Sturgeon Returns to Pelican Rapids
Courtesy: Pelican Rapids Press
The unveiling the museum-quality replica mount will be Saturday, May 26, from 9 a.m. to noon in downtown Pelican Rapids at the Pelican Chamber of Commerce offices in the Historic City Hall building.
Pictured with the foam form that became the replica are wood craftsman Ben Sytsma, Pelican Rapids taxidermist Curt Markgraf, and Bob Bowers, one of the leaders of the “Sturgeon Project.” These volunteers are resurrecting the famous fish, which has been the subject of one of Minnesota’s great fish stories over the past seven decades.
Also pictured, the original 1948 photo of the fish, which was speared by the late Dick Swenson and Harold Rice. The fish was the last native sturgeon, on record, taken from the entire Red River Basin. Sturgeon reintroduction began in Otter Tail County waters in 1997, and the species is returning to the region.