River Ridge Shooting Club has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the MN DNR Range Grant Program. For the 2021 Range Improvement Grant, five shooting ranges across Minnesota were selected to receive grant funds to be used for range improvements. With this year’s grant, the DNR reviewed several applications and looked favorably on ranges proposing specific improvements to attract youth to shooting sports, particularly trap shooting.
After purchasing the River Ridge property in October 2018, Owners Joseph G. Michaletz and Christine Michaletz worked closely with Chuck Niska, DNR Shooting Range Coordinator, to develop a thoughtful and deliberate plan with the expansion of shooting range activities as they prepare to reopen business operations later this year.
“I have truly enjoyed learning how the DNR supports shooting ranges across the state of Minnesota and am looking forward to future opportunities to collaborate with the DNR on programs to get local youth engaged in shooting sports and hunter education along with wildlife management and conservation,” said Christine Michaletz.
“Trap shooting is a great activity for middle school and high school youth,” said Joseph G. Michaletz.” Learning safety and respect for firearms at a young age is a positive thing. Developing marksmanship skills can also lead to a lifetime of enjoying the great outdoors in a very special way.”