almost 6 miles of winter cross-country skiing trails, and summer hiking, horse and mountain biking trails.

“We do have trail maps here at the city office, and they do keep some there in the parking lot,” Taggart said.

A creek and six bridges among the tree-populated and sometimes hilly terrain ensure visitors never get bored,

A pair of riders test the mountain bike course in Black’s Grove Park in Wadena. The city park is located along 620th Avenue and east of Wadena Municipal Airport. File photo

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“You usually see people out there walking with their dogs,” Taggart said of the park, where volunteers have planted several hundred Norway, white pine, white cedar and assorted hardwood trees, primarily in the south portion of the grove.

To get to the park, head 1.75 miles west on Highway 29, turn right on 620th Avenue and travel almost a mile. Taggart knows the way to the park well because of her September wedding.

“My husband and I were married out there in 1997,” Taggart said. “Both my husband and I love Black’s Grove. We kind of grew up going out there with our families.”

Her husband’s parents, Rich and Carol Taggart, run Fleet Supply located on the north side of the city. Fleet Supply carries many types of merchandise, but caters especially to farmers.

“My husband’s family lives right down the road from Black’s Grove, so he’s spent a lot of time running around out there,” Tricia Taggart said.

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PARK. THERE’S A CREEK THAT KIND OF RUNS THROUGH THERE. IT’S QUIET. THE TRAILS ARE WELL GROOMED. Tricia Taggart

A memorial garden on the bank of the creek was created in 2005 in memory of Pete Resch, a law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty. Another park memorial was dedicated to Bob Zosel for his work in planting trees and establishing the cross-country ski trails.

Zosel and Larry Foley began planting trees in Black’s Grove Park in 1984, according to the memorial, and with the help of others eventually planted more than 2,000 trees.

“It’s a beautiful park,” Taggart said. “There’s a creek that kind of runs through there. It’s quiet.

The trails are well groomed.”

FRANK LEE is the features writer for the Wadena Pioneer Journal. He may be reached at 218-631-6470 or at flee@ wadenapj.com.

50 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

Black’s Grove Park is maintained by the city of Wadena, although it is located a couple miles west of the city limits. File photo

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LAMBAT aims to grow

mountain biking GETTING YOUTH INVOLVED IS PIVOTAL FOR THE GROUP’S MISSION

Vicki Gerdes | Detroit Lakes Tribune

Detroit Lakes resident Dylan Ramstad Skoyles, the current president of the nonprofit Lakes Area Mountain Biking Alliance and Trails (LAMBAT), is an avid mountain biking enthusiast who believes in the group’s mission of growing the sport throughout Becker County and beyond.

Photos contributed by LAMBAT

52 | 2023 FLANNEL SHIRTS

S

ince 2016, the local nonprofit organization known as Lakes Area Mountain Bike Alliance and Trails (LAMBAT) has been working hard to grow the sport of mountain biking in the Detroit Lakes area.

WE HAD A GOAL OF BUILDING 100 MILES OF TRAIL. Dylan Ramstad Skoyles

At first, that took the form of trying to expand the local bike trail system.

“We had a goal of building 100 miles of trail,” says Dylan Ramstad Skoyles, the current president of LAMBAT’s board of directors.

As the group evolved, however, that focus has shifted. “It became apparent that (building 100 miles of new trail) was a pretty lofty goal, so we changed gears to focus on getting people interested in riding,” he added.

“To do that, we partnered with the school district,” he continued. “They have a fleet of bikes that they let middle-schoolers ride during the school year. In the summer we take those bikes and hold Saturday rides at Detroit Mountain (Recreation Area) twice a month, in June, July and August.”

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The local nonprofit Lakes Area Mountain Bike Alliance and Trails (LAMBAT) organization held twice-monthly “Learn to Ride” mountain biking events at Detroit Mountain Recreation Area this past summer. It’s part of the group’s ongoing efforts to grow the sport in this region.

In addition, LAMBAT hosts group rides for all ages and skill levels on Wednesday evenings during the summer and early fall, alternating them with women’s group rides, every other week.

And while mountain biking has traditionally been LAMBAT’s focus, Ramstad Skoyles said, “We’re broadening our scope, to see how we fit in the biking community in general.”

Manager Mark Knutson this past July in a biking accident.

“Obviously, that was a pretty devastating event,” he said, and even though Knutson was more of a friendly acquaintance than a close friend, he found the news “quite jarring,” as he has often taken his bike out riding in the same area where Knutson died.

... WE WANT TO DO ANYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE BIKING IN THE LAKES AREA A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYBODY.

“That could have been me — or my father, or one of my best friends,” he said.

It also served to drive home how close-knit the biking community in this area really is.

“People who didn’t even know each other, had a real communal moment,” he said. “It was nice to see. I wish that support was never needed, but it was nice to know it was here.”

The group hasn’t exactly given up on developing new trails in the Dylan Ramstad lakes area either, he Skoyles continued. “The more infrastructure there is for one type of bike, the better off all bikers are ... we want to do anything we can to make biking in the lakes area a better experience for everybody.”

Ramstad Skoyles also said he hoped Knutson would be pleased by the way LAMBAT and Detroit Mountain are continuing to work together.

“The partnership between LAMBAT and Detroit Mountain has generally been good. We have shared goals. I think Mark saw that and I’d like to think he would have continued with that (partnership).”

Of course, biking safety is also a top priority for the group — something that was brought into sharp focus following the death of Detroit Mountain General

For more information about LAMBAT, as well as any group rides or other biking events that may be scheduled in the future, visit the group’s Facebook page.

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