Beargrease 2019: "if the race had a theme this year, it would be 'bringing John home'"

The North 103.3 | By Lisa Johnson

Published January 25, 2019 at 9:25 AM CST

Mike Keyport has nothing but praise for the way the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has kept the memory of his great-grandfather, John Beargrease, front and center.

But the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is undeniably excited about the change in the course this year that will bring the race finish right into their community.

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Lisa Johnson

Lisa Johnson started her broadcast career anchoring the television news at her high school and spinning country music at KWWK/KOLM Radio in Rochester, Minnesota. She was a reporter and news anchor at KTHI in Fargo, ND (not to mention the host of a children's program called "Lisa's Lane") and a radio reporter and anchor in Moorhead, Bismarck, Wahpeton and Fergus Falls.Since 1991, she has hosted Northland Morning on KUMD. One of the best parts of her job includes "paying it forward" by mentoring upcoming journalists and broadcasters on the student news team that helps produce Northland Morning. She also loves introducing the different people she meets in her job to one another, helping to forge new "community connections" and partnerships.Lisa has amassed a book collection weighing over two tons, and she enjoys reading, photography, volunteering with Animal Allies Humane Society and fantasizing about farmland. She goes to bed at 8pm, long before her daughter, two cats, or three dogs.

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