WILLMAR — Ross Strehlow attributes his lifelong passion for the outdoors to “growing up in Willmar.”
“My friends hunted, my brother hunted. It goes way back,” Strehlow said.
Wetlands to hunt waterfowl, and fields to flush pheasants, were all readily accessible for the young Strehlow and his friends.
It’s why the heart of this 1974 graduate of Willmar High School still belongs to Kandiyohi County. Although his career led him to call the Twin Cities area his home, he regularly returns to his home stomping grounds all year around to hunt, fish, and play golf, his other great passion.
The outdoors of Kandiyohi County are so much the better because of it.
Quietly and without fanfare, Strehlow has been donating tens of thousands of dollars made possible by his financial prowess to support conservation work in the county. The donations have served as the seed money to leverage other funds, both private and public, to support many of Kandiyohi County’s most prominent wetland restoration projects.
An initial $50,000 contribution made possible by Strehlow set the ball rolling and helped leverage the funding for the more than $1 million restoration and enhancement project for the Hubbard, Schultz and Wheeler chain of lakes that flow into Diamond Lake.
By adding a control structure, water in the three small lakes can be drawn down to kill rough fish and allow aquatic vegetation to re-establish. The restored vegetation helps remove nutrients that feed algae blooms in Diamond Lake, while providing the habitat and feed benefiting waterfowl and other wildlife.
His support also leveraged the funding to take advantage of the same, tested formula of adding a control structure to restore Henjum Lake near Pennock. It’s one of the more celebrated wetland restoration projects in the county.
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There’s more to come. Strehlow has now pledged funding to support a wide range of habitat enhancement work on federal Waterfowl Production Areas across Kandiyohi County.
Ducks Unlimited in Minnesota and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have 40 to 50 various-sized enhancement projects on a “war board” they would like to see accomplished in Kandiyohi County. All Waterfowl Production Areas are open to hunting and public access.
Those areas play important roles in providing habitat for all types of wildlife while improving water quality and groundwater recharge and helping reduce flooding, according to John Lindstrom, manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited in Minnesota. Based in Litchfield, Lindstrom during his 10-year tenure with Ducks Unlimited has had the privilege of working with Strehlow.
“Ross is in it for a lot of the right reasons,” said Lindstrom, referring to his passion for the outdoors.
He describes Strehlow as a very laid-back guy, someone you can have a beer with and talk hunting, and have no idea about his financial success. “He doesn’t wear it on his sleeve,” said Lindstrom. “He just seems like an everyday guy who happens to be a successful businessman.”
He’s also a darn good golfer, which is how Strehlow and Mark Haugejorde, who is spearheading the Tepetonka golf course project, became good friends. Strehlow was a top-notch golfer for Willmar High School, and Haugejorde the same for New London-Spicer High School. Together, they were part of a foursome that won the state’s junior golf championship in their senior year of high school.
Like Strehlow, Haugejorde has kept his heart in Kandiyohi County despite a career that led him elsewhere. “It’s always been home to us,” said Haugejorde of their mutual passion for the county.
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What his friend brings to the table is his “passion for wildlife preservation,” Haugejorde said.
Strehlow left Willmar after high school for college, earning a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State. There, he wrote a paper on Honeywell that led to his landing a stockbroker position with Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis right out of college. “The rest is history,” he said.
He said he’s been very blessed. He’s done well financially, and he and his wife of nearly 30 years, Pauline, raised three children.
The couple have been helping and continue to help a variety of charitable organizations, the Green Lake Bible Camp and the Kandiyohi County Pheasants Forever chapter being among the most recent beneficiaries.
Their philanthropy has been made possible in large part by what is known as a Donor Advised Fund, according to Strehlow.
It works roughly like this: If he buys stock at $2 a share and it eventually grows to $10 a share in value, he moves a portion of those shares to his account at the Minneapolis Foundation. The Foundation immediately sells those shares.
The proceeds go directly to a charitable organization of his choosing.
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Strehlow earns a tax deduction and avoids paying capital gains on the proceeds. That means his donation is larger than would have been possible had he sold the shares and donated his earnings after having paid capital gains on them.
Strehlow’s financial success owes to his ability to identify companies that are undervalued, and that takes lots of hard work and old-fashioned shoe leather. He thoroughly scrutinizes the financials of the companies that he identifies, and meets with their leadership teams. He invests when he is confident that he has a bargain in the works, well before other financial advisers ever issue a buy recommendation for a company’s stock.
While Kandiyohi County is his chosen destination for the outdoors, make no mistake: His passion for hunting and fishing (and golfing) leads him far and wide. North Dakota has been his favorite waterfowl hunting destination for 50 years now. Come summer, it’s Door County in Wisconsin, where he loves to ply the waters of Lake Michigan for salmon.
Those summer salmon expeditions always come after late May and early June fishing adventures for walleye on Green Lake. In the summer, he’s also back for rounds on Eagle Creek and the Little Crow golf course with his brother, Norm, and other friends. Come late fall, he’s back to hunt pheasants. Come ice-up, you’ll find him on Green Lake fishing for walleye.
If his outdoor philanthropy has primarily occurred under the radar, Strehlow’s support for youth and golfing in the Willmar area has not escaped notice. His contributions directly made possible the Willmar Junior Golf Foundation Golf Academy at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar.
The new facility that bears his and his wife’s name is complete with an indoor golf simulator. It offers opportunities for youth and adults to sharpen their golfing skills during the winter, and provides a comfortable setting for family and social get-togethers.
“I hope that people really enjoy this place and come in and give it a try,” Strehlow said.
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Ditto for all the improved outdoor opportunities he is making possible in Kandiyohi County. Strehlow said he is well-aware of how it is more difficult for young people to access the outdoors than was the case when he grew up. He’s hoping his support can help make it better for everyone to enjoy the outdoors.
Bottom line, he wants to make the most of the philanthropy he can do. He put it this way: “I’m not one of these gazillionaires. I want to give back a lot to where I grew up. I figure I can made a difference in Kandiyohi County, so I am focused on Kandiyohi County.”
“If there was a Ross Strehlow in every county in the state, that county would be in a much better position than it currently is,” Lindstrom said.
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