Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

We happened to make it down to Stuttgart to catch part of the 74th annual World's Championship Duck Calling Contest, part of the long-running Wings Over the Prairie festival. The annual event is big for the local economy and tradition to hunters and non-hunters alike.

We've got a quick, 2-minute video snapshot at the end of this post.

Mike Anderson, 29, of Mankato, Minn., won this year's contest, beating 66 other competitors from all over the country.

From ESPNOutdoors.com:

"It's numbing," Anderson said as he stood on the stage at the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce clutching the huge trophy. "It means the world ... Obviously, it's the world's trophy."

Anderson had not made it past the second round in previous World's Championship, but he went down to Butch Richenback's Rich-N-Tone call company in January and received his winning duck call.

"If you don't have the right duck call in your hands, you can be the best in the world and it might not resonate on this stage," he said. "It made me feel in my heart that I could do it."

You can see the complete list of scores and runners-up here. ESPN also has six photo galleries including shots from the Duck Gumbo party and the duck calling contest's seniors' and women's competitions.

(A write-up on the senior's division and winner Charles Petty is available here.)

Also below: The start of the annual Great Duck Race 10K, also part of the Wings Over the Prairie Event. We've included race winner James Bresette of Clinton and second-place finisher (and top women's runner) Leah Thorvilson of Little Rock in the home stretch.

Complete race results are here.

Previously
Our cover story on the 2009 duck hunting season in Arkansas