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Read Today's Paper Monday, July 4
Sam Cook

Sam Cook

Columnist

Sam Cook is a freelance writer and retired outdoors reporter for the Duluth News Tribune. 

Craig Engwall is executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association based in Grand Rapids. Craig Engwall photo
Sports
MDHA's Engwall discusses Minnesota deer-hunting issues
DULUTH - With the Minnesota firearms deer season approaching, Forum News Service asked Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, for comments on several matters that affect deer hunters. MDHA represents about 20...
October 29, 2017 05:02 AM
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By  Sam Cook
Lawrence Taylor of Austin, Texas, took this black bear in the Floodwood areas on opening day of Minnesota's bear season, Sept. 1. He is a friend of Rob Parrott of Saginaw and has hunted with Parrott for the past 14 years. Rob Parrott photo
Sports
DNR: Minnesota bear harvest down a bit, and that's good
DULUTH - Minnesota's bear harvest is down from last year, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. But some bear guides and hunters are reporting plenty of success.The state's bear season opened Sept. 1.Rob Parrott's longtime b...
September 10, 2017 05:30 AM
 · 
By  Sam Cook
A group of pheasant hunters pauses to water their dogs during a western Minnesota pheasant hunt. Minnesota hunter numbers were down last year compared to 2015. (Forum News Service file photo)
Sports
Most Minnesota small-game hunter numbers fall again
DULUTH - The number of Minnesota small-game hunters dropped last fall compared to 2015, continuing a steady trend, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reported this past week.According to the agency's annual survey of small-game hunters...
August 13, 2017 05:00 AM
 · 
By  Sam Cook
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News
'She could feel her foot in its mouth': Minn. girl bitten 25 times in lake, possibly by muskie
***Editor's Note: A photo at the end of this story shows the severity of the injuries and may be disturbing to some readers.*** DULUTH, Minn.--Ryan Kesselhon couldn't figure out what was happening to his 11-year-old daughter, Maren. One minute, M...
July 20, 2017 06:52 PM
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By  Sam Cook
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News
Father and son make a rare find: Two bull moose tangled together in death
When Chris Erickson saw the eagles and the turkey vultures circling, he figured something was up.Erickson and his son Richie, 17, were paddling back to their camp north of Grand Marais on Saturday when they saw about 15 of the birds circling over...
May 12, 2017 09:38 AM
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By  Sam Cook
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News
Outdoor groups urge Minn. lawmakers to approve fee increases
DULUTH, Minn.-The time is now to increase hunting and fishing license fees, says a coalition of Minnesota hunting, fishing and environmental groups.Forty-eight of those groups - deer hunters, anglers and conservationists - have signed on to a let...
March 19, 2017 10:00 AM
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By  Sam Cook
A mourning dove sits in a tree. Photo by Laura Erickson / Special to Forum News Service
Sports
Cook: Another kind of winter: dove, robin, cardinal
A few nights ago, two of us went for an evening walk about 700 miles south of our home in Duluth, Minn. We were there for a funeral and had stolen away for a bit of perspective.
February 26, 2017 08:15 AM
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By  Sam Cook
A white-tailed buck pauses in the woods on a fall morning. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with the public's help, is developing a deer management plan. DNR officials held a meeting in Duluth on Wednesday night to get input on deer management issues. Forum News Service file photo
Sports
Duluth group sounds off about deer management preferences
DULUTH, Minn.-Deer hunters and other interested folks gathered over coffee and chocolate-chip cookies in Duluth on Wednesday night, Feb. 22, to help forge a statewide deer management plan.Thirty-four people - men, women, adults and a few kids - s...
February 26, 2017 06:00 AM
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By  Sam Cook
A Minnesota angler holds a walleye before releasing it. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials are considering reducing the state's walleye limit from six to four. News Tribune file
Sports
Lower walleye limits, license fees among changes being considered in MN
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. - A statewide fisheries advisory group again has brought up the idea of reducing Minnesota's statewide walleye limit from six fish to four, said Chris Kavanaugh, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources regional fisheries sup...
January 15, 2017 01:58 PM
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By  Sam Cook
A tracking collar allows the research team to study movements as deer travel. (Bret Amundson/Forum News Service)
Sports
Minnesota DNR deer leader: Population on way up
DULUTH, Minn. - Adam Murkowski has been traveling Minnesota, listening. He listens to deer hunters and others who care about the number of deer on Minnesota's landscape.Murkowski is big game program leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural ...
October 30, 2016 05:02 AM
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By  Sam Cook
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