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Eden Prairie and Beyond Reel in Memories

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Three generations of Bill Block made fishing memories together.From his wheelchair, Bill Block felt a tug on his fishing rod just below the surface of misty Lake Riley in Eden Prairie. Along with his bright yellow life jacket, Block brought on board another life-saving element — his oxygen tank — as he battled the fish thrashing left and right.

Then Block, a U.S. Navy veteran, broke into a knowing smile as he reeled in his ferocious opponent: a sunfish no bigger than his hand.

Block was 80 at the time and residing in an assisted living facility in Burnsville when he made that memorable trip in 2017. His sponsor was the Eden Prairie chapter of Let’s Go Fishing (LGF), a volunteer-run nonprofit with 17 affiliates across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The organization provides free fishing trips to seniors, hospice patients, youth and families.

Last year, the chapter provided 320 trips to more than 4,100 people.

“Can you imagine being in an assisted living facility and [having] the chance to go fishing?” said Block’s son, also named Bill Block. The elder Block’s grandson also made the Lake Riley expedition, the fifth in the line of Bill Blocks.

“Get outside in the water and the sun and the pontoon boat and it’s all set up for someone in a wheelchair. That was key,” said his son.

Having grown up fishing on lakes in McLeod and Kandiyohi counties, Block seized the opportunity to relive the joy of his youth with his family alongside him. Like so many seniors whom LGF serves, Block continued to regale facility staff with tales of the trip until he died in 2020.

Read the full article here at the Star Tribune

Let’s Go Fishing Says ‘Thank You’ to United States Veterans

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“Thank you for your service.”

A lot of us say it. To the camouflaged young soldier we pass in the airport, or maybe the older gentleman in the black World War II service cap you see when you visit your grandmother in the nursing home. And we mean it. We might even buy their coffee or offer to let them go to the front of the line at the grocery store.

After all, they have risked or are currently risking life and limb to keep us and countless others around the world free and safe.

Let's Go Fishing - Mercury Marine

But there are a few who go well beyond a cup of coffee or a kind word to honor our United States veterans. The volunteers who give their time and energy to the Let’s Go Fishing (LGF) organization are among those who go the extra mile to honor our veterans, as well as serve the elderly and handicapped in their communities.  Full story at Mercury Mercury Dockline Blog…

CoronaVirus Hits Let’s Go Fishing

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Acting on advice from the Centers for Disease Control (canceling events for gatherings of 250 or more people), the Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie chapter cut bait and postponed last Saturday’s fish fry fundraiser, the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

On Sunday, the CDC recommended canceling or postponing in-person events that consist of 50 or more people for at least the next eight weeks.

“It’s disappointing,” said Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie President Steve Wilson, “but understandable. What can you do?”

The decision to postpone Saturday’s event was made Saturday morning. The event was scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

“We put a note on our Facebook page,” said Wilson. “We sold it at our cost. The fish was gone by 11:15, the potato salad by 12:15.”

Non-perishable supplies, including the oil for fish frying, will be stowed away for what Wilson hopes will be a future fish fry in late May or early June.

“It’s a problem if it doesn’t happen,” said Wilson. “Our boats (pontoons) are paid off, but its costs about $16,000 to run the program per year. That’s with 100% of what we bring in going into the program. We’re run by volunteers and no one takes a salary.”

Last year, Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie counted 350 trips. Read the full story here…

Coronavirus Hits Let’s Go Fishing

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Cops-N-Bobbers Event with Eden Prairie Let’s Go Fishing

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Camden BawekNineteen Eden Prairie Safety Camp graduates, four Eden Prairie police officers and four Let’s Go Fishing-Eden Prairie Chapter crewmen participated in a first-ever Cops-N-Bobbers fishing excursion last Thursday on Lake Riley.

Mayor Ron Case delivered Eden Prairie pins to the youth as well as perfect summer weather. After splitting the crew between two Let’s Go Fishing pontoons, the captains ushered their respective boats to their favorite fishing spots.

Sgts. Brent Dupont and John Wilson were on one boat, patrolmen Jayden DeVibiss and Spencer Barrie on the other. The kids came with various degrees of fishing experience.

“I caught a sunny once,” said one third-grader.

“I caught a northern this big,” said a friend, while extending his third-grade arms as wide as he could.

Read the full story at Eden Prairie News…

Hook, Line and …

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On one Eden Prairie Area Chapter of Let’s Go Fishing excursions last summer, fisher people caught, and released, an estimated 150 panfish. Needless to say, the fishing/catching was easy.

The Eden Prairie Area Chapter of Let’s Go Fishing, one of 20 such chapters in Minnesota and Wisconsin, got its start at the end of the 2012 season. Its vision is based on the notion that lives can be changed by experiencing the joy and freedom of being out on the water to fish or just enjoy the beauty of a Minnesota lake.

Last year alone, the Eden Prairie chapter guided a record 325 fishing excursions on Riley Lake. In August, it facilitated 450 pontoon rides as part of the city of Eden Prairie’s Riley Lake Park Grand Reopening.

Read the full story online at Eden Prairie News…

Ex-Viking Get’s Early Start on Giving Back

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Thirty-one months after his last snap for the Vikings and about nine months after brain surgery, Mike Harris is living a full life.

After spending four NFL seasons throwing behemoths to the ground, the 29-year-old former offensive lineman is now focused on picking up people. Harris stays busy volunteering at Let’s Go Fishing in Eden Prairie, dabbling in jiujitsu and, as of this summer, coaching offensive linemen at Hopkins High School.

Read the full story on the Star Tribune…

Eden Prairie LGF Chapter Success

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Published on June 26, 2017 by Andy Stavast

Eden Prairie is home to many great civic organizations where residents come together as individuals and as groups to improve the wonderful experience of living here. Certainly, this collective experience of “giving back” contributes to the high quality of life ranking that Eden Prairie regularly enjoys in the national press. This is the story of one such organization that is a shining signature of who we are as residents of Eden Prairie and as Minnesotans.

The Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie Chapter touches many lives each summer with a Minnesota tradition, Fishing! As Minnesotans, we celebrate the sport of fishing as a way of life – and as a symbol of who we are. Fishing is a sport – a pastime that embodies our culture, connects us to family and friends, and provides us long lasting memories from early childhood to our senior years. Memories of fishing are personal to each of us bringing back weekends at the cabin, that special time with our grandparent, and for me, the fun experience with my favorite uncle. These are moments and memories never to be forgotten.

The Let’s Go Fishing Eden Prairie Chapter was formed by its Founder, Joe Holm, and his wife Carolyn of Willmar, MN, who presented their organization, its purpose, and potentials to the local Lions Club. Post presentation the Lions were hooked! A Lions board was formed that included Mike Smith, Terry Eggan, Mike Gruidl, Steve Olson, Richard Smith along with Lioness Peggy Muller and Gwen Wildermuth. The plan was devised along with an initial $15,000 donation to get the ball rolling.

Read the full story at http://www.edenprairielifestyle.com/2017/06/26/lets-go-fishing/