by Jim Boyle

Editor

A confident Jake Folkeringa used some serious sleuthing skills, a little teamwork and luck to find the Shiver Elk River medallion in the inaugural hunt.

 

“I am one of these people, if I put some time into something and try hard, I am convinced I can do it,” he said.

The Elk River native and University of Minnesota graduate took some vacation time to be off from his job as a civil engineer so he could be at the ready at 10 a.m-. each day of the hunt when clues were to be released on the Star News website. He also soaked up the hints provided on Elk River Tire and Auto’s website. The newspaper and auto repair shop co-sponsored the hunt as prelude to the sixth annual Shiver Elk River event.

On Day 4 of the hunt Folkeringa, 29, was right where he needed to be. That was in his car at the edge of Lions Park, hitting refresh on the computer while waiting for the latest clue to appear. When it surfaced, he wasn’t immediately sure of where to go.

But he saw some of the 20 or so challengers in the park take off with rakes in hand. After reading the clue one more time, it clicked and he realized it was time to follow close behind. His big break, however, came when his rake broke.

“I said to myself ‘I guess I can’t rake anymore,’ so I started looking in the nearby bushes and that’s when I found it,” Folkeringa said.

With the $500 prize, Folkeringa said he will treat his family to a catered meal made by Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. Among his party guests will be cousins Jeremy and Ben, whom he calls his buds, and Uncle Rod and his grandfather Parsons Ron. The four of them helped him decipher clues, but he and his pooch, Dyno, did most of the legwork in Elk River parks each day.

It was the second medallion hunt he’s won. The first was at the Crow Wing County Fair in Brainerd. He was just 16 years old, but that set into motion a hobby-like interest in medallion hunting.

Folkeringa said he liked the hunt because the clues were some of the better ones he has seen on hunts like this.

“A lot of time the clues are very generic,” he said. “Not to pick on one of the recent events I hit, but the clues were so boring.

“The clue writer did a good job of coming up with some clever clues that made you think. They helped, but at the same time, they didn’t give it away.”

Clues can make or break a hunt, professional hunter Steven Sanftner, 27, said. He grew up near the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul and his parents exposed him to the Pioneer Press’ medallion hunts.

Sometimes he got pulled out of school. By the time he was a teenager, he would have liked to do them on his own, but they often slipped his mind.

Then at the age of 20 in 2007 he and some buddies made a valiant attempt to find the medallion, and they almost found it on Clue No. 3. It was found in Hidden Falls, near where they had searched.

“I have been hooked ever since,” he said.

He’s done the St. Paul Winter Carnival hunt put on by the Pioneer Press every year since. He has also added community hunts and mock hunts to his repertoire as a member of the Cooler Crew that was established in 1998 for medallion hunters.

“It’s not like we work together,” he said. “We’re just a community of people who have the same interest in hunting (for medallions).”

He once found two medallions in two days in North Branch and Forest Lake. Someday he would like to find two medallions in one day.

It’s the not prizes that intrigue them.

“It’s not for everyone, but it’s a really fun hobby in which you have the potential to win some money,” he said.

Folkeringa said he hopes to do more hunts. He said he keeps his eyes out for them, but doesn’t always have enough time. The Shiver Elk River hunt will be different.

“Next year I am going to make sure I take vacation again,” he said. “I want to be ready to defend my title.”

Copyright 2016 Elk River Star News.