Meet Joe Michel, River Rat
15 Jul
Minnesota’s Mankato Free Press recently introduced its readers, HERE, to Joe Michel, a local resident who has spent thousands of hours paddling the nearby Minnesota River. The 72-year-old retired electrician has paddled rivers in more than a dozen states, but prefers the one he grew up on and still lives along.
““I like the peacefulness, the serenity of it and there is so much variety,” he told the Free Press’ Tim Krohn.
Michel’s profile is part of a series of stories Krohn and photographer John Cross are reporting for the Free Press as the pair paddle the 325 mile length of the river together. The trip retraces a paddle the two made 10 years ago down the Minnesota.
Other content the paddler-reporters have generated includes:
A Narrative of Their First Day on the River.
A Story About Six Freinds Who Have Paddled the Entire River.
An Examination of Issues Surrounding a Proposed Power Plant.
