Currents: Mercedes Akinseye, hunter, angler, chapter coordinator Minnesota Deer Hunters Association

Today: Mercedes Akinseye, who is myriad things: chapter coordinator with the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association; a member of the Department of Natural Resources' R3 (recruitment, retention and reactivation) Council, hunter and angler.

Reading

I'm fascinated with Minnesota history and love hunting and fishing. I ran into Tom Landwehr, former commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, at Game Fair and discovered he had published a book, "Hunting Adventures on the Minnesota Frontier: Sportsmen's Tales from 1850-1900." I've been enjoying that for the last few nights!

Following

Chronic wasting disease has been on my radar a lot, personally and professionally. Other than that I really enjoy gardening (both food and flowers), so I'm forever scrolling through Facebook gardening groups for gardening tips and the opportunity for plant trades.

Watching

I absolutely love gardening. I can't seem to get enough of "Big Dreams, Small Spaces" — Monty Don is one of my gardening idols. I also love baking from scratch, so naturally "The Great British Baking Show" is one of my favorites to binge.

My job requires a fair amount of travel, so more often than not, Minnesota Public Radio is my car companion. When my brain needs a break, I'm likely to turn on music from one of my favorite hip-hop artists (who also happens to be a Minneapolis native): Prof!

Doing

What am I NOT doing? My friends and family joke that I can't sit still. It's true. If I'm not gardening somewhere, I'm likely spending time at my camper, hanging out with my dog, trap shooting or learning a new skill. I recently learned how to score big game through a class with Minnesota Official Measurers. I haven't taken the final test, but I've been having fun scoring every set of antlers I can get my hands on as practice. What's next on my list? Learning how to trap. I plan to take the trapper certification course and tag along with a couple trappers this coming season to see what it's all about.