Explore Minnesota More
by Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Industry Partnership
Latest episode
Closing the gap: How Minnesota is opening its outdoors to everyone
Closing the gap: How Minnesota is opening its outdoors to everyone
About this podcast
Stories about the outdoor recreation experience in Minnesota.
New episodes every other Thursday!
Have an idea for a show? Let us know! Contact: [email protected]
Episodes
The newest 20 of 53 episodes
- Closing the gap: How Minnesota is opening its outdoors to everyone · 41 min · Season 3 Episode 16Send us Fan Mail Reaching a park’s parking lot isn’t the same as reaching its waterfall. This episode looks at how Minnesota became a national leader in outdoor accessibility and…
- 40 Years on the Cannon Valley Trail · 28 min · Season 3 Episode 15Send us Fan Mail The Cannon Valley Trail turns 40 this year. In this episode, we look at how a stretch of the old Chicago Great Western rail line along the Cannon River became…
- Detroit Mountain - Basecamp for the Local Community · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 14Send us Fan Mail Detroit Mountain has been a ski area in Detroit Lakes since the 1940s — and when it went dark in 2004, the community had a hole it couldn't ignore. Roughly a…
- The Mesabi Trail: Minnesota's 165-Mile Ride Across the Iron Range · 27 min · Season 3 Episode 13Send us Fan Mail After thirty years of construction, the Mesabi Trail is complete — 165 paved, traffic-separated miles from the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids to the edge of…
- Sugar Lake Leadership Lodge: Building Better Leaders in the Great Outdoors · 41 min · Season 3 Episode 12Send us Fan Mail Sugar Lake Lodge sits in the Sugar Hills near Grand Rapids, Minnesota — a property Abby Oxborough's family rebuilt from bankruptcy and rubble in the early '90s…
- The Northwest Angle: Adventure at the Top of Minnesota · 27 min · Season 3 Episode 11Send us Fan Mail You're on island time now. It just feels different. The Northwest Angle is a geographic oddity — the only place in the contiguous U.S. you can't reach without…
- Built to Last: Arctic Cat, Thief River Falls, and the People Who Wouldn't Quit · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 10Send us Fan Mail In a town of about 9,000 people in Minnesota's northwest corner, one company has shared space with the place for more than 60 years. This episode tells the story…
- 1K Miles, gummy clusters, and a pair of Gnomes: Kari Gibbons, Wild Winter Women, and Minnesota's Ultra Spirit · 60 min · Season 3 Episode 9Send us Fan Mail What does it take to walk a thousand miles across Alaska in winter — and finish wishing you could keep going? In this episode, we sit down with Kari Gibbons, a…
- The Superior Hiking Trail at 40 · 59 min · Season 3 Episode 8Send us Fan Mail Guests: Lisa Luokkala, Executive Director, Superior Hiking Trail AssociationJohn Storkamp, Trail runner, race Director/owner of Rocksteady Running and volunteer…
- Outdoor Retailer Comes to Minnesota: A Show, Not a Trade Show · 33 min · Season 3 Episode 7Send us Fan Mail For the first time, Outdoor Retailer — the outdoor industry's signature national gathering — is coming to Minneapolis. Running August 19–21, 2026 at the…
- Star Tribune Unbound: How Minnesota's Paper of Record Is Bringing Outdoor Journalism to Life · 55 min · Season 3 Episode 6Send us Fan Mail What happens when a major regional newspaper decides the outdoors deserves its own seat at the table? Randolph sits down with Mark Baumgarten, outdoors editor at…
- Let's Dive into the Latest Outdoor Rec Economic Numbers! · 33 min · Season 3 Episode 5Send us Fan Mail This episode is for the wonks out there. Outdoor recreation is a massive economic powerhouse in MN. It eclipses a number of traditional industries and yet few…
- From Sand to Snow: How Minnesota Became the Fat Tire Bike Capital · 38 minSend us Fan Mail What do New Mexico sand dunes, a snowmobile trail in International Falls, and single track in Cuyuna have in common? They're all part of the wild origin story of…
- Leveraging Outdoor Recreation for Destination Placemaking · 44 minSend us Fan Mail Episode Overview What separates a community that has outdoor recreation from one that is defined by it? That's the question at the heart of this special episode…
- The Ski Hill That Came Back: Steeplechase Ski Area in Rochester · 32 min · Season 3 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary What does it take to resurrect a ski hill that's been dormant for 15 years? In this episode, we sit down with the owner of Steeplechase Ski Area…
- From Gravel Pit to Climbing Hit: Building Quarry Park into NE Minnesota's Premiere Ice Park · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail What happens when a group of underground ice climbers — who spent decades wondering if their next visit to an abandoned quarry might be their last — decide to…
- Listener Questions: Your Guide to Winter Adventure in Minnesota · 56 min · Season 3 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail Winter in Minnesota isn’t something to survive—it’s something to explore. In this first-ever Listener Questions episode of Explore Minnesota More, host Randolph…
- Building Community: She Ascends Reaches the Summit · 38 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with the inspiring team behind She Ascends, a fast-growing women’s hiking and wellness community that started right here in…
- Empowering Women Through Conservation: Inside MCF's Women in Conservation Leadership Program · 37 min · Season 2 Episode 21Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Explore Minnesota More we sit down with Brad Gausman and Julia Schrenkler from the Minnesota Conservation Federation to explore the Women in…
- Born in MN: Waterskiing's History and Future · 37 min · Season 2 Episode 20Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we head to Lake City—where it all began—to explore the invention and evolution of waterskiing in Minnesota. Host Randolph Briley sits down with…
