Announcements/News
March 10, 2026 General Meeting Announcement
Speaker: Zack Fritz, Adventurer. Zach Fritz will speak about his recent 3-1/2 month canoe trip from Minnesota to the Arctic Ocean. An Epic paddle 4,400K journey from Minnesota to the Arctic, through one of the most isolated places on earth. Planning, equipment, teamwork, huge lakes, rivers, wolves, caribou, fish, adventures, challenges, common sense, and humility. Zach is a friend of Bob O'hara's and the Far North Symposium. This is a hybrid meeting: in-person and virturally via Zoom. See Zoom login link below. North Star Meeting Zoom Link
> 6:30pm: Social & Meet
> 7:00pm: Club business and speaker
> Location: Danish American Ctr., 3030 W. River Rd. Pkwy, Mpls
> This is a hybrid mtg: in-person or join virtually via Zoom North Star Meeting Zoom Link
Mark you calendar: Regular Club Meetings: 6:30pm (Social); 7pm (Program); 8:30 (End)
- 2nd Tuesday of the Month, October to March
- Hybrid Meetings: Attend in person or virtually online * (link below).
- Location: Danish American Ctr., 3030 W. River Rd. Pkwy, Mpls
- Month-to-month meeting program descriptions: Link
- Join virtually: NSSTC Zoom Meeting Link
Link to Video recordings and documents from NSSTC meetings Club Meeting Video Recordings
Club Zoom meetings now in Documents Library!
To see slides from "Trails of the North Shore" (December, 2021 meeting), go to "Resources" on the status line above, then "Document Library", "Folders" and on the bottom of the list click on "Club Zoom Meeting PDF's".
Just Released in December: New Book About Norm Oakvik
Norm Oakvik: The Inconspicuous Coach
The book covers Norm’s life, his competitors, and the dozens of Minnesota State HS Nordic champions he coached, plus a detailed list of Minnesota high school ski champs from 1935 to 1980. The book includes interviews, stories, newspaper clippings, and dozens of photographs of many of those champions and Olympians, and a chapter about the founding of the North Star Ski Touring Club.
Norm was one of the founders of our club in 1967. His dedication to teaching and encouraging skiers fueled the rapid growth of our club and the sport. Norm made many contributions to the growth of cross country skiing in Minnesota. His generous bequest to the NSSTC upon his death in 2015 continues to enhance cross country skiing in Minnesota and Wisconsin through the North Star Grant Program, which has, to date, awarded $195,000 in grants to ski clubs and other organizations to grow and enhance the sport of Nordic skiing.
The author, Doug Edmonson, was a Minnesota state champion in cross country skiing in 1966. Norm Oakvik was his coach.
Minnesota Nordic State Champions and Coaches are Raving about “Norm Oakvik”!
Available now on Amazon.com at a reduced price. To order, click on the link below:
Norm Oakvik: The Inconspicuous Coach and Book of Champions: Edmonson, Douglas A: 9798890905048: Amazon.com: Books
“Finn Sisu: Ahvo’s Journey” Doug Edmonson is pleased to announce the publication the life story of Ahvo Taipale, long-time owner of Finn Sisu Sauna and Ski Shop. is The 180-page biography of Ahvo, entitled “Finn Sisu: Ahvo’s Journey” chronicles his amazing life from his birth in Toikavva Finland in 1946 to his recent retirement, selling the Finn Sisu shop to his valued employees. Ahvo, like classic ski coach Norm Oakvik, became a fixture in the Minnesota Nordic ski community, selling equipment, conducting clinics on the new free skating technique, coaching both young and old competitors and promoting lighted trails and man-made snow for Nordic ski facilities in the St. Paul area. Ahvo assisted thousands of young skiers in learning and excelling in Nordic skiing, especially with the revolutionary changes from classic to free or skate technique came in the mid-1980s. Ahvo was well-know throughout the world Nordic community and teamed with Steve Gaskill, former U.S. Nordic combined coach, to create a collegial Nordic community, working with numerous ski shops to create teams that lifted Minnesota Nordic skiers to national prominence. One young seventh-grader, named Jessie Diggins, after numerous skinned knees and elbows, learned how to roller-ski from Ahvo, going on to become the first U.S. female Olympic gold medalist and eventual three-time World Cup Nordic ski champion. Ahvo was like a tough old walnut, crusty, tough exterior with a soft, kindly interior. He lived for each day, looking to make Nordic skiing better for all Minnesotans. Many around the world see people wearing Finn-Sisu jackets and come up to ask “Do you know Ahvo?”
Get “Finn Sisu: Ahvo’s Journey” plus “Norm Oakvik: The Inconspicuous Coach” on Amazon at the Minnesota Nordic Ski Series Contact Author: edmonsondm@outlook.com
https://www.amazon.com/Finn-Sisu-Journey-remarkable-Minnesota/dp/B0G7JZGQQZ