Brad Dokken

WARREN, Minn. -- As an avid birder and nature lover, Heidi Hughes says the first two months at her new job have only deepened her passion for the prairies and aspen parklands many people in northwest Minnesota take for granted.

Her goal is to share that passion with others.

"This is the section of the state that's the forgotten section," said Hughes, new manager of the Agassiz Audubon Society's nature center southeast of Warren. "You have to be kind of a special person to appreciate prairies and grasslands.

BAUDETTE, Minn. -- Grant Slukynsky is playing a sturgeon now, and judging by the bend in his pole, the fish is giving the 9-year-old everything he can handle.

We've been fishing less than 10 minutes.

Compared to this, scoring goals might be a walk in the park for the third-grader from Warroad, Minn., a boy of few words. It takes a bit of prodding, but Slukynsky admits he tickled the twine 19 times in five games during a recent hockey tournament in the Twin Cities.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Dave Genz, inventor of the Fish Trap portable ice fishing shelter, is widely known as the "Father of Modern Ice Fishing." He is an innovator who helped carry ice fishing from the days of sitting on a bucket and hoping for the best to an approach that relies heavily on mobility and electronics -- in Genz's case, the Vexilar flasher unit -- to see what's happening below the ice and trigger more fish into striking.

These days, Genz, who turned 63 on Saturday, travels the "ice belt" promoting the sport of ice fishing and the products that have helped make the winter pastime more enjoyable. He's a member of the pro staffs at Clam Corp., which markets the Fish Trap and other ice fishing shelters, and Vexilar. He also is a member of the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame.

EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. -- Scraping the fat and meat and other nastiness off deer hides and rubbing them down with salt might not be a job for the squeamish, but that didn't stop students from Central Middle School in East Grand Forks from diving right in to the task at hand.

GRAFTON, N.D. -- Kenny Miskavige gets his three dogs ready for hunting season the way a trainer might prepare an elite athlete for competition.

CROWDUCK LAKE, Manitoba, Canada -- Bill Kolansky's vision for running a fishing camp requires long days and an attention to detail that has to be experienced firsthand to fully comprehend.

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. -- Cory Loeffler has had a passion for geese -- watching them fly, trying to lure them into the decoys with a well-delivered call -- since an uncle first took him hunting a dozen years ago.