After his first canoe ride, Harvey Klinger was laughing like he had just climbed out of a dunk tank. “It was tippy!” said Klinger, wet and grinning with his friends on the banks of the St. Croix River ...

We set off with a slight breeze at our back and a stretch of placid brownish-blue water in front. Dragonflies darted past the canoe as we paddled past banks of birch, maple and basswood. “Is this ...