Minnesota’s New Lacrosse Hall of Fame

Transcript

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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.

ANCHOR: The state has a new hall of fame for a growing sport. Then, a former officer involved in the murder of George Floyd is a free man. And, a new study reveals fewer drug overdose deaths in the state.

I'm Gracie J.

One of the former Minneapolis officers convicted in George Floyd's killing is out of prison. Thirty-nine-year-old, Tou Thao served his federal and state sentences simultaneously at a Kentucky facility. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Anoka County Community Corrections Office is supervising Thao's release. With the exception of Derek Chauvin, Thao is the last of the former officers to leave prison. Chauvin is scheduled to remain in custody until 2037.

In today's main story, a new Minnesota hall of fame aims to tell the Native origins and local history of this growing sport. Recently, it welcomed its freshman class of inductees. Britt Aamodt takes us to the Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Mark Hellenack: The moves of basketball, the change of direction, dodge. The shooting and arm movement of baseball and softball. The contact of football and the running of soccer.

Britt Aamodt: Mark Hellenack is talking about the multi-faceted sport of lacrosse.

Mark Hellenack: It was the best of all the sports that I ever played.

Britt Aamodt: Mark dove into lacrosse as an undergraduate student in New Jersey. But after college, his wife had ideas about moving to Minnesota.

Mark Hellenack: I said, okay, as long as we can start lacrosse in Minnesota. And sure enough, back in like 1995, we started the Minnesota chapter of USA Lacrosse.

Britt Aamodt: This June, Mark, now retired from a career in coaching, took his passion for the sport to another level. He founded the Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame. It's a virtual museum with a very real mission.

Mark Hellenack: To honor our state's best players, coaches, officials and contributors to the game, but also to grow the sport.

Britt Aamodt: This month, the Hall of Fame inducted its freshman class of honorees. In Minnesota, the modern version of lacrosse has enjoyed some level of popularity since the 19th century. But it's a far older game created and enjoyed by Indigenous people.

Dan Ninham: As an Indigenous person, we're taught the games were given to us by the Creator.

Britt Aamodt: Dan Ninham from the Oneida Nation was a coach for some four decades. He established the Bemidji lacrosse recreational program when most participants were hockey players and had to travel out of state to find other teams to play against. Lacrosse has since become a high school sport in Bemidji. Dan, also a producer with AMPERS program Minnesota Native News, was one of this year's Hall of Fame inductees. He feels honored and also recognizes that the work of teaching and spreading the sport has been a team effort.

Dan Ninham: There's a number of people that are involved with the lacrosse development, with the revitalization of the lacrosse game.

Britt Aamodt: These days, Dan travels Minnesota and several other states as an Indigenous games instructor. This year, he's logged 66,000 miles. Among the games he teaches are the Indigenous wooden stick forms of lacrosse.

Dan Ninham: People have referred to me as an expert. But I don't really believe in expertise. I believe in being a knowledge carrier, but always learning. I'm always learning on how to make a connection with the students and whoever I'm working with.

Britt Aamodt: The Minnesota Hall of Fame named one of its awards after Dan. This year, it was awarded to the founder of the Twin Cities Native Lacrosse Program. The Hall of Fame hopes to spend most of its time and its budget starting youth programs, providing scholarships and training a new generation of coaches. Mark Hellenack--

Mark Hellenack: The overall goal is to grow the game in Minnesota.

Britt Aamodt: Find out more at MNlacrosseHOF.org. This is Britt Aamodt for North Star Stories.

Anchor: You are listening to North Star Stories.

A new report released by the Minnesota Department of Health shows a continued decline in drug overdose deaths. Synthetic opioids remain the leading cause of fatal overdoses, though deaths decreased across all opioid categories last year. The report reveals that for every overdose death, nearly 15 people were treated for nonfatal overdoses in hospitals. Hospital-treated overdoses also fell, reaching their lowest levels since 2018. Officials say the drop reflects the impact of prevention and harm reduction efforts.

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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.