LIVE AUCTION ITEM
This item will be auctioned off during the program. You must in person to bid.

This is your opportunity to visit one of the few remaining "jewels on the lake" historic homes located on Lake Le Homme Dieu in Alexandria, MN. You and five guests will enjoy a 4-day / 3-night stay (weekend or weekdays are both acceptable) at this elegant 7,000 square-foot home on the Alexandria Chain of Lakes.

Owned by FMR supporters and friends Richard and Joyce Jones, this historic home built in 1919 includes 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, a wrap-around enclosed porch and 200 feet of lakeshore for your enjoyment. The massive finished basement allows for playing pool or other games or watching your favorite movie on the big screen television. There is also a large grilling area and a bonfire area near the lake for you to enjoy and experience lake life. And finally, if you are a boat owner, you are welcome to use the large dock and boat lift during your stay.

In addition, Richard and Joyce are offering an optional sunset cocktail cruise to the auction winners. The Jones will pick you up dockside in their roomy pontoon so you can enjoy cocktails refreshments and a cruise around the picturesque Alexandria Chain of Lakes at sunset.

FMR staff will assist you in working with the homeowners to schedule your stay to take place in September 2023.

LIVE AUCTION ITEM
This item will be auctioned off during the program. You must in person to bid.

Enjoy a guided paddling excursion for four on the Mississippi River with our very own river experts: FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark and former Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Superintendent Dr. John O. Anfinson.

For over 25 years, Whitney Clark has been the leader of Friends of the Mississippi River, giving a voice to our community and our river. Dr. John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 30 years. Among his many accolades, John is a foremost Mississippi River historian, and the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi and River of History.

The day will begin at the Coon Rapids Dam with breakfast and coffee on the banks of the Mississippi River before embarking on a day trip to experience many of the scenic, cultural and historical sites along the upper river. You will conclude your trip at Boom Island, where FMR staff will greet you with celebratory beverages and light snacks.

This package also includes items from United by Blue (unitedbyblue.com), an ethical manufacturer of home and lifestyle goods, including The Container Kit, two Deadstock Water Bottle Slings, and two 24-oz. Insulated Steel Straw Tumblers - perfect items for your day-long excursion on the river.

LIVE AUCTION ITEM
This item will be auctioned off during the program.

The winner of this special opportunity will travel to the Driftless Flyfishing Company (minnesotaflyfishing.com) in Preston, MN to be outfitted with gear for your full-day fly fishing experience with guide Monta Hayner. Monta is Past Chair of Fly Fishing Women of Minnesota, an experienced fly fishing teacher and guide, a mentor with the MN DNR fly fishing program, Vice Chair of the Lew Jewett Chapter of Fly Fishers International and a Master Naturalist through the University of Minnesota Extension.

This package also includes lunch provided by Driftless Flyfishing Company and an Orvis fly fishing sling and double rod tube.

This excursion is for two people - all skill levels are welcome - preferably on a weekend in the spring of 2023.

LIVE AUCTION ITEM
This item will be auctioned off during the program.

This one-of-a-kind item reflects the passion and talents of our staff and board! Treat yourself to a very special basket filled with handmade craft treats and unique goods by FMR's staff, board and their families. The lucky winner will go home with:

• Carolina-Reaper-based curry hot sauce and one habanero gold pepper jelly by FMR Conservation Director Dr. Alex Roth, grown and produced at his home in Northeast Minneapolis
• Curry kimchi from Stewardship & Education Program Associate Sam Mie Armacost
• Canned peaches from Associate Director-Development Director Sara & Sean DeKok
• Sour cherry jam grown and made in Southwest Minneapolis by Member Relations Manager John Briel & Bojan Manojlovic
• Arrabiata pasta sauce and very spicy salsa from Administrative Assistant & Bookkeeper Monica Bierma & Michael Custard
• Handmade necklace by Ecologist Laura Domyancich-Lee
• Small-batch maple syrup and honey collected by board member Stewart Crosby at his family farm in Long Lake, MN.

Your gift will support our work to conserve the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities metro.

The History Theatre in St. Paul is a four-time IVEY Award-winning theater and is recognized nationally as a leader in producing historical work. For more than 40 years the History Theatre has produced brave, entertaining explorations of all the histories that make up our diverse community. The History Theatre entertains, educates, and engages through creating, developing, and producing new and existing works that explore Minnesota's past and the diverse American experience. Its work provides a unique lens which links our past to the present, explores our common heritage, and illuminates our understanding of what it means to be American.

The winning bidder will receive a gift certificate good for two tickets to a History Theatre performance.

At this time the History Theatre requires all audience members to be masked regardless of vaccination status.

A bespoke gift from our friends downstream! Since 1905, Red Wing Shoes has been making footwear by hand, steps from the Mississippi River in Red Wing, MN. With every pair, they deliver on an enduring commitment to quality, attention to detail, and durability.

This auction item is good to apply to one pair of boots currently available on redwingshoes.com/heritage, with a value of up to $400.

Renowned for its artistic excellence, remarkable versatility of musical styles and adventurous programming, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world. Now in its 63rd concert season, the SPCO has recently undergone transformational change with the opening of its new home, the Ordway Concert Hall, the addition of a new generation of players, and significant changes in its artistic vision. The SPCO is primarily an unconducted ensemble that performs a broad range of repertoire from Baroque to new music and works in close collaboration with a dynamic roster of Artistic Partners.

The winning bidder will receive two vouchers for a SPCO performance. The vouchers expire June 30, 2023.

The winning bidder of this item receives a $75 gift certificate redeemable towards any virtual or in-person workshop at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. With a focus on bookbinding, printmaking, papermaking, paper marbling, and related arts, MCBA's workshops help you tap into instruction, creative time, and a community of makers. Most workshops are accessible to everyone--from complete beginners to advanced practitioners. For workshop listings and to learn more, visit: www.mnbookarts.org. The gift certificate is good through August 10, 2023

In addition, you'll be taking home a selection of 10 books from Minneapolis-based Graywolf Press.

Book list
The Trees by Percival Everett - Winner of the 2022 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award & shortlisted for the Booker Prize

Dr. No by Percival Everett

Citizen by Claudia Rankine

Wonderlands by Charles Baxter

Voice of the Fish by Lars Horn

Customs by Solmaz Sharif

On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss

Nervous System by Lina Meruane

Such Color by Tracy K. Smith

Yellow Rain by Mai Der Vang

A digital gift card for two boxes (9 lbs. or approx. 36 servings) of wild, sustainable seafood from Alaska!

All our seafood is carefully handled from our boats to your doorstep and is quickly blast-frozen to lock in the highest quality texture and flavor.

Sitka Salmon Shares is in business to preserve wild fish populations and fishing communities in Alaska - while delivering a premium seafood experience. We source from community-based fishermen and partners who harvest responsibly, with the health of the oceans in mind. We deliver high-quality seafood to people across the country to help elevate their dining experience. We donate 1% of our revenue to support fisheries conservation and community resiliency.

From our friends at Patagonia St. Paul! This generous package includes a M's Nano Puff Hoody, a Black Hole Duffel 55L in black, and a Black Hole MLC Cube in Sequoia red.

The winner may exchange the Puff Hoody for a different size or color at their nearest Patagonia store.

Don't forget about your pooch this year! Win a basket filled with Orvis dog toys, treats and other goods! They'll be sure to thank you!

Items include:

1. Orion Emergency Kit
2. N Gage fetch and retrieve toy
3. Tall Tails natural top grain leather toy
4. Bocce's Bakery chicken & pumpkin training bites
5. Earthbath 3-in-1 deodorizing spritz
6. Orvis baseball cap with dog logo
7. Pack-A-Poo bag dispenser and bag holder (Reminder: pet waste contains harmful bacteria, which can leach into runoff and then the river if you don't take care of it.)
8. NiteDog color
9. Orvis floating dog toy

All items are non-exchangeable.

Bring home a collection of pollinator plants hand-selected by FMR's trusted ecologists. These perennials will not only look gorgeous during summer and fall, they will attract pollinators and help increase the biodiversity right in your own backyard.

The winner of this item will go home with two flats to plant at home - or share with friends!

Our ecologists strongly recommended planting your 72 new best friends as soon as possible. Plants species Cardinal Flower, Black-eyed Susan, Gray Goldenrod, Showy Goldenrod, New England Aster, and Sky-blue Aster.

Based in Winona, MN along the banks for the Mighty Mississippi, Sanborn Canoe Company is known for their handcrafted and artful canoes and paddles.

Each Sanborn Artisan paddle is handmade and hand painted in Minnesota using premium hardwoods and a dedication to craftsmanship and detail. Whether you're looking to bring a splash of color to your cabin décor or just bring a little outdoors sensibility into your home, the numerous, exclusive Sanborn designs can be paired to any taste. While these paddles are typically used for decoration, they're also finished in such a way that you can pick it up and put it in the water at any point, making it a truly functional art piece.

The winning bidder of this item will take home the artisan-painted Sanborn paddle.

Made in Winona, Minnesota

Colors: Eldorado Yellow,, Vivid Red, Matt Black, Luminous Green

Wood: Walnut, Aspen and Western Red Cedar

Finish: Wood has an oil finish / Paint is finished with a SPAR PolyurethanePaddle Dimensions:5" x 26"

Paddle Durability: Cabin CruiserPaddle

Length: 58"

Weight: 25.00 Ounces

Width: 4.00 (in)

Height: 2.00 (in)

Depth: 58.00 (in)

Gabe is FMR's popular and creative Data Manager! A true renaissance man, in his free time he enjoys tending to his native prairie and quilting! Gabe has handmade a beautiful quilt for our fall fundraiser silent auction that pays homage to the river. This quilt is the perfect accoutrement for keeping you warm at home or at the cabin this winter.

"Back in early 2022 when I heard about our upcoming fall gala, I dove into searches for river-themed cloth panels, and stumbled across this one - once in-hand it was apparent this would work really well to sort of "extend the scene" outwards from the original panel in the center." - Gabe Holmes

Quilt style: One-block wonder
Dimensions: 81" Wide x 88" Tall (just shy of a standard "Queen" comforter size of 86"x96")
Material: 100% Cotton! The front/back/binding are all different cotton fabrics, the thread used for sewing and quilting are all cotton threads, and the internal-batting is a thin cotton quilt batting.
Weight: 6 lbs

This one is for the FMR fan! This FMR totebag is filled with FMR-branded goodies and includes one FMR-branded Carhart stocking cap and one FMR-branded Carhart baseball cap. These highly coveted items are otherwise not for sale.

Are you curious about cooking with perennial foods? Wonder no more! FMR's Agricultural Policy Manager Peter LaFontaine has curated a basket of essential perennial foods and ingredients for your home. This is a perfect opportunity to help the river by helping yourself to a basket brimming with sustainable and ecosystem-friendly agricultural products.

Friends of the Mississippi River is leading a diverse coalition of partners who are working together to make clean water, perennial crops - like the items in this basket - economically viable for famers.

Perennial agriculture is the solution to many challenges we face from grain production today. Perennials are plants that can be left in the field to return for several years without the annual tilling that damages topsoil and leads to erosion and nutrient losses.

This basket includes:

• 14 oz bag of Perrenial Pantry Kernza grain Kernza is a perennial wheatgrass with a delicious, sweet, nutty flavor, and can be used in baking, cooking, and brewing.
• 5 oz. bag of Perennial Pantry Kernza crackers. Crunchy, flavorful, and climate positive. Try our new crackers, now in a Rosemary Garlic flavor!
• 1 lb of Perennial Pantry Kernza Campanelle Pasta. Introducing Perennial Pantry's newest addition to their lineup. Campanelle means little bells, and is a cone shaped pasta with a ruffled edge.
• 14 oz bag of Perennial Pantry Kernza pancake and waffle mix. One, 14 oz bag contains 3 cups of mix. 1 cup of mix makes 8x 4" pancakes. 24x 4" pancakes per bag.
• 500 mL of camelina oil: Three Farmers Camelina Oil is your salad oil, your cooking oil and your healthy Omega 3 supplement wrapped into one great tasting product.
• 5 oz jar of elderberry creamed honey: Missouri honey and River Hills Harvest Freeze Dried Elderberries spun together on the Giofre Apiaries farm where the honey was collected.
• 10 oz jar of elderberry jelly: made with River Hills Harvest pure premium ElderBerry Juice, lightly sweetened using pure cane sugar with just a hint of lemon. Jars are recyclable.

• 1 lb of hazelnut kernels: Grown by farmers in the Midwest. Great for baking, fresh-eating, confections, and anything else you can imagine. Roasting for 15 minutes at 275 brings out the full taste and aroma.

• 8 oz bottle of hazelnut oil: From American Hazelnut Company out of Gays Mills, WI.

• The Perennial Kitchen cookbook by Beth Dooley: James Beard Award-winning author Beth Dooley provides the context of food's origins, along with delicious recipes, nutrition information, and tips for smart sourcing. More than a farm-to-table cookbook, this book expands the definition of "local food" to embrace regenerative agriculture, the method of growing small and large crops with ecological services.

Are you curious about cooking with perennial foods? Wonder no more! FMR's Agricultural Policy Manager Peter LaFontaine has curated a basket of essential perennial foods and ingredients for your home. This is a perfect opportunity to help the river by helping yourself to a basket brimming with sustainable and ecosystem-friendly agricultural products.

Friends of the Mississippi River is leading a diverse coalition of partners who are working together to make clean water, perennial crops - like the items in this basket - economically viable for famers.

Perennial agriculture is the solution to many challenges we face from grain production today. Perennials are plants that can be left in the field to return for several years without the annual tilling that damages topsoil and leads to erosion and nutrient losses.

This basket includes:

• 14 oz bag of Perennial Pantry Kernza flour: Perfect for breads and baked goods. Whole Grain Flour, Unsifted.
• 5 oz. bag of Perennial Pantry Kernza crackers. Crunchy, flavorful, and climate positive. Try our new crackers, now in a Rosemary Garlic flavor!
• 1 lb of Perennial Pantry Kernza Campanelle Pasta. Introducing Perennial Pantry's newest addition to their lineup. Campanelle means little bells, and is a cone shaped pasta with a ruffled edge.
• 14 oz bag of Perennial Pantry Kernza pancake and waffle mix. One, 14 oz bag contains 3 cups of mix. 1 cup of mix makes 8x 4" pancakes. 24x 4" pancakes per bag.
• 500 mL of camelina oil: Three Farmers Camelina Oil is your salad oil, your cooking oil and your healthy Omega 3 supplement wrapped into one great tasting product.
• 5 oz jar of elderberry creamed honey: Missouri honey and River Hills Harvest Freeze Dried Elderberries spun together on the Giofre Apiaries farm where the honey was collected.
• 10 oz jar of elderberry jelly: made with River Hills Harvest pure premium ElderBerry Juice, lightly sweetened using pure cane sugar with just a hint of lemon. Jars are recyclable.

• 1 lb of hazelnut kernels: Grown by farmers in the Midwest. Great for baking, fresh-eating, confections, and anything else you can imagine. Roasting for 15 minutes at 275 brings out the full taste and aroma.

• 8 oz bottle of hazelnut oil: From American Hazelnut Company out of Gays Mills, WI.

• The Perennial Kitchen cookbook by Beth Dooley: James Beard Award-winning author Beth Dooley provides the context of food's origins, along with delicious recipes, nutrition information, and tips for smart sourcing. More than a farm-to-table cookbook, this book expands the definition of "local food" to embrace regenerative agriculture, the method of growing small and large crops with ecological services.

Enjoy a day along the beautiful Wisconsin stretch of Lake Pepin, a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River, an hour south of the Twin Cities. Lake Pepin is located in a valley carved by the outflow of an enormous glacial lake at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake formed when the Mississippi, a successor to the glacial river, was partially dammed by a delta from a tributary stream and spread out across the ancient valley.

This handmade basket includes everything you need to enjoy a day exploring this beautiful region of the river:

· Sailing for six (6) on Lake Pepin with WIMNSail, a Lake Pepin sailing company helmed by Captain Anderson. Beth will take you and your party aboard her 30 foot sailboat for 2-3 hours of adventure anytime during 2023.

· $200 gift certificate to The Palate, a gourmet kitchen store and cooking school in Stockholm, WI.

· A bottle of Domaine des Blaïs, Côtes de Provence, Rosé wine from The Palate in Stockholm, WI

· A blanket from Cultural Cloth, a women-run social enterprise that features handmade home décor and textiles made by women artisans from around the world.

Led by FMR Conservation Director Dr. Alex Roth and FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark, you and three of your friends will paddle to visit Settler's Island, an FMR restoration site on the Mississippi River's back channels in Cottage Grove.

The island is located in the Grey Cloud slough, a back channel of the Mississippi River in Cottage Grove, and is home to a mix of forest and wetland habitat that had been severely degraded by invasive species. During your tour, you will hear how FMR has been restoring habitat on the island since 2018 with great results. FMR has also created more access to the island itself: In August of 2020, FMR installed a canoe launch and picnic pad, amenities that make the site attractive for paddlers and anglers alike. This restoration project has been a model for partnership. FMR has engaged not only the city of Cottage Grove and our own contracted crews but has worked with Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service on this island to plant native and climate-adapted trees and shrubs to restore the island's canopy. An island that was once unusable due to its impenetrable wall-to-wall buckthorn is now accessible for recreation and better for wildlife habitat and water quality.

A picnic lunch provided by FMR will also be served to you and your guests along the banks of the Mississippi River during your outing.

Please note all gear required to paddle to and from Settler's Island will be provided by FMR.