Paddle for a purpose: The Mississippi 1,000

Some families in our school are continuing to navigate a lot of stress and uncertainty following this very difficult winter. It’s not hard to see the effects this has had on our students; they’re showing increasing signs of disconnection from school, from each other, and from nature.”

Ty Sassaman

Audio

Paddle for a purpose The Mississippi 1,000_Margie O’Loughlin.mp3

Longfellow resident and longtime teacher Ty Sassaman has big plans this summer. On June 19, 2026, he’ll launch his tandem canoe just below the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Itasca State Park and continue paddling until Aug. 1. Because a tandem canoe is meant for two people, he’ll spend a lot of time kneeling in the center correcting his own strokes. The canoe will be well-weighted in the front to keep the bow down. His goal is to cover 1,000 miles of the Upper Mississippi River, ending his adventure in Hannibal, Missouri, the childhood home of Mark Twain.
The paddler

Sassaman, age 55, is no stranger to long distance adventures. In 1997, he rode his bike across America from west to east. In 2006, he spent six months circumnavigating the country asking everyone he met, “If you had just one question to ask, what would it be?” He wrote an award winning book about that experience called, “Just One Question: A Road Trip Memoir.”

He said, “It’s been 20 years since my last big adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing America through the lens of this historic river. At first it was just a fun adventure doable in a teacher’s summer break – but it became something much more. In this year of the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, I wanted to do something positive for the students in the school where

I work. I realized I could paddle my canoe a long way, and raise money to provide outdoor experiences for them at the same time.”

Sassaman has worked as a reading specialist for the past nine years at Prairie Seeds Academy, a K-12 Hmong charter school in Brooklyn Park that serves families across the Twin Cities. He plans to stay connected with summer school students in grades three to five by logging air and water samples as he goes, and by updating them on the landscapes and weather he is traveling through.

He said, “Initially I was hoping to raise $3,000, but more than $10,000 has already been pledged and there are still several weeks to go.”

The river
Where it spills out of Lake Itasca and begins its journey to the Louisiana Delta, the Mississippi River is a gentle stream barely 20 feet wide. But the nation’s second longest river grows and grows as it flows through each of 10 states, and there will surely be challenges along the way.

For starters, Sassaman will have to bypass 29 dams on his way downriver either by descending through locks or by portaging. He’ll be carrying a two-way radio. The protocol with a small craft is to radio the lock operator in advance so they know to expect him.

Sassaman plans to camp most nights, though he is learning about a network of people along the Mississippi called River Angels, who let paddlers pitch a tent on their shoreline or maybe even sleep indoors and share a meal.

He’ll be leaning on his experience as a wilderness canoe guide with Outward Bound for more than a decade. Outward Bound is an Ely-based non-profit committed to getting people of all backgrounds and abilities outdoors to increase confidence, resilience, and a sense of connection with the natural world – all values that Sassaman shares.

Rather than feel intimidated by the solitude of this long journey, Sassaman said, “I’m used to deep wilderness travel. Apparently there’s cell phone coverage almost everywhere along the Upper Mississippi route. With my solar-powered charger, it will be easy to communicate. That’s a change for me.”

The purpose
According to Sassaman, Prairie Seeds Academy has some opportunities for outdoor education – but not enough. And because some portion of field trip expenses beyond Title I Scholarship funds has to be passed on to families, there are students who can’t always participate because of limited resources.

With money raised from Paddle for a Purpose, the school will be able to pay the full cost of environmental education field trips for grades three to five for the coming year; sponsor multi-day outdoor adventures for grades three to five; and provide a limited number of scholarships for high school students to experience a three-week Outward Bound trip.

Sassaman has been a dedicated paddler since 1999, when he took an instructor training course with the Outward Bound School. He expected to be placed in a mountain environment, but instead completed an internship with them in northern Minnesota. He said, “I fell in love with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and with traveling over water. There’s a stillness to paddling that I love.”

Donate
Summer will be here soon. Sassaman expects to paddle about eight hours each day, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on weather conditions. He’ll be in Minneapolis July 12-14 and, with a little luck, you might see him portaging his canoe through the neighborhood.

Follow Sassaman’s progress periodically in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger with photos and updates from his daily journal.

He said, “I don’t have previous fundraising experience, so this whole thing has been a wonderful surprise. I just started telling everyone I knew about it, and so many people wanted to help. In addition to many individuals donors, the following businesses have come forward with their support: Bending Branches Canoe and Kayak Paddles, Old Mustache Canoe Paddles, Collective Voices (a Restorative Justice non-profit) and Thrivent Bank.”

To contribute to Paddle with a Purpose, visit the GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/d79014115.