Update
I'm getting lazy updating this thing - probably because I am on facebook most of the time anyway! Last Sunday I dragged everyone out of the city to a small park near High River. The river was very cold and very high due to it still being Spring thaw. It wasn't safe to go in for a swim but it was nice to relax on the river bank and enjoy the warm weather!
I've posted pictures on my facebook so take a lookie'
Mah Faceboooooka
Also, one more thing.
(Cue X-Files Music)
Authorities said the animal attack Thursday at Itasca State Park is an "oddity."
By Chao Xiong and Tim Harlow, Star Tribune staff writers
In the dark of night, a creature swiped at Jon Kenning's face as he slept in a tent in Itasca State Park on Thursday morning and then the animal disappeared.
No one knows exactly what the creature was. Not even Kenning, who is recovering from 2-inch cuts to his face.
The 28-year-old native of Hutchinson, Minn., said he was in a deep sleep when the attacked occurred about 2:13 a.m.
"I got attacked," he said by phone Thursday evening. "I threw my arms up and all I remember, in short order, it was over. I rolled out of my tent.
"My students were running. They heard me screaming."
The park at the headwaters of the Mississippi River is home to everything from squirrels and chipmunks to beaver, wolves and black bears.
The Clearwater County Sheriff's Office said that, based on the size of the tent and the injuries, law enforcement officers think a curious small bear wandered into the tent.
Officials with the park and the Department of Natural Resources are puzzling over the creature's taxonomy, all while calling the incident an aberration.
"In 21 years as a senior park administrator, I've never had an incident where a state park camper was hurt by an animal," said Courtland Nelson, of the DNR. "This is an oddity."
Kenning is a visiting assistant professor at Creighton University in Nebraska and was leading a group of 10 students on a two-day biology field course in the park in northwestern Minnesota, near Bemidji.
The self-described experienced camper said he didn't see the animal in question and doesn't know whether his students spotted it; they were all camped about 10 yards from his tent.
The animal batted him around for a short time, causing a half-dozen "swipe"-type lacerations 2 inches long to his face that are consistent with a wild animal's claw, the Clearwater County sheriff said.
DNR officials said bear attacks in Minnesota are unusual. They aren't convinced it was a bear, but it is possible, said DNR communications director Mark LaBarbera.
Park rangers notified other campers about the incident but have not issued any official warnings for the many visitors who will arrive for Memorial Day weekend, one of the park's busiest of the season.
"We don't want to overly alarm people," LaBarbera said. "It's rare for people to have bears or other critters come into their campsites. It does happen, but this has not been a problem."
Animals are more likely to be attracted to campsites when there are food scraps available, he said, but in this case there was no food in the tent and the camp site was clean.
"I know better," Kenning said.
He said that after he was attacked and rolled out of his tent, several of his students, who are pre-med, tended to him while they waited for authorities to arrive. A report from the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office shows that help -- summoned by a student's cell phone -- arrived about 2:48 a.m.
"Obviously, I was in pain," Kenning said. "I was pretty shaken up, but I don't think I'll have nightmares about it."
The attack occurred on the first night of their trip to study streams and lakes.
Kenning said he's been told he'll fully recover from his injuries; he received several stitches. Authorities said he was treated at a hospital and released Thursday.
Conservation officials have set a trap with food scraps to see what type of animals visit the area in hopes of learning what might have attacked Kenning.
The park, with 32,690 acres, attracts more than 496,651 visitors annually. Kenning said he plans to be among that tally again.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I'll be back."
I've posted pictures on my facebook so take a lookie'
Mah Faceboooooka
Also, one more thing.
(Cue X-Files Music)
Authorities said the animal attack Thursday at Itasca State Park is an "oddity."
By Chao Xiong and Tim Harlow, Star Tribune staff writers
In the dark of night, a creature swiped at Jon Kenning's face as he slept in a tent in Itasca State Park on Thursday morning and then the animal disappeared.
No one knows exactly what the creature was. Not even Kenning, who is recovering from 2-inch cuts to his face.
The 28-year-old native of Hutchinson, Minn., said he was in a deep sleep when the attacked occurred about 2:13 a.m.
"I got attacked," he said by phone Thursday evening. "I threw my arms up and all I remember, in short order, it was over. I rolled out of my tent.
"My students were running. They heard me screaming."
The park at the headwaters of the Mississippi River is home to everything from squirrels and chipmunks to beaver, wolves and black bears.
The Clearwater County Sheriff's Office said that, based on the size of the tent and the injuries, law enforcement officers think a curious small bear wandered into the tent.
Officials with the park and the Department of Natural Resources are puzzling over the creature's taxonomy, all while calling the incident an aberration.
"In 21 years as a senior park administrator, I've never had an incident where a state park camper was hurt by an animal," said Courtland Nelson, of the DNR. "This is an oddity."
Kenning is a visiting assistant professor at Creighton University in Nebraska and was leading a group of 10 students on a two-day biology field course in the park in northwestern Minnesota, near Bemidji.
The self-described experienced camper said he didn't see the animal in question and doesn't know whether his students spotted it; they were all camped about 10 yards from his tent.
The animal batted him around for a short time, causing a half-dozen "swipe"-type lacerations 2 inches long to his face that are consistent with a wild animal's claw, the Clearwater County sheriff said.
DNR officials said bear attacks in Minnesota are unusual. They aren't convinced it was a bear, but it is possible, said DNR communications director Mark LaBarbera.
Park rangers notified other campers about the incident but have not issued any official warnings for the many visitors who will arrive for Memorial Day weekend, one of the park's busiest of the season.
"We don't want to overly alarm people," LaBarbera said. "It's rare for people to have bears or other critters come into their campsites. It does happen, but this has not been a problem."
Animals are more likely to be attracted to campsites when there are food scraps available, he said, but in this case there was no food in the tent and the camp site was clean.
"I know better," Kenning said.
He said that after he was attacked and rolled out of his tent, several of his students, who are pre-med, tended to him while they waited for authorities to arrive. A report from the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office shows that help -- summoned by a student's cell phone -- arrived about 2:48 a.m.
"Obviously, I was in pain," Kenning said. "I was pretty shaken up, but I don't think I'll have nightmares about it."
The attack occurred on the first night of their trip to study streams and lakes.
Kenning said he's been told he'll fully recover from his injuries; he received several stitches. Authorities said he was treated at a hospital and released Thursday.
Conservation officials have set a trap with food scraps to see what type of animals visit the area in hopes of learning what might have attacked Kenning.
The park, with 32,690 acres, attracts more than 496,651 visitors annually. Kenning said he plans to be among that tally again.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I'll be back."