Announcements/News
April 27, 2025 Annual Banquet (Potluck) 4:00 pm- 7:30pm
St. Anne's Episcopal Church 2035 Charlton Rd., St. Paul, MN 55118
Spring Banquet is a potluck. Bring a dish to share. Sunday, April 27, 4:00-7:30 p.m. A nice time to gather together, share stories of the ski season, hear about spring and summer activities. Tim Knopp Award.
Space limited. Please register by April 20 (new deadline). Log-in to register. See full description (Link). Pre-registration required--online preferred. Register online--now. You must be logged in in order to register for this event.
> 2:30 pm: Pre-event Hike at Dodge Nature Center (Lilly Property)
> 3:00 pm: Set-up (contact Lucy to volunteer)
> 4:00 pm: Social & Meet
> 5:00 pm: Dinner
> 6:00 pm: Announcements/Club Business
> 6:30 pm: Tim Knopp Award
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
Video recordings and documents from NSSTC meetings
- March 11, 2025: Bob O'Hara, 40+ Years of Arctic Expedition Canoe Travel, "Serenity and Adaption" in the far north Video link
- February 11, 2025: Debbie Lenox White, Bike-packing on the Natchez-Trace Parkway Video link,
- January 14, 2025: Doug Edmonson, former MN state xc ski champion and author of "The inconspicuous Coach", story of Norm Oakvig, coach to dozens of state champs and co-founder of NSSTC Video link
- December 10, 2024: Lee Frelich, Director MN Center for Forest Ecology, U of MN, Effects of climate change on forests, habitat and ski trails Video link
- November 11, 2024: Clair Wilson, Executive Director of Loppet Foundation, "Challenges, Lessons and Successes of the Loppet Cup 2024" Link to video
- October 8, 2024: Stephanie Croteau, a North Star member and Worldloppet Master x2 shares her world nordic travels and tips on planning group trips. Link to video
- December 12, 2023: Bob O'Hara, legendary North Star member, shares the 'serendipity' of his far north trips and recent Greenland trip. Video link
- February 13, 2023 Greg Breining, Wolf Island: Discovering Secrets of A Mythic Animal. A prolific Minnesota author, discussed his recent book on wolves of Isle Royale.Link to video
- November 14, 2023 Deb Diggins: A Ski Family's Journey from Mini-loppet to World Cup: Link to video
- January 11, 2022: Favorite Place to Ski: East, West, and Midwest, Four X-country skiing clubs across the U.S: North Stars, Nooksack Nordic, Bellingham, WA; Capital Area Ski Touring, New York State Video link
- February 8, 2022: Changing Climate of Minnesota, Dr. Kenneth Blumenfeld of the MN State Climatology Office,"Phantom Winters, Unexpected Throwbacks, and New Precipitation Extremes: The Changing Climate of Minnesota". Video link
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
