MINNESOTA, USA — Life has a funny way of putting people in your path when you least expect it. For Evan Fagen, that started with a search for inspiration.

“You never know, you know, where it’s going to go,” Fagen said. “Looking for paint schemes, and did some random internet searches and found Don McPherson’s paint scheme that he flew with in World War Two.”

That search led them to McPherson, a WWII veteran living in Nebraska. Fagen asked him for permission to paint their rebuilt Grummann F2F Hellcat, starting their friendship.

“Never thought in a million years that, you know, several years later, we’d have this great friend in Don,” Fagen said.

That friendship led them to this past Friday. Fagen is the chief pilot at the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, who’s hosted McPherson several times to talk about his time in the war.

Fagen has been trying to get the 102-year-old McPherson up to the museum again to fly in another WWII-era plane, and Friday was that day.

“I hadn’t been in a World War Two airplane until yesterday,” McPherson said.

It’s been decades since Ensign Don McPherson flew a Hellcat during the war, but even at 102, his memory of that time is sharp.

“The first of March of ’45 until the first of September,” McPherson said of his time in the Pacific theater.

Photos and videos of McPherson’s time in the sky show him riding with the canopy open, thumbs up in excitement.

“Brought back some really, really cool memories,” he said. “You know, what had happened in the past.”

McPherson spoke to a large crowd at the museum, including a school field trip. Fagen says kids sat front row, listening as McPherson passed along his story and history.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Minn. — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is reminding all watercraft users about the importance of life jackets after a boat carrying two adults and two children capsized.

The group of four was rescued after the county’s water patrol boat and dive team airboat were sent to the scene near Bird Lake in Osaki Township on Saturday, according to a release from the office. 

It was reported to responding units that the parties were having a “difficult time” staying afloat because their waders had filled with water. 

According to the release, deputies arrived at the scene and rescued all four of the hunters, who were treated for hypothermia exposure. 

None of the adults or children were wearing lifejackets and there were not enough life jackets for all of the craft’s occupants, according to the statement. 

“Hopefully, this call will serve as a reminder for all watercraft users to wear life jackets (or have them immediately accessible), have all children wear life jackets, and to have a life jacket for each occupant. Please do not sacrifice safety when participating in outdoor activities such as waterfowl hunting. Drowning is the leading cause of death for waterfowl hunters,” said the statement. 

DULUTH, Minn. — From polluted to pristine. This is a story of a new waterfront recreation area in Duluth that opened, or rather reopened, this summer.

It took millions of dollars, coordinated efforts, and lots of hard work to help it come back to life. 

“I think we’re all proud of what this has become,” said Cliff Knettel with Duluth Parks and Recreation.

Cliff is talking about Spirit Lake in the St. Louis River area of Duluth. It’s likely you haven’t visited before, because there wasn’t much to see.  Long ago it was a stopping point for the Anishinaabe people. It became a central part of trading and led to the industrialization of the city of Duluth.

Along with that came U.S. Steel. The company operated a plant there until 1981. However, decades of production contaminated the water and land with heavy metals, putting the St. Louis River on the EPA’s area of concern list. 

In 2010, through the Great Lakes Legacy Act, a plan was hatched to clean it up.

“All in, it was $185 million to get through all those phases of design, investigation, feasibility, actually implementing, so it’s a very large investment from EPA and US steel, those are the two entities that were contributing financially,” said Mark Loomis, with the U.S. EPA – Great Lakes National Program Office.

Remediation started in 2020. Dredging, capping and restoring habitat all while maintaining water depth for the fisheries. Loomis said the work was nearly 24/7 for 38 months.

“We built over two miles of trails, ADA accessible, dedicated fishing areas, pause points, there’s a landing area for kayaks,” he said. “There was a large area, actually a mud flat, that we actually excavated, removed material to create open water. It’s a very unique part of this project.”

The city of Duluth owns much of the shoreline and this project has opened up access for many people who didn’t have it before. If you’re not familiar with the area, this is on the west side of town, not near the lakefront.

“We’re actually working with the St. Louis River alliance and our own parks and rec staff to offer programs that we couldn’t offer before like fishing, like paddling, like nature hikes, like educational opportunities, so those are happening right now and we’re super excited about that,” said Knettel.

The cleanup will eventually lead to the St. Louis River being delisted as an area of concern, but the biggest win for those involved is seeing the space go back to what it should be.

“Watching the people come back to the site, kind of breathing life into it and the river is there and wildlife is responding. Those are the things that really kind of drive me professionally and personally,” said Loomis.

The E.P.A. said it worked closely with tribal communities to preserve the cultural significance during the project. Signage that explains the history and process of the project will go up next summer.