September 2022

Chief Meteorologist Kool-TV It was so good to see some rain Friday and Saturday across Minnesota. We no doubt needed that rain to help with our moisture deficit, but also to help with wildfire concerns.

Troy Huntley, of Montevideo, recently took home the Championship title in the North American Sturgeon Championship held in Birchdale, Minnesota on the Rainy River. Huntley says he tries to compete in the event as often as he can. “Every year it’s held mid-August. It was shut down a little bit for COVID, and this year it was kind of flooded so it was a little smaller turnout, but still about three hundred people,” he says. “It’s a really fun tournament. It’s a family event.” Prior to the start of the fishing tournament, there is a competition held for children. A small entry fee is required to enter the competition, with part of the funds going to the local church in Birchdale. Huntley used a different tactic than most to catch the championship title. “The current was really going through there fast, and it was 15 feet deep. Everybody was running with four ounces of sinker to get to the bottom. The bite was so light, I couldn’t feel the bite with four ounces, so I dropped down to two ounces and I shortened up the snell from the sinker to the hook and I long-lined it so I could get to the bottom,” he explains. “It was just maybe an hour and then I felt the first happen. It hit three times and then waited for a second. As soon as it started tapping again I set the hook and then the battle began. It ran for Canada and the current was so strong, and we had a big circle net, but the current was so strong when we had it in the net it came back out of the net. He got it in the net again and it came out, wrapped around the line, and shot back to the bottom. And then we finally got it back up to the top, got it into the net and another guy had to flip the tail inside the net.”

Kelly Snell has been hired as the new Community Education Director for the Montevideo Public School District, beginning September 26th. Snell’s prior professional experience includes program development and implementation, outreach, and vision casting.