Crime & Safety
Excel Boat Club Helps Police and Kids Fish Together
The 'Cops and Kids Fishing Event' aims to build positive bonds between officers and the children.
Wednesday was a rough day for the fish of Lake Minnetonka.
A couple dozen kids, several officers, Hopkins Police Chief Mike Reynolds and Councilwoman Molly Cummings spent the day on St. Albans Bay pulling up numerous sunfish, several bass and the occasional crappie from the deck of a pontoon.
The “Cops and Kids Fishing Event” aimed to build connections between officers and the 9- to 12-year-olds.
Find out what's happening in Lake Minnetonkawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It also gave the kids a taste of the outdoors. Many had never gone fishing from a boat, and about half a dozen hadn’t been fishing at all. By the end of the day, though, the kids were bravely baiting their own hooks—and most were even willing to touch the fish they caught.
The event was funded by a $600 Department of Natural Resources grant that provided fishing poles for the kids to take home.
Find out what's happening in Lake Minnetonkawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Businesses from around the west metro also helped make it possible. donated the use of its pontoons. provided lunch. Cities Live Bait provided leeches, minnows and night crawlers. And fed the group in a post-fishing trip pizza party.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
