Fishing and Fundraising on Lake Minnetonka to 'Save the TaTas'

A friendly east versus west fishing competition will go down this morning on the shores of Lake Minnetonka to “Save the TaTas.”

The women of Stillwater and Excelsior are getting their angling on, but this fight isn’t just an on-the-water battle. The hosts of their respective “Ladies Night Out” community-wide events are teaming up to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.

Partnered with both the Stillwater and Excelsior groups, will take the anglers out for a four-hour fishing sprint.

But this isn’t just about the weight of the fish. A formula takes into consideration how much money the community raised.

If the group raised less than $500 the fish weight will be multiplied by 1; for fundraising efforts from $500-$599 the weight will be multiplied by 1.1; from $600-$699 raised the weight will be multiplied by 1.2; from $700-$799 it is multiplied by 1.3; from $800-$899 the weight is multiplied by 1.4; from $900-$999 raised the fish weight is multiplied by 1.5; and for funds of more than $1,000 raised the weight will be multiplied by 1.6.

“They can improve their weight at different thresholds of fundraising,” Kevin Kerkvliet said while standing next to his Save the TaTas pink-wrapped Ranger Boat that matches Kaminski’s, rig, both of which were on display on Main Street in event held Sept. 16.

During the Stillwater “Ladies Night Out” event, the local gals raised $632. With an additional $100 contribution from the Ranger Boats Midwest sales organization and team sponsor Liddle Marketing Company, the tally is currently $732—giving the east-side girls a 1.3 multiplier for the weight of the fish.

Stillwater will send out Deanna Getschel, a resident of Stillwater and owner of . Deanna is a breast cancer survivor. Also in the boat will be Darcy and Jeff Markus. Darcy owns Maison Galleria and is the co-chair with Olson on the Ladies Night Out Committee.

“We had a lot of fun that night for a cause that’s close to all of our hearts,” said Vienette Olson of Tradewinds Spice. The Main street merchants host the Ladies Night Out special events throughout the year. “And we aren’t done yet,” she said.

The west-side ladies are working on their fundraising, too, with $650 raised so far plus $100 from Liddle Marketing Company for a total of $750—also a multiplier of 1.3.

The Excelsior “Girls Night Out” comes after the event weigh-in so they have to do their work on the phone or calling in the donations within the community ahead of time.

“We’ve received a ton of support from businesses – especially mom.com,” shared Natalie Hagemo, part of the Girls Night Out in Excelsior. “We’ve got some great gals going fishing for us. Should be a fun time on Lake Minnetonka.”

The weigh-in will be at 4 p.m. at Maynard’s in Excelsior.

Team Excelsior is composed of professional soccer player and Executive Director of The Sanneh Foundation, Tony Sanneh, entertainment reporter, radio personality and writer, Melinda Jacobs and Shop NBC host, image and media consultant, Wendi Russ.

“We’ll still have to get the fish in the boat,” Kaminski said. “I may not be a math whiz, but I know that 1.6 of nothing is still nothing. So we’ve got to get the teams on fish.”

The two teams launch at 11:30 a.m.