‘Minnesota Bound’ celebrates 30 years of championing the outdoors

Former KARE 11 reporter Joe Fryer grew up watching “Minnesota Bound,” the long-running show that makes hunting and fishing look as relaxing as a Swedish massage.

But the biggest fan in the Fryer household was Widget the cat.

“She would get as close to the TV as she could and would literally watch for a half-hour, then go off and do her own thing,” said the Rogers native as he dug into a bag to pull out a framed photo of chubby Widget perched on an ottoman, her eyes glued to the screen. “I think it was the bird noises.”

Fryer incorporated the anecdote when pitching a story about the show’s 30th anniversary to his current bosses at “Today,” adding that “Bound” represented the kind of “cozy TV” so many morning viewers are craving before heading into heavy traffic.

His producers bit. That’s why Fryer was covering a “Bound” taping at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, his small crew arriving early enough to take advantage of a short line for giant doughnuts. The segment is scheduled to air during the 8 a.m. hour Monday on NBC.

It might surprise a national audience that a show as tranquil and casually paced exists outside of fringe cable channels. Recent episodes have included segments on a woman who collects discarded glass from Leech Lake shores to make jewelry, Benedictine monks who harvest maple syrup and beetles that are destroying the state’s ash trees.

“We’ve got the woods, the prairies, the bluffs, the lakes,” said co-host Bill Sherck, passing out free seeds to fans who stopped by the show’s pinewood cabin. “The only other region that has a show like this is in southern Florida. We live in a magical place. Sometimes we forget that and we try to remind them.”

When he cut his hours in half at the paper, he had only a 13-week TV contract. But Schara, who ended his relationship with the Strib in 2007, was confident that he could succeed with a different kind of outdoor show, one that emulated Charles Kuralt more than Babe Winkelman.

“How many bass do you want to see caught in 24 minutes?” said Schara, who doesn’t seem to be 83 until he shares that he once dreamed of being the next Andy Williams. “Some of the shows were a guy whacking a big deer and then whacking a bigger deer the next week. That gets old.”

If you want animals getting attacked, there’s always National Geographic Channel. “Bound” is more interested in the ruffed grouse that appears to have a crush on a lawn mower.

“The show appeals to die-hard outdoors people, but there are also viewers who aren’t necessarily into that,” said Fryer, who doesn’t hunt and hasn’t fished since he was a kid. “They come for the storytelling.”

“Bound” gets a little over 6 million views a year on KARE, which will air 40 new episodes in 2025 at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, with repeats at 5:30 a.m. Saturdays. The show’s YouTube Channel gets about 300,000 looks a year.

“Its celebration of Minnesota’s outdoors and storytelling tradition has always made it a natural fit for our station and our viewers,” KARE general manager Doug Wieder said.

On Thursday, fans were eager to get pictures with Schara, who did everything to accommodate them except ring up their purchases in the merchandise store.

“They don’t trust me at the cash register,” said Schara, sporting a signature hunting vest. “I’d give everything out for free.”

But Schara’s popularity pales in comparison to demands for Millie, the 2-year-old black Lab that’s featured in the show’s logo and introductory segments. On Thursday, the amiable dog flitted between photo requests like a movie star.

A lot of admirers of both Schara and Millie on Thursday were women. That may come as a surprise to those who only connect these kind of outdoor shows with beer-swilling bubbas bragging about who landed the biggest trout.

“I’ve always believed there are many more ladies out there that love dressing up, but also love the idea of getting their hands dirty,” said Schara, who got her start doing fashion TV.

Ron Schara may no longer host, but he still writes some scripts and turns in more than a dozen stories a year.

He has no plans to retire.