Poplar Plunge exhilarates partakers for a good cause

Chuck Olsen | April 2, 2024

Dozens of thrill-seekers and community boosters took an icy dip in frozen Poplar Lake on March 30, 2024. White Pine Lodge and Poplar Haus each cut holes in Poplar Lake and invited participants to jump in, under the watchful eye of volunteers from Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.

The two lodges organized the fundraiser for the fire department to celebrate the end of winter while raising money for a good cause. Each location offered a sauna to warm participants before and after their icy dips.

WTIP visited the Poplar Haus plunge location to chat with fire department volunteers supervising the hole and capture the action. Find the interview transcript, video and audio below.

Transcription below:

CHUCK OLSEN
Let me know your names and what is this event about today?

DAN BAUMANN
Well, I’m Dan Baumann.

MADDIE FRAWLEY
I’m Maddie Frawley.

DAN BAUMANN
And it’s the Polar Plunge for a fundraiser for the Gunflint Fire Department, and get out and enjoy winter. It’s here!

CHUCK OLSEN
Have you had some plungers today?

MADDIE FRAWLEY
Yeah, we’ve had what, 24 now?

DAN BAUMANN
We’re up to 24 dunks.

MADDIE FRAWLEY
Yeah, and we’ve got a few more in the sauna.

DAN BAUMANN
Yeah, we’re getting some preheated. You always want to get that sauna first and then go in because then it’s not so bad. But I know a lot of them come in for the second time, they said it’s colder the second time you jump. But getting in that sauna makes a world of difference.

They’ve all done really good. I’ve noticed they’re all wearing shoes. Something down here, they’re not coming barefoot. So, that’s all good because barefoot’s never good to come out in this stuff. See, your feet freeze.

CHUCK OLSEN
Any idea how much money you’ve raised today or hope to raise?

DAN BAUMANN
No idea, it’s a donation day, and they’ve got buckets up there, White Pine’s got a couple over there, so we don’t know. But it’s okay, it’s all for the fun of it.

CHUCK OLSEN
Yeah, and so this all goes to the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.

DAN BAUMANN
That’s correct, that’s correct.

CHUCK OLSEN
And tell us about the good work that you all do.

DAN BAUMANN
Well, we’re a fire department that does wildland, wildland-urban interface structure. We’re a BLS ambulance service, so we’re medical. And so we do also, through the sheriff, we do search and rescue.

So it’s basically any time of an emergency, 911, we’re going to be the ones showing up.

CHUCK OLSEN
And I see you have your ice rescue outfits on today. How does that work?

MADDIE FRAWLEY
Well, they’re called Gumby suits, and they are all connected, so they’re pretty much all dry. I won’t get wet if I have to go in the water and save someone, and they float, too, which is nice. But we’ve got a little rope here that I put around myself, too, just in case anyone were to go under the ice or need assistance.

I think we have a taker here.

CHUCK OLSEN
Okay, we have a taker. Well, thanks for chatting.

MADDIE FRAWLEY
Thank you.

[Crowd talk]

Happy birthday. Woo-hoo! Happy birthday.

Woo! Wow! That’s cold.

CHUCK OLSEN
What’s your name and what did you just do?

JOHN HANSON
John Hanson, and just went on the polar plunge right here on Poplar Lake, right outside the Poplar Haus.

CHUCK OLSEN
And why did you do it?

JOHN HANSON
It’s my birthday today, 62, and I thought it would be a really fun thing to do.

Regardless of that, it’s really exhilarating.

CHUCK OLSEN
And you did it more than once?