Minnesota Mixed Bag: St. Paul Ice Fishing Show kicks off Dec. 6 – Outdoor News
St. Paul — The 2024 St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show begins Dec. 6 and continues through Dec. 8 at St. Paul RiverCentre. Just in time for this year’s ice-fishing season, the show will feature more than 190 exhibits featuring products and services, including fish houses, rods and reels, tackle, electronics, apparel, and more.
There’s also a full lineup of seminars at which attendees can learn from ice-fishing experts including Outdoor News’ own “Tackle” Terry Tuma, along with Jason Mitchell, Matt Breuer, Barb Carey, and others.
General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $6 for kids ages 6-12, and free for kids age 5 and under. Show hours are 1-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8. For more information, visit: stpaulicefishingshow.com.
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MN-FISH LAUNCHES ‘WORLD’S GREATEST ICE-FISHING AUCTION’
Rogers, Minn. — MN-FISH’s “World’s Greatest Ice-Fishing Online Auction” launched last week and runs until Dec. 8.
To participate, go to MN-FISH.com and click on red auction tab to bid on an assortment of items including ice-fishing gear, guides, and destinations. Currently, there are more than 40 items up for auction, and new ones may be added daily.
All proceeds benefit nonprofit MN-FISH, founded in 2018 to give Minnesota anglers and businesses that support them a strong voice at the State Capitol.
Browse auction items and begin to bid now until the auction closes at 8 p.m. on Dec. 8 (https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/107330/auctions/172614?r=1&t=all).
DNR TAKING COMMENTS ON ELS CHANGES
St. Paul — The Minnesota DNR is accepting comments through 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, on proposed technical changes to support a new electronic licensing system.
The proposed changes are needed to align administrative rule with recent changes in Minnesota statute that support the new electronic licensing system, which will launch in the spring of 2025. The new system will improve the customer experience when purchasing a hunting or fishing license, renewing watercraft and recreational vehicle registrations, or registering for a training course. The changes will not significantly affect resource management.
More information is available on the DNR rulemaking web page at mndnr.gov/input/rules
For more information or to request a free copy of the proposed rules, contact: Jason Abraham, Season Management Specialist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Section of Wildlife, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul MN 55155; (651) 259-5197; or [email protected]
AUDUBON INVITES VOLUNTEERS TO CELEBRATE 125 YEARS OF THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
New York — For the 125th year, the National Audubon Society is organizing the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, tens of thousands of bird-loving volunteers will participate in counts across the Western Hemisphere.
The 12 decades’ worth of data collected by participants contribute to one of only two large existing pools of information notifying ornithologists and conservation biologists of what conservation action is required to protect birds and the places they need.
The Audubon CBC is a community science project organized by the National Audubon Society in partnership with Birds Canada. There is no fee to participate. To sign up for an Audubon CBC and ensure your bird count data make it into the official Audubon database, find the circle nearest you and register with your local Audubon CBC compiler. All Audubon CBC data must be submitted through the official compiler to be added to the long-running census.
For more information and to find a count near you, visit www.christmasbirdcount.org
PLEASURELAND SURPLUS STORE ANNOUNCES RELOCATION, REBRANDING
Brainerd, Minn. — The Pleasureland Surplus Store in Brainerd has announced its relocation and rebranding to PleasureLand Wholesale, Outdoor Recreation & Supply. This transition marks a new chapter for the store, offering an expanded selection of products, services, and located next to the PleasureLand RV store.
The new location is a larger, more accessible facility designed to enhance the shopping experience and accommodate the store’s growing inventory. The move allows PleasureLand Wholesale to offer an even wider selection of outdoor recreational supplies, parts, and accessories. For more, visit: www.rvsurplusparts.net
WISCONSIN DEER HUNTER NUMBERS UP, OPENING-WEEKEND KILL DOWN
Madison, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced on Tuesday preliminary deer harvest and license sale totals for the opening weekend of the 2024 gun deer season.
Preliminary figures indicate the number of gun deer hunters in Wisconsin slightly increased compared to 2023. As of Sunday, Nov. 24, sales for gun deer privileges (which include gun, archery, crossbow, conservation patron, and sports licenses) reached 778,111, up 0.48% from the same time last year. Final license sales figures will be available in January.
In total, hunters registered 89,203 deer statewide during the opening weekend of the 2024 gun deer hunt, compared with 90,831 registered for the same period in 2023. This is a 1.8% decrease from a year ago and is 4.7% below the 5-year average.
Hunters registered a total of 49,038 antlered deer on opening weekend, compared with 51,261 in 2023, a 4.3% decrease. The antlerless harvest was 40,165, which is up 1.5% from last year.
Source: https://www.outdoornews.com/2024/11/27/minnesota-mixed-bag-st-paul-ice-fishing-show-kicks-off-dec-6/
