Tuesday April 16th at 7 pm Certified ACA paddling
instructor Jeff Pilgrim, a widely experienced paddler himself, will help us to
learn more about paddling gear, environmental and safety considerations,
transporting boats, ACA class offerings, basic boat design, and paddles for
flat water (and paddling with a dog!).
This event will
take place in the Fireside Room at Belgrade Avenue Methodist Church in North
Mankato. It is sponsored by the Mankato Paddling and Outings Club. It is free
and open to the public and there will be free refreshments afterwards
Saturday April 20th MPOC Three Rivers
Trip – Paddle three rivers in one day! We will meet in the parking lot of
Belgrade Avenue Methodist Church in North Mankato at 10 am. From there,
we will put in on the Le Sueur, near the Red Jacket trestle, and paddle to Blue
Earth and take that to the Minnesota River. We will take out either at Land of
Memories or Riverfront Park, depending on wind and mud.
_____________________
The April meeting of the Mankato Paddling and Outings Club was
called to order on April 2nd at 7:07 pm in the Fireside Room of
Belgrade Avenue United Methodist Church. Those present were President Brad Nawrocki, George Fasnacht, Anna Haase, Bob Zoet, Gary Dingler, Peggy Kreeber and Mark Bosacker.
March minutes - The minutes for our March meeting were approved by
a unanimous voice vote.
Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Mark Bosacker
reported a balance of $1,805.66. Mark
will get a check in the amount of $50 for the cash gift he gave to Tim Pulis for speaking at our March Program. George will get a
check for $40.28 for expenses related to our tandems canoe trailer.
Announcements - Mark announced that he has secured a speaker for
our April Program. Certified ACA paddling instructor Jeff Pilgrim from Rochester will speak
about paddling gear, environmental and safety considerations, transporting
boats, ACA class offerings, basic boat design, and paddles for flat water
Last month’s Events - The
talk by Tim Pulis “Bison, Our National Mammal” was a
success. We had a large crowd, Tim’s pictures were beautiful, and he shared a
lot of interesting facts and stories. He had good answers for our questions.
Future Calendar Events
Besides the program meeting with ACA Instructor Jeff Prilgrim,
we are planning our first paddle of the season.
That’s the “Three Rivers Trip’.
We will put in on the Le Sueur near the Red Jacket Trestle, paddle down
to the Blue Earth confluence near Jack McGowan’s Farm. We’ll take the Blue Earth to a landing on the
Minnesota. Depending on wind etc., we’ll
decide which landing that morning. We will meet at the Belgrade Avenue
Methodist parking lot at 10 am on Saturday April 20th.
Equipment George talked a
little bit about the tandems trailer.
His expenses were for another ball and hitch assembly. Our trailer has a 1 7/8” diameter ball
socket. Not everyone has one that size,
but now, the right sized hitch attachment will remain with the trailer and
always be available. Thanks George!
New business - Gary moved that we again donate $100 to the Save
the Boundary Waters. George seconded
that motion and it passed with a unanimous voice vote. Mark will find their address and send them a
check. Anna Haase
mentioned the cleanup sponsored by the Blue Earth Project, and others. Other
members also expressed interest. (Post meeting note - We didn’t realize at that
time that said cleanup was in conflict with our Three Rivers Trip. Maybe that trip could also be a cleanup? We could discuss that option at our program
on the 16th)
Bob Zoet mentioned past MPOC cleanups
and remarked that the club lasting for 30 years was quite an accomplishment He
asked if we were planning anything for the 30th anniversary. We had
talked once about doing something in combination with our fall color cruise but
everyone liked the idea of an indoor event at the church in October. Mark suggested we make sure we get that on
the church schedule.
Archives Mark mentioned
that most of our older archival materials are now in the possession of the Blue
Earth County History Museum. That should
not necessarily preclude us from using some of them for an anniversary program
but again, we’d have to plan ahead.
Hospitality - George volunteered to make decaffeinated
coffee for our April Program. Mark will
bring oatmeal raisin cookies, apple juice and a kettle to heat said apple
juice.
Membership Treasurer Mark Bosacker said we have 36 paid memberships so far. He could not send out a membership letter
last year and that had a negative effect. Things are starting to bounce back
now though.
Conservation - Mark spoke about two different Soil Health events
he recently attend and the recent State of the River program at the Kato
Ballroom. Preventing farm erosion and
reducing river sediment are important to MPOC members. Muddy landings are a pain and murky waters
are bad for fish, wildlife and just less fun overall. The Farmer oriented meeting sponsored by the
Le Sueur Watershed network was very encouraging, not only in the attendance but
in the news about what works and how to do it.
The event at MSU was perhaps more scientific but lighter on practical
farming information. The state of the
River meeting was very informative about a wide range of river and water
quality issues. The main message being
we need to renew the Legacy Amendment and keep paying attention.
ADJOURNMENT: At 8:15 p. m. by
consensus
______________________
MPOC
2024 Trip Schedule
This
is the proposed Schedule of the MPOC’s 2024 paddling trips. All trips are subject to water and weather
conditions. The meeting place is the
parking lot of
MANKATO PADDLING AND OUTINGS CLUB 2024 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
|
DATE |
PLACE EVENT TIME |
|
Jan. 1st |
7 Mile Creek Bonfire/Hiking/Snowshoe
& Potluck Noon |
|
Jan. 2nd |
Belgrade Methodist Church Election
of Officers 7:00
p.m. |
|
Jan. 16th |
Williams Nature Center Favorite Trip Night &Potluck
6:00 p.m. |
|
Feb. 20th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Whitewater Parks, Hannah
Ray 7:00 p.m. |
|
Mar. 19th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Bison Ambassadors – Tim Pulis 7:00 p.m. |
|
Apr. 16th |
Belgrade Methodist Church Speaker TBA
7:00 p.m. |
|
Apr. 20th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot 3 Rivers in One Day ! 10:00 a.m. |
|
May 4th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot Blue Earth River Trip 10:00 a.m. |
|
May 21st |
Belgrade Methodist Church Swan Lake Nature Cruise
5:30 p.m. |
|
June 15th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Judson to Mankato Paddle
10:00 a.m. |
|
June 18th |
Hiniker Pond Boat Trials &Potluck 5:00 p.m. |
|
July 6th |
Eagle Lake North Landing Christmas in July on Eagle Lake 7:30 p.m. |
|
July 13th |
Belgrade Methodist Park Lot Rapidan to
Mankato Trip 7:30
p.m. |
|
July 20th |
Eagle Lake North Landing
Moon Light Paddle 7:30 p.m. |
|
Aug. 20th |
Lake Elysian, Janesville
MPOC Potluck Picnic & Paddle
5:30 p.m. |
|
Sept. 14th |
Lake Emily Moon Light Paddle 6:30 p.m. |
|
Oct. 12th |
Red Jacket Park Fall Colors / MPOC’s
30th 1:00 p.m. |
|
Nov. 19th |
Belgrade Methodist Church
Speaker TBA 7:00
p.m. |
|
Dec. 7th |
Floyd Roberts, Mankato Christmas
Party Potluck 5:30 p.m. |
INFORMATIONAL/BUSINESS MEETINGS ARE
THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH AT THE BELGRADE METHODIST CHURCH AT 7:00 P.M.
Please feel free to call a Club
Officer about any events with a question or comment
Officers: President, Brad
Nawrocki--(507) 340-4459 VP and Treasurer, Mark Bosacker--(507) 388-7023 (leave
message!), Secretary, Michael Sponberg
Visit Our Website:
mankatocanoeclub.org
Or Join Our Facebook Group: Mankato
Paddling and Outings Club (MPOC)