Emily Tidwell and Beau Larson both grew up on the edge of the Boundary Waters and the North Shore of Lake Superior. Their connection to the natural world took hold at an early age, and it continues to influence their personal and professional lives. Beau and Emily teamed up this year to form a production company called 218. Among their first projects is a documentary about winter and recreation in the BWCA. 

Beau and Emily were in the Grand Marais area in late February and met up with Joe Friedrichs to share more about their project. Their discussion took place on a beautiful afternoon up the Gunflint Trail. 

Learn more about 218, Beau and Emily's production company, here:

https://shorturl.at/suDWZ

218 Productions On BWCA Documentary Beau And Emily

Every year, canoeists in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness need to be rescued from a dangerous situation. In modern times, the call for help can come from a cell phone, a satellite phone, or an emergency beacon like a Garmin inReach. It wasn't always this easy to help people who recreate across the canoe-country wilderness. In this report from KFAI producer Joe Friedrichs, we learn about the history of search and rescue operations inside the most visited wilderness area in the nation, the Boundary Waters.

MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

When Danger Strikes in the Boundary Waters

Guest host Rhonda Silence teams up with Steve to talk local politics in this episode of the podcast. Joining the two longtime journalists are Cook County GOP Chair Andrew Smith and DFL Chair Kevin LeVoir. 

It's an election year and the local caucuses took place Feb. 27. Hear from the local political party leaders about what's important at the grassroots level in 2024. 

Cook County GOP and DFL party leaders talk with Steve and Rhonda

Not every lake in the Boundary Waters has a portage trail leading to its shores. Many of these lakes are gifted with the absence of humans. 

Similarly, the grueling grind of a long portage can be viewed as an obstacle to prevent some people from traveling deeper into the canoe-country wilderness. Others embrace such portages, knowing fewer people are likely to be on the other side. 

The next level is to go off the trail completely. Bushwhacking in the Boundary Waters is about going off trail. It’s exploring the unknown. It’s testing the ability to read terrain, maps, and navigate without following a trail. 

In this episode, M Baxley, Buck Benson, and John Oberholtzer go off-trail in the BWCA. Baxley also talks with Dan Disch, wilderness operations leader for the Tofte Ranger District on Superior National Forest, about the legality of such travel in the wilderness, as well as safety reminders for those who choose to go bushwhacking in the Boundary Waters.

Episode Three - Going Off Trail in the Boundary Waters

Dr. Bruce Dahlman has moved on, at least in terms of his career. After his dismissal from North Shore Health, the hospital in Grand Marais, Dr. Dahlman is now working in healthcare in International Falls. Dahlman told Steve Fernlund from the Shore Thing Podcast, in an interview for the North Shore Journal, that he would like to continue working in healthcare in Grand Marais, if possible. 

Meanwhile, a petition was started by Chuck Heller and the Concerned Citizens for Cook County Healthcare to bring "justice for Dr. Dahlman and all employees at North Shore Health."

In this episode of the podcast, Steve and Joe discuss the latest on Dr. Dahlman. Other topics discussed in the "traveling episode" include a stalled discussion with the superintendent at ISD 166 focused on locker room policy at the local school district and the passing of Nex Benedict, a non binary student in Oklahoma. Steve and Joe also talk upcoming elections, including at Arrowhead Electric Cooperative and the District 3A seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Doctor Dahlman Update And Other Cook County News

Friendship is an often-overlooked component that brings people to the Boundary Waters. So often we’re quick to reference solitude, natural beauty, the means to get away from the day-to-day grind, and other factors that bring people to the BWCA and Quetico. 

Three friends, Chad Roy, Mike Larson, and Glen Bruchmann, come to the Boundary Waters every year for an extended winter camping trip. They are quick to reference some of these same common threads, but they also know it runs deeper than that. It’s about connection, reflecting on the year gone by, and looking ahead at what’s to come. It’s also a place for processing. Even topics that go beyond general reflection of the day to day of life. It’s a place to process death, and deep loss. In 2022, the group’s dear friend, Tim Lee, passed away. Tim was there when Mike and Glen first started coming to the Boundary Waters as youngsters. Those were family trips. Tim was older by a few years, but he was included in those family adventures, most of which took place on East Pike Lake on the eastern side of the BWCA. 

In late February and early March 2024, the trio started an annual winter adventure on West Bearskin Lake, crossing the wilderness line as they schlepped over the portage to Duncan Lake in the Mid-Gunflint Trail area. They spent the next six days traveling a collection of border lakes, including Rose and Mountain, and down toward Canoe Lake, and then back out at Daniels nearly a week later. They recorded some of their adventure along the way and share them on this episode of the podcast.

To view a map of where the group traveled, click here:https://tinyurl.com/2bc9g9ye

Episode Four - A Greater Meaning To A Winter BWCA Trip

Brian Larsen is one busy individual. In addition to writing most of the local newspaper, he also sells most of the ads and delivers the Cook County News-Herald to local businesses and to the post office.

He's been involved in local journalism in Cook County dating back to the 1970s. Brian is from Cook County and continues to live in Grand Marais. 

In this episode of the podcast, Steve and Joe talk with Brian about changes in covering local news, why so many people are quick to read the letters to the editor in the local paper, and what to expect for local news in an election year.

Cook County Newspaper Editor Brian Larsen

Tony Jones is an accomplished Minnesota author who has a passion for wild places, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. 

As he describes it, when Tony walked out of the church several years ago and into the woods, he left the orderly pews and numbered hymns for chaotic spaces and untamed wilderness. Tony writes about this in his new book, "The God of Wild Places."

In this episode of the podcast, Tony paddles with Joe on the edge of the BWCA to share some of his journey from being a minister to someone who finds spiritual connection in the wilderness. Tony then sits down with M Baxley around a campfire to reflect on why the wilderness is, in fact, the God of wild places.

Episode Five - Author Tony Jones And The Path To Wild Places

Traveling across the Boundary Waters in May represents many things. A sign of spring. The start of the paddling season. And, of course, the great Fishing Opener. 

The team from 2023's epic and nearly fatal Fishing Opener trip on the Temperance River are back again this year. Omaha Erik Dickes. Kevin The Kman Kramer. Lord Baxley. And Freddy Friedrichs. 

The group ventured to new waters for this year's opener. They found largemouth, smallmouth, brook trout, lake trout, and walleye. Large fish were caught, and plenty of them. It was about more than fishing this year, though. It was about northern lights. Rainbows stretching across the sky. Campfires that lasted for hours and hours. Hear about it all in today's episode. 

This episode of the podcast is supported by:
Sven-Saw
Minnesota Canoe Museum 
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Solbakken Resort

Episode Six Northern Lights On The Fishing Opener

Sex in the Boundary Waters. It's a thing. Happens on some trips, not on others. In this episode of the podcast, we explore the sexual energy that stirs in the Boundary Waters and other wilderness areas, and among the people who visit these types of wild places.

Featured in the episode of the podcast are: Dave and Amy Freeman, experienced paddlers who once spent an entire year living in the BWCA; Anna Hennessey and Emily Ford, two experienced backcountry travelers who frequent the wilderness; and Erin Peterson, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist who has paddled in the Boundary Waters many times. 

Sex in the Boundary Waters? Absolutely. 

This episode sponsored by:

Ely Outfitting Company
Sawtooth Outfitters
Women's Wilderness Discovery 
Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters

Episode Seven - Sex In The Boundary Waters

A technical error is complicating the prospects for a candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the upcoming election. 

Arvis Thompson is a longtime resident of Cook County. She filed to run for commissioner in District 4 during the 2024 election. Thompson filed the necessary paperwork to be a candidate June 3, one day before the filing deadline, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. 

It turns out Thompson does not live in District 4, according to Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers. The error is a result of a mistake by the county’s computer-mapping system that calculates who votes in what district. The modeling is based on where people live in the county.

Listen to the accompanying audio to hear the most recent episode of The Shore Thing Podcast with Joe Friedrichs and Steve Fernlund. In this episode, they talk with Thompson about her candidacy, the county’s mistake in redistricting, and what comes next for her campaign.

218 Productions On BWCA Documentary Beau And Emily

Paddle and Portage Bonus Audio

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