To that Sprengeler yelled back, “I know!”

After netting the fish, the fishermen looked at each other and Weston remembered shouting in excitement, “It’s long!”

In similar fashion, Sprengeler responded, “I know!” telling Weston “I think this is the one.”

After measuring and taking photos, the massive muskie was released safely.

Sprengeler, who didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday, is no stranger to huge muskies. In November 2021, Sprengeler, of Plymouth, landed a massive muskie of his own on Mille Lacs that measured 57 3/4-inch and weighed 55 pounds and 14 ounces. For that catch, Sprengeler and two friends had to break the ice for about 100 yards to get his boat into open water on the lake’s west end.

The weather was more cooperative during the most recent trip.

DULUTH – Two people are dead from gunshot wounds, according to the Duluth police, who were summoned to the house on the 6000 block of Tacony Street for a welfare check Thursday afternoon.

Neighbors in the West Duluth neighborhood said a woman lives at the house with her teenage son, but that they kept to themselves. Duluth police and crime-scene investigators were on site during the early evening.

According to the department, it remains an active investigation.

Officers at the scene could not provide more information but did confirm that the shootings are not related to the three-day string of burglaries on the east side of Duluth.

With a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday afternoon, the city of Woodbury began construction of its $330 million water treatment plant to scrub city water of PFAS chemicals.

It’s the city’s largest capital improvement project ever, and the plant when completed and turned on in 2028 will be the largest of its kind in Minnesota, capable of cleaning 32 million gallons of water daily.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that we provide clean drinking water to our community for now and for generations to come,” Mayor Anne Burt said, speaking to a group of city staff, elected officials, and others at the M Health Fairview Sports Center fieldhouse, where officials gathered for a ceremony and speeches after the nearby groundbreaking.

The new plant will be located at Hargis Parkway east of Radio Drive, adjacent to East Ridge High School.

The city expects to pay roughly 10% of the plant’s cost, said Jim Westerman, assistant public works director. The remainder will be covered by the $850 million settlement 3M reached with the state of Minnesota in 2018 for the contamination of groundwater under the east metro.

Originally estimated to cost up to $400 million, the plant’s total cost came in lower due to competitive bidding, Westerman said.

The plant will require 17 miles of new pipelines to connect the city’s wells. Installation of those pipelines began in August and will continue over the next four years along existing roads.

A temporary treatment plant opened in 2020 continues to scrub groundwater at nine city wells that have levels of PFAS above state health department guidelines. Once the new plant comes online, the temporary plant will be shuttered and its equipment either moved to the new plant or auctioned off, Westerman said.