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Minnesota News
Chandra Colvin
Updated:

Remembering Kevin Grossheim, the Voyageurs National Park ranger who died trying to save others

A man stands on a boat
Voyageurs National Park ranger Kevin Grossheim is seen on his boat at Pike Island on Namakan Lake in northern Minnesota in an undated photo. Grossheim died on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, when his boat overturned while responding to a call about three people stranded on an island.
Voyageurs National Park

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Friends, family and community members gathered in International Falls on Sunday to remember Kevin Grossheim, a National Park Service ranger who died on Oct. 6.

Grossheim, 55, of Kabetogama, died after responding to a late-morning call for help from a family stranded on an island in Voyageurs National Park, near International Falls. High winds and rough waters had pushed their boat up on the shoreline, leaving them stranded.

Grossheim picked them up, but the Park Service boat he operated capsized on its way back to the mainland. The family was able to swim back to shore, but Grossheim didn’t surface. His body was later found after a three-hour search.

“He gave the ultimate sacrifice in his life for a family he didn’t know, for a job that he loved, for his integrity,” said Kabetogama Fire Chief Brian Wichner.

Grossheim began his career at Boston National Historical Park in 1993 and worked seasonally at Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, according to the National Park Service. He also worked at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore before beginning his 23-year tenure as a commissioned law enforcement park ranger at Voyageurs.

Saren Olson, a first responder with the Kabetogama Fire Department, worked with Grossheim. She said he volunteered with the department during his days off from the park service.

“Responding to 911 calls from St. Louis County or Voyageurs National Park was Kevin's first priority every day,” she said. “If he was in the area working or volunteering, he was available to share his knowledge, expertise, and experience to keep everyone safe.”

Earlier this month, St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay told MPR News that Grossheim was active in the community.

“He volunteered with fire and EMS, and really had a servant’s heart, and he died doing what he liked to do, and that was helping people,” Ramsay said.