No Paid Staff, a Fresh Coat of Paint, and Five New Legends — Little Falls Keeps the Fishing Hall of Fame Afloat

Every Minnesota family has a basement shelf where old tackle goes to retire. A tackle box that latches if you hold it just right. A reel your grandpa swore by and you’ve never once gotten to work. Little Falls built the state-sized version of that shelf back in 1998 and called it the Minnesota Fishing Museum. This year, the shelf almost fell off the wall.

The money ran out

For years the museum leaned on a big gift from co-founder Al Baert. After he died in 2022, that money slowly ran dry. By February 2026, every paid staffer had resigned, according to the Morrison County Record. That left two volunteers, Frank Gosiak and Bruce Reischl, running the whole place.

They went to the Morrison County Board to ask for help. The board said it respected the museum, but nothing had been set aside for it in the 2026 budget, so the earliest any county money could come was 2027. Even that wasn’t a promise. Gosiak put the museum’s normal yearly costs at about $160,000, mostly wages, and it was getting by on pull tabs, admissions, and donations.

Gosiak also told the board something every angler can respect. Running a museum had turned into a full-time job, and he’d still like to spend some time fishing.

Look, I can’t keep a minnow bucket alive over a long weekend. These two kept a whole museum breathing on pull tabs.

Then a guy showed up with a paint brush

In August, the Record caught up with Randy Seehafer. He’s 71, retired, moved to Little Falls about five years ago, and goes to city council meetings for fun, which is already more civic energy than I’ve had in my life. After one meeting, he asked Gosiak what the museum needed. The answer was mostly hands.

So Seehafer started painting. Poles, signs, parking lines. He pulled weeds and put up new wood frames outside, getting the place ready for the September arts and crafts fair crowds. His explanation was about as Minnesota as it gets: he was just there making it look nice.

Gosiak said the help freed him up to clear out what the museum doesn’t need, and that more volunteers were coming in to handle the paperwork side. “It’s all volunteers,” he told the paper. The longer dream is bigger: a spot out by the highway where people can actually see it, room to show off everything sitting in storage, and someday a real curator.

And they still planned the party

Here’s the part I love. Short on money and short on hands, the museum still pulled off the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame banquet, held Friday, Oct. 2, at Rice Creek Hunting and Recreation in Little Falls. The class of 2026:

Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, a guide out of Max who has spent 30-plus years on Winnie, Cass, and Leech
Steve Carney
Ron Kiffmeyer
Marine General
Thorne Bros Custom Rod & Tackle

In a January feature about his selection, Brosdahl said he’s happier in the cold, and that more than half of his clients now come to fish the ice, many from down south with it on their bucket list. He calls himself a one-man band: book Bro, and you get Bro. He also told a story about a kid on one of his trips who landed a big northern pike and then ran to the far end of the boat to get away from it. Honestly, that’s the most relatable fish story I’ve ever heard. I’ve done the same thing with a bullhead, and I was 34.

The money raised at the banquet goes back into the Hall’s mission of saving and sharing the stories of the people and businesses that built Minnesota fishing.

The part that matters

Nobody’s getting rich keeping a fishing museum open in Little Falls. It’s two guys covering the front desk, a retiree with a can of paint, and a room full of old lures that each meant something to somebody. That’s not a museum running on fumes. It’s a museum running on the same thing every good fishing trip runs on, which is people who show up when they didn’t have to.

If you’re cruising Highway 10 or 371 before ice-up, swing by 304 Broadway. In February the Record listed its hours as Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so check ahead before you make the drive. Bring a few bucks for the donation jar. Bring your grandpa’s mystery reel, too. Somebody in there might finally know how it works.

Sources

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