Welcome to District M
Welcome to the official website of District M of Northern Star Council. Since 2007, our volunteer web team has offered this site as a resource to those individuals involved in the Scouting program. This site was originally built as part of Lake Minnetonka District, which was restructured in 2020 as part of the Units First initiative in the Council. Welcome Message
Journey To Excellence
Gold Award 2011-2012, 2016-2019
Centennial Quality 2007-2010
Silver Award 2016
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“Some days it feels like I have run out of the energy needed to keep things going virtually!” Perhaps you share this sentiment expressed by one of our pack leaders. It has been a challenging season. You deserve a huge “Thank You!” for all your efforts to hold things together. As we approach the traditional…
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Troop 2019’s soon-to-be Eagle Scouts, from left: Lindsay Parker, Kenzie Neal, Taylor Bell and Morgan Phillips. Morgan Phillips was a shy 14-year-old when she attended her first Venturing meeting. She left that meeting unconvinced that Scouting was for her. But her dad encouraged her to keep at it, providing that gentle nudge all teenagers eventually…
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Have your Scouts been ‘on pause’ since the beginning of the pandemic? Is your Pack or Troop struggling to figure out how to restart this fall? The new Unit Restart Guide is here to help! The guide can help navigate the challenges of Covid-19 for your Packs and Troops. You’ll find ideas and options for…
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A lot of things have been cancelled, pared down and changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but your pack’s Pinewood Derby season can totally still happen. There are a couple of ways to make this favorite Cub Scout event happen. First and foremost, be sure to follow your local government’s rules and regulations, along with…
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The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. One aspect is having our leaders trained in youth protection. The new YPT curriculum was introduced February 1, 2018 and is good for two years. That means that over the next weeks most…
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The BSA has a message to young people concerned that the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will prevent them from completing Eagle Scout rank requirements before their 18th birthday: Don’t worry; we’ve got your back. During this unprecedented interruption to Scouting nationwide, the BSA has released new guidance on advancement during COVID-19. This includes: Time extensions for…
Read MoreScouting Family, This is one of the most important and difficult moments for our Scouting Movement. As you have likely seen in the media, tens of thousands of survivors of past abuse in Scouting have come forward in the national organization’s bankruptcy case. We are devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse…
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Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Some of the most indelible non-Scouting memories from my childhood are of watching Jeopardy! with my parents. This wasn’t entertainment; it was competition. After school, we’d fire up the VCR to watch the latest episode as a family. I’d grab a yellow legal pad and pen from my dad’s desk, sit…
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Many Scouting units have leaders who have volunteered for decades. Few though have erected a monument in honor of their leaders’ years of service. Last month, past members of Troop 584 of Olney, Texas, met at a new park and monument in town. Olney is a town of about 3,000 residents, about 100 miles northwest of…
Read More Dear Northern Star Scouting Family, We hope you and the other families in your group are staying safe and well in these challenging times. All of us are learning to do things in new and different ways, and we’ll continue to do so in the months ahead. We are writing today to share the final…
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Recruitment time for Scouts can be a stressful time for leaders trying to either gain more youth into your unit. Many of the promotions involved flyers to send into the schools, or postings in the community. Some have had success with school fairs or other events in the community, but that often requires a school…
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Scouts have been working to conserve our planet since the organization’s inception. Now, they can be honored for their work through the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Awards program. Scouts BSA members, Sea Scouts and Venturers can earn the youth version of these new prestigious awards while adult leaders and other organizations and individuals can be…
Read More 11/12/2020 Northern Star has read the restrictions contained in the State of Minnesota Emergency Executive Order 20-96. After learning more about the order and its intent, and consulting with the Minnesota Dept of Health and the American Camping Association, much of the order does not apply to current volunteer and council lead activities. Northern Star…
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This is the 32nd in an occasional series where I share Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos. See the complete collection here and submit your own here. COVID-19 note: Most of these Eagle projects were completed before the pandemic, meaning the photos may not necessarily depict coronavirus-related health and safety protocols. To fully understand the impact Eagle Scout…
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Thousands of years ago, ancient astronomers observed the night sky and saw stars bunched together in what they called constellations. In one part of the sky, there was a group of stars that looked like a connect-the-dots lion, and they named it Leo. In another part, they saw stars that looked like a hunter with…
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