Tim Knopp Award
The North Star Ski Touring Club designates the "Tim Knopp Award" to a club member who has made outstanding contributions to the club. Tim Knopp (1935-1989) was an early leading figure in the club until his untimely death in 1989. The North Stars are proud of our history and role in promoting and developing cross country skiing. In honoring Tim Knopp's memory, we keep alive our passion for advocacy for skiing and trails beyond our sponsored trips and education activities. Here is some background on Tim Knopp's contributions to our club and to cross country skiing.
Tim Knopp was a forestry professor at the University of Minnesota, and after hours he lobbied public agencies to build the trails we all enjoy today. Tim compiled a trail guide for skiing and worked with government officials to expand the ski trail system in Minnesota. He was appointed to the Governor’s Trail Advisory Committee in 1972, and in that role he submitted proposals for new ski trails to be considered by the state legislature.
In 1982, Tim worked with fellow NSSTC club members Bob Tokar and Don Pusch to get the concept of a skier user fee off the ground. The need to supplement Minnesota DNR funding for public ski trails was evident, and with Tim’s help and leadership, we now have the Minnesota Ski Pass as we know it today.
Tim was also involved with MinnTour, an umbrella organization formed to unite ski touring clubs in Minnesota. MinnTour was a major force in encouraging and promoting ski touring statewide. Tim’s involvement with MinnTour and the Sierra Club was instrumental in successfully appealing a U.S. Forest Service decision to allow snowmobiles in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). The Banadad ski trail system, located in the BWCA, includes a trail named in his honor.
Tim founded the NSSTC’s newsletter and gave it the evocative Norwegian name Loype which means both a literal ski trail and also a path through life based on love of outdoor recreation, respect for nature, and mental and physical toughness. He designed the club’s logo with five skiers in a row showing various abilities and interests. Tim served as NSSTC president in 1971–72, was the club’s first Loype editor, served as trails coordinator for many years, was the club’s first MinnTour representative, and served as government liaison from 1982 until his death. The Tim Knopp Award was founded in 1997 to honor his work and recognize those that followed in his footsteps.
North Star Ski Touring Club Work with Government to Develop Trails
The history of our club’s work with state and federal government officials began in 1974 with the formation of MinnTour, an umbrella organization of the state’s ski touring clubs. With the involvement of North Star Tim Knopp, MinnTour soon became a major force in promoting ski touring statewide. The following year, MinnTour joined with the Sierra Club to appeal a U.S. Forest Service decision allowing snowmobiles within the BWCA. And in 1976, Tim Knopp became our club’s first MinnTour representative. In 1978, Governor Perpich met with MinnTour representatives to establish a ski trail task force. Also in 1978, President Carter signed into law a bill that established the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, banning motorized vehicles from the BWCA.
In 1982–83, the position of MinnTour representative was renamed, and Tim Knopp became the first government liaison for the North Star Ski Touring Club. Also that year, a statewide ad hoc committee, which included NSSTC members Tim Knopp and Bob Tokar, was formed to promote the passage of a ski trail user fee bill in the state legislature. The bill passed, and we now have the "Great Minnesota Ski Pass".
After Tim’s untimely death in 1989, Arne Stefferud, a student of Tim’s at the University of Minnesota, became the club’s government liaison. In that role, Arne has represented the NSSTC and all cross-country skiers in the metro area on the Minnesota Recreational Trail Users Association (MRTUA) since 1992.
History of NSSTC Trail Development
Trail development and maintenance have been a primary focus of the North Star Ski Touring Club since the beginning. In 1967, when the club was founded, it really was “cross-country” skiing—setting your own tracks in pristine snow across a field or through the woods.
In the mid-1960s, the local chapter of the United States Ski Association Ski Touring Committee cut a two-mile trail near the Bush Lake ski jump and a one-mile trail in Indian Mounds Park in St. Paul. They also contacted Hennepin County Park Reserve District, and a three-mile trail was cut near Normandale Park.
On December 5, 1968, members of the NSSTC and officials of other outdoor activity groups met with Clyde Ryberg, an official for the town of Jonathan and adminis-trative assistant to Minnesota state senator Henry McKnight. This meeting led to a strong position in the legislature for development of areas and trails to serve various outdoor activities. The following year the NSSTC helped lay out and clear a seven-and-a-half mile trail in Jonathan. This later became part of the VJC race course.
In 1970–71, Glen Bennington and Tim Knopp contacted officials of the Hennepin County Park Reserve District to impress upon them the potential growth of ski touring and to ask them to assess areas of trail expansion in their system. This was also an effort to head off a rising tide of snowmobile encroachment in these areas. Tim Knopp was appointed to the Governor’s Trail Advisory Committee, thus beginning a long career as government liaison for our club.
In 1973–74, there was phenomenal growth in ski touring throughout the state. Tim Knopp conducted a “trail seminar” attended by over 100 people. He developed a comprehensive list of considerations to take into account for trail development—from physical aspects of the trail, to access for skiing and emergency situations, to waste disposal and signage.
Previous winners of this prestigious award:
2003 Inez Wick
2004 Norm Oakvik
2005 Al Mayer
2006 Pete Hawkins
2007 Greg Fangel
2008 Connie Donnelly
2009 Bob O’Hara
2010 Thor and Audry Nordwall
2011 Tom Rice
2012 John Holmquist
2013 Bruce Jacobson
2014 Fran Howley
2015 Kathy Kelly & John Driscoll
2016 Dana & David Siskind
2017 Mel Peterson
2018-19 Not awarded
2020 Barb Wahman (awarded 2021 due to COVID)