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Ice Road and Donkey Patrol coming up on Prairie Sportsman

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Photo of Dawn Breitkreutz and Jenny donkey.
Upcoming Programs

Download a photo of Dawn Breitkreutz and Jenny the donkey.

 

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. —  The Northwest Angle Ice Road, protecting livestock with donkeys and Stoney Creek Farm will be featured on an upcoming Prairie Sportsman. “Road Trip on Ice and Donkey Patrol” will air on Pioneer PBS on Sunday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. For air times and dates on all Minnesota PBS stations, go to prairiesportsman.org.

During the winter, the Northwest Angle is only reachable by snowmobile or a road through Canada. But because of COVID-19, the Canada-U.S. border has been closed since March 2020 and businesses in the Angle have suffered steep economic losses. In January, resort owners teamed up to create a 30-mile-long ice road over the frozen Lake of the Woods and provide auto access to the Angle. The Prairie Sportsman crew traveled up the Northwest Angle Ice Road, which starts north of Warroad, and interviewed some of the area’s resort and cabin owners and anglers. 

Next up, “Donkey Patrol” features Grant and Dawn Breitkreutz’s natural method of keeping coyotes and other predators away from their livestock. The owners of Stoney Creek Farm near Redwood Falls heard from friends in northern Minnesota that they brought in donkeys to protect their cattle from timberwolves. Although wolves are not yet a problem in southwest Minnesota, wild cats have been spotted and coyotes are abundant. So the couple brought in six donkeys to protect their pasture-raised cattle, hogs and chickens, and they no longer see coyotes on their land. Dawn is pictured with Jenny, the only donkey the Breitzkreutz tamed to help them move and lead the wild donkeys.

The final segment follows Stoney Creek Farm’s progression from a conventional cattle and grain operation to a regenerative farm. The Breitkreutzes switched from continuous to rotational grazing and moved cattle from one paddock to another to give grasslands time to rest and rejuvenate. The practice reduced runoff, improved soil quality and increased grass and beef production. They also switched to 100% no-till practices and incorporated cover crops on their 450 acres of cropland. 

 

About Prairie Sportsman

Prairie Sportsman celebrates our love of the outdoors to hunt, fish and recreate, provided by our vast resources of lakes, rivers, trails and grasslands, and to promote environmental stewardship. 

Prairie Sportsman’s team includes Cindy Dorn, producer/writer; Bret Amundson, host/editor; and Dylan Curfman, editor/videographer. The 2021 season is made possible by funding from SafeBasements of Minnesota, Live Wide Open, Western Minnesota Prairie Waters and members of Pioneer PBS.

About Pioneer PBS

Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world.  For more information visit www.pioneer.org.