Holes 4 Heroes 2026, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026

The ice was a good two feet thick on top of Medicine Lake in Plymouth, Minnesota for Holes 4 Heroes 2026. Weather was windy and mostly cloudy, with the temperature climbing from the upper teens to mid twenties Fahrenheit. As the wind grew over the day, the windchill sunk. My balaclava came in handy late in the day. Note to self; I need to use my new boots next year to keep my feet warm. My old boot linings are shot.

Founded in 2004, Fishing for Life serves youth, families, veterans & communities through fishing and outdoor programs. Holes 4 Heroes is an annual ice fishing tournament that especially serves US military families and raises money for operations. This is the coolest event in the country. I handle the technology and video streaming.

Livestream
Time indexes for highlights
Saturday morning sneak peak and interviews
Friday setup sneak peak with Steve Cruikshank
Still pictures

5 1/2 hour livestream. Time index highlights below.

With help from Brad Carlson from AM1280 The Patriot while I helped Mike from the radio station troubleshoot a problem a few minutes before air time. The network was fine. The remote broadcasting software apparently had a licensing issue. So they tried Zoom, but the laptop lost its wired network connection when its RJ45 connection did not want to snap in cleanly. Mike solved that problem and went live with Google Meet a couple minutes before air time, while I recruited Brad and Mitch to help Mike “Cold Front” Kurre with the “21 Kid Countdown.”

Check back for a link to a future blog post about livestreaming improvements this year.

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Holes 4 Heroes 2026 Time indexes for highlights

0:00 (around 10:55 a.m.) – Welcome to Holes 4 Heroes 2026. Interview with University of Minnesota ROTC cadets getting ready to present the flag during the National Anthem.
4:14 – The folks from AM1280 The Patriot arrived and started their setup.
Around 9:00 – tour of the prizes.
11:10 – Congressional Declaration winner Steve Chase shared his Vietnam story. This the most powerful five minutes of the entire livestream.
17:05 Mike “Cold Front” Kurre interviewed Jerry with the Dakota County Elks about the food tent and previewed the day’s events.
22:40 A Holes 4 Heroes 2026 flyover? Seriously – it looked like an official military flyover.
26:33 – Jamie Arvig from Earthlink/Nextera. Earthlink (formerly Nextera Telecom) provides the fixed wireless internet connection on top of the ice every year.
36:04 – After solving mic problems, Mike Kurre interviewed Jamie Arvig from Earthlink. Quick technology tour.
48:04 – Star Trek vs. Star Wars vs. Marvel Rivals with Zeke, and Pastor Vaughn Blackburn’s sons, Aaron and Aiden.
51:20 – “Hi, Zeke’s mom!”
51:47 – Preview with Tom Goodrich.
57:39 – Interview with Kim with with presenting sponsor Wagner Spray Tech.
1:00:45 – Interview with Mark Mazur? with First Class Plumbing. “What is a plumber’s favorite footwear? Clogs.”
1:04:08 – Leadin to opening ceremonies.
1:05:38 – Opening prayer with Pastor Vaughn Blackburn.
1:10:15 – Color Guard with the University of Minnesota Cadets.
1:11:26 – Mike Noe sang the National Anthem.
1:13:45 – Pledge of Allegiance.
1:14:40 – Overview with Steve Cruikshank.
1:17:20 – Laura sets up the Swearing In Ceremony.
1:18:25 – Captain Looss from US Army Minneapolis Recruiting Company led the New recruit Swearing in Ceremony.
1:20:56 – New recruits introduced themselves.
1:35:39 – Remember our fallen soldiers.
1:27:33 – First two minnow races.
1:36:00 – Radio station troubleshooting. Thanks Brad Carlson for videoing while I did tech stuff with Mike from the radio station.
1:38:42 – Brad captured ice auguring and Santa Claus unloading. The ice is a good two feet thick.
1:47:40 – Brad captured an interview between Tom Goodrich and a wounder warrior.
1:52:30 – Radio station problem solved with about eleven minutes to spare before air time. Thanks, Brad, for covering for me!
1:55:25 – I recruited Brad again to take over videoing for another couple minutes. Mike Kurre recruited kids for the “21 Kid Salute.”
1:58:40 – Radio station good to go. They decided to use Google Meet back to the station for the broadcast. I relieved Brad so he could get ready to go on the air.
2:00:16 – Tackle Terry Tuma, and AM1280 The Patriot radio personalities, Brad, and Mitch, helped with the “21 Kid Salute.” Time of day, around 12:56 p.m. The contest officially starts at 1:00 p.m.
2:04:15 – Official start at 1:00 p.m. Mitch and Brad rushed back to the station to go on the air.
2:06:12 – Minnow race third heat.
2:08:35 – first fish at the weigh station.
2:12:45 – “Is IT cool?” Yep. Tips for Mike Kurre to recover his old computer hard drive. And a summary of the troubleshooting with AM1280 The Patriot. Mike, always remember this – open source is your friend. This will come up later.
2:15:30 – first or second perch? Teeny tiny.
2:17:25 – Lesson for Mike. “Open source is your friend.”
2:19:40 – Tackle Terry Tuma interview.
2:32:30 – a KSTC (channel 45) cameraman set up to grab some video.
2:37:08 – Minnow race heat.
2:42:30 – Visit the Volunteer Tent. The ice inside the heated tent glowed green.
2:45:18 – Check in with the Food Tent. Thanks to the Dakota County Elks. They sponsor lots of scholarships.
2:52:15 – Update with Steve Cruikshank.
2:54:00 – A conversation with Jamie Arvig with Earthlink/Nextera.
2:56:22 – “Do a technology interview.” A couple minutes on the radio. “IT service is like stocking toilet paper. Nobody cares until there’s an outage.”
3:02:10 – Santa Claus passing out cookies.
3:04:06 – a quick perimeter scan on top of a frozen lake.
3:08:24 – Minnow race heat.
3:18:34 – conversation with a man from Elk River who just got internet service a year ago.
3:22:08 – I needed a quick bio break. Thanks Laura. “When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.” Thanks Mike. 🙂 Transparency at its finest. Laura checked out the Food Tent and Ice Castle.
3:26:44 – Thanks, Laura, for “relieving” me.
3:27:30 – recruiting for the annual Crappy Flop.
3:30:00 Kid commentary. “What does six seven mean?”
3:33:06 – Minnow race setup: The inside story.
3:33:30 – Minnow Race heat number six. And seven.
3:39:50 – Crappie Flop.
3:55:50 – Mike Kurre interviewed me about the best novels ever written in the history of history. I need to work on my mic delivery. Mike; “I got hacked this year.”
3:58:10 Sarge marked his territory on the ice.
Around 4:02 – AM1280 The Patriot finished its show. The wind went up. The windchill went down. Mike thanked the sponsors.
4:12:25 – Minnow Race heat
4:22:06 – Don’t tear down that tent. The WiFi and all the network stuff are inside it!
4:34:30 – The time is 3:30 p.m. One half hour to go until the contest ends.
4:44:35 – I recruited a young person to help me put on my balaclava. She earned a prize for holding the camera and helping me out.
4:51:15 – The next-to-last Minnow Race heat.
4:58 – The final Minnow Race. The winner takes home prizes worth somewhere between $1 and $1 million.
5:03:28 – The final countdown. Mike Kurre pulled a muscle doing a high five on one knee. “The party’s over!”
5:04:55 – Calling for more raffle tickets.
5:09:40 – Oldest veteran prize.
5:12:20 – Last call for raffle tickets
5:12:50 – Prizes and raffle giveaways.
5:35:30- That’s a wrap. Holes 4 Heroes 2026 is now in the history books.