Download a photo of Mike Kempenich.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Host Bret Amundson forages for morel mushrooms and tastes nature’s harvest at the Wild Food Fandango, then travels to the Gopher Campfire Wildlife Sanctuary, a haven for migrating waterfowl, on Prairie Sportsman. “Foraging in the Wild” will air on Pioneer Public Television Sunday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.; on Lakeland Public TV Saturday, April 27 at 2:30 p.m.; on KSMQ Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm; and on TPT Life Saturday, June 1 at 12:30 p.m.
Mike Kempenich owns the Gentleman Forager wild food distribution business and the Forest to Fork grocer in St. Paul. His crew of foragers gather more than 50 varieties of wild mushrooms, berries, nuts and greens. Host Bret Amundson joins Mike on a hunt for morels in southern Minnesota near Waterville, then checks out the Wild Food Fandango at the former Schmidt Brewery site in St. Paul. 14 Twin Cities top chefs serve up culinary innovations made with wild foods such as chanterelle, nebrodini, black trumpet and morel mushrooms, fiddleheads, watercress and other forest ingredients.
In the next segment, Bret visits the Gopher Campfire Wildlife Sanctuary near Hutchinson. In 1910, Hutchinson attorney Sam Anderson and Minnesota’s first DNR director Carlos Avery founded the Gopher Campfire Club to preserve ducks, geese, whitetail and other wildlife. In 1965, the city of Hutchinson helped the club establish the sanctuary, which now draws hundreds of wildlife viewers every year.
This episode’s final segment shows how watercraft inspectors are stopping the spread of aquatic invasive species by checking and decontaminating boats at public accesses.
About Prairie Sportsman
Prairie Sportsman celebrates our love of the outdoors – to hunt, fish and enjoy recreation provided by our vast resources of lakes, rivers, trails and grasslands – while promoting environmental stewardship.
Prairie Sportsman’s team includes Cindy Dorn, producer/writer; Bret Amundson, host/assistant producer; Dylan Curfman, editor/videographer and Max Grabow, assistant videographer/editor. The 2019 season is made possible by funding from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, SafeBasements of Minnesota, Diamond Willow, Live Wide Open and Western Minnesota Prairie Waters.
About Pioneer Public Television
Established in 1966, Pioneer Public TV is anaward-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit www.pioneer.org.
