Thanks for listening to The Watershed, a podcast of We Are Water MN. In this episode, we hear from Rick Olseen, an active citizen and leader who has held multiple roles in his community. Across these positions, water has been an important throughline.

Rick Olseen shares about the unique character of Chisago County, plus water education stories. He also discusses Let's Go Fishing, a local nonprofit whose aim is to offer fishing and boating excursions for individuals who may not typically have access to being on the water.
Learn more about the Let’s Go Fishing chapter mentioned by Rick Olseen at ⁠https://eastcentralmn.lgfws.com/⁠.


The We Are Water MN exhibit will be hosted in Chisago County from June 20 through August 12, 2024. The main exhibit will be at the North Branch Area Library, with an additional indoor exhibit on view at the Chisago County History Center. Lindstrom Memorial Park will have an outdoor display. After Chisago County, the exhibit will move to Cass Lake (Leech Lake Tribal College), then Shakopee (Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community).

You can learn more about We Are Water MN at www.mnhum.org/water. Learn more about Chisago County’s hosting of the exhibit, plus related events, at https://www.chisagocountymn.gov/1349/We-Are-Water-MN-Exhibit---June-20-to-Aug.

This episode of the Watershed was produced by Angela Hugunin, and by We Are Water MN, which is led by the Minnesota Humanities Center in partnership with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; the Minnesota Historical Society; the Board of Water and Soil Resources; the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources; and University of Minnesota Extension.

We are Water MN is funded in part with money from the Clean Water, Land, & Legacy Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008 and by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Special thanks to Emma Needham, who conducted our interviews in Chisago County. Thank you to Rick Olseen, our interviewee for this episode.

You can find We Are Water MN on Facebook (⁠https://www.facebook.com/wearewatermn/⁠), Instagram (⁠https://www.instagram.com/wearewatermn/⁠), and Twitter (⁠https://twitter.com/wearewatermn⁠). Follow along for the latest updates!

Music credits: These Times, Hardwood Lullaby, and Waiting at the Hem by Blue Dot Sessions (⁠www.sessions.blue⁠).