March 23rd, 2026 Meeting
President Dennis Pratt called the online meeting to order at 6:01 PM.
Officers and Directors: Present – Ken Lundberg, Dennis Pratt, Mike Sierszen, Den Smet, Jeff Stollenwerk, Walt Swanson, Mike Zicus and Ken Zivic.
Minutes of the February Meeting: The minutes as written in the March newsletter were approved following a motion by Ken Zivic, second by Mike Zicus and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Treasurer’s and Financial Secretary’s Reports: Treasurer Jeff Stollenwerk reported that February’s beginning balance was $12,703.05, and the ending balance was $11,492.94 with the following expenses: Katie Thompson (February Newsletter) $200.00; Transfer to Savings (January Donations) $1,540.00; ProPrint (February Newsletter) $169.44. President Dennis Pratt reported for Financial Secretary Dean Wellman that there were $225.00 in total deposits into the general fund since the last meeting. The Club had 6 new members and 13 renewals. The reports were approved following a motion by Walt Swanson and a second by Mike Zicus.
Committee Reports
Legislative and Audit: Nothing to report.
Education: Den Smet – Dennis Pratt and Den Smet visited the Northwestern Middle School on March 12th. The trout in their aquarium looked great. They gave presentations to four of Kraig Anderson’s general science classes. They spoke to 78 students in total. We will be visiting our Superior High School classes with the other aquarium on March 25th.
Habitat: Dennis Pratt – We will be assisting Paul Piszczek with a tree planting project May 16th on the Little Brule and we’ve tentatively set July 25th to possibly return to the Little Brule and continue cutting alder.
Scholarship: Mike Sierszen – 2 applications so far, end of April is the deadline.
Membership: A renewal reminder email was sent out February 28th, and a membership form was mailed with the February print newsletter. We presently have 227 paid members out of 439 news recipients (52% paid thus far).
Social Media: Mike Zicus/Dennis Pratt – Nothing to report. Dennis is looking for newsletter material.
Other Business
Great Waters Flyfishing Expo – Bill Gobin joined our meeting to tell us how the Expo went. Dean Wellman did a great job getting booth volunteers to help Bill man the booth this year. This year’s event was truncated on Saturday due to a snowstorm that arrived in the Twin Cities on Sunday. Bill reported that the event produced $780 in cash and check sales and another $140 from PayPal sales. Thanks to Paul Sandstrom for helping Bill set up on Thursday. Bill also made several great suggestions for next year’s event, and he volunteered to manage the booth again next year. Bill is planning to drop off the booth materials to Dennis Pratt on Tuesday.
In-person Meeting – Scheduled for April 27th.
April Fly of the Month – Dean Wellman. A Wooly Bugger tied my way.
Upcoming Events
Wisconsin Conservation Congress April 13 in person and April 13-15 on-line voting
Spring Cleanup April 25th (inclement weather date May 9)
Trout Habitat Volunteer Days May 16th and possibly July 25th
Brule Family Fun Day August 15th
LSSA Spey Day on the Brule September 12th at McNeil’s Landing
Please check at https://bruleriversportsmensclub.com/category/club-calendar/ for the latest events.
The business meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM.
Recorded by Walt Swanson