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Updated: November 1, 2022 @ 12:31 pm
Tim Pulis hosts a group of students Friday from Minnesota New Country School, talking about Minneopa State Park history and bison artifacts.
An infant Tim Pulis is held by his mother, Marge, taken in 1952 near Minneopa falls. He has had an attachment to the state park all of his life.
Two Canadian visitors join Tim Pulis to view bison Friday from the bluffs of Minneopa State Park.
Bison, first at Minneopa State Park in 2015, have increased visitors and made the Mankato destination one of Minnesota’s most popular. Pulis will continue at the park as a bison ambassador.
Tim Pulis hosts a group of students Friday from Minnesota New Country School, talking about Minneopa State Park history and bison artifacts.
For 70 years, Minneopa State Park beckoned Tim Pulis.
“There is a photo of my mother holding me in front of the lower waterfalls when I was less than a year old,” Pulis says.
An infant Tim Pulis is held by his mother, Marge, taken in 1952 near Minneopa falls. He has had an attachment to the state park all of his life.
Fast forward to 2004, and Pulis joined the board of the Friends of Minneopa and “things intensified,” he says.
He was brought in to become a park historian, diving deep into that Mankato area landscape, which had long been known for its twin waterfalls since becoming Minnesota’s third state park in 1905. Minneopa, derived from the Dakota language, is interpreted to mean “water falling twice.”
“When two of the board members had heart issues, I suddenly became the go-to person for the 100th anniversary of Minneopa State Park in 2005,” says Pulis, who worked 36 years at CenterPoint Energy until retiring seven years ago.
But his deeper plunge into Minneopa came later that year, as Friends of Minneopa founder and editor of the Minneopa Messenger newsletter, Brand Frentz, asked Pulis to take over.
“With lots of trepidation,” Pulis says he agreed. And then continued for 17 years and 68 quarterly issues.
“I like nature and history equally, and Minneopa State Park has lots of both,” Pulis says. “As far as nature, we have had over 100 different species of birds on our annual nesting bird survey in June and, of course, the bison. When it comes to history, literally every square foot of the park has many layers of history.”
But those bison. Since the first 11 bison made Minneopa their home in 2015, park visitors have made it one of the state’s most popular destinations.
“There are about 70 state parks in Minnesota, and before bison, Minneopa only ranked in the middle,” Pulis said. “Now, top 5 in the state.”
And the warm, extended summer-like weather has continued to attract visitors. Normally, Pulis notes, there might be 150 to 200 Minneopa State Park visitors on a Saturday. Two weekends ago, with temperatures hitting the mid-70s and fall colors still pretty bright, 350 people hit the park in just a three-hour span.
And Pulis loved it.
“I did 30 straight Saturdays,” he says.
On Friday, as Pulis prepared for a student group from Minnesota New Country School in Henderson and set up his telescopic camera for bison viewing, he provided information to one couple from Waconia, another from Cottage Grove, and yet another from Canada.
Jim Silye, of Calgary, and Monique Horth, of Quebec, were in the Mankato area for Minnesota State University hockey action. They took turns at the camera, in awe of the 32 bison in the herd.
The view from the bluffs near the historic Seppmann Mill and down into the valley was near perfect, Pulis says, as the herd stretched out so individual bison could be zoomed in on.
Two Canadian visitors join Tim Pulis to view bison Friday from the bluffs of Minneopa State Park.
It might have been a record crop of bison born this past year, Pulis notes. Nineteen calves were born, with just one bull — Teddy.
“Teddy. He’s good,” Pulis says, revealing a bit of the dry humor that makes the storytelling so much fun. “August is breeding season so he’s got to bring his A game every day.”
Minneopa’s twin falls have stopped flowing due to the region’s drought conditions, symbolic of what retiring park naturalist Scott Kudelka calls a constant state of change. With Pulis wrapping up his 17-year newsletter effort, and Kudelka retiring at year’s end, there’s also time for reflection.
“Tim has been a valuable asset to Minneopa State Park for many years, whether as a member of the Friends of Minneopa or as our lead bison ambassador,” Kudelka says. “Tim has done a wonderful job with the Minneopa Messenger and it shows in how many people looked forward to it all these years of him being an editor and writer.”
But while the bison and waterfalls get plenty of attention, Pulis also enjoys telling stories and historical bits and pieces of the park. He’s written often about the historic Seppmann Mill, constructed in 1864. The 1890 tornado destroyed the windmill’s arms, but the structure remains a popular spot at the park.
Yet there’s been many other highlights through the years. Pulis mentions snowshoeing Minneopa Creek from the falls to the Minnesota River; waking up at 3 a.m. and getting four others to venture to the park to listen to the dawn chorus of singing birds; or a January candlelight hike.
Kudelka says that made Pulis’ work special.
“As I have always said about Tim, if you want to find out something about Minneopa or the surrounding area, just ask him. And if he doesn’t know, he will find out,” Kudelka says. “He did this amazing work on researching the history of the Seppmann Mill and putting together a comprehensive and fun presentation.”
Pulis says he’ll most certainly continue on as a bison ambassador as well as working jointly with the Blue Earth County Historical Society. But his appreciation runs deep for what Minneopa State Park has given back to him.
“Being involved with the newsletter has given me a chance to rub shoulders with all the park workers and other DNR employees,” he says. “It has been an honor to be on a first-name basis with them.”
Bison, first at Minneopa State Park in 2015, have increased visitors and made the Mankato destination one of Minnesota’s most popular. Pulis will continue at the park as a bison ambassador.
And those bison. Pulis appreciates their majestic quality and ties to local history. Despite near extinction as white settlers and hunters contributed to the slaughter of millions, Minneopa seems a nice grazing place.
“These guys here have it made,” Pulis says. “No predators.”
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