From the President

From the MnUSA President 22 Minutes

Scott Wakefield

That’s how long it took me to sell my 2002 Polaris as the end of my driveway the other day. So you know what I’m doing next, to the delight of my wife— getting more sleds at the end of my driveway for sale. Supply chain issues are creating a very hot market for sleds right now. That runs from a couple years old right on down to the vintage group of sleds. If you ever were going to sell a spare sled, now may be the time. It’s frustrating for those that bought new, but there’s not much we can do about it.

The Minnesota legislature will be starting the new session off with a budget surplus of $7.746 billion (that’s with a “B” folks), according to the Minnesota Management and Budget office. I for one think the legislature needs to take a look at its tax policy to start the session off, but there will be many mouths at the table, so to speak, looking to get fed. Based on these numbers, is there money for snowmobiling in there and for our tax break legislation to go through? The Minnesota legislative session is a little like the start to a snowmobile season—lots of anticipation, got your i’s dotted and t’s crossed and you’re ready to go with great expectations of enjoyment, and fun, only to get a surprise or two down the road. Let’s hope and pray with the good guidance of our excellent tandem of Doug and Christian Franzen, we can keep the surprises to a minimum.

Rendezvous is a great opportunity to discuss items of snowmobiling interest with your legislators. When I was at FarmFest this past summer, I sat with Gary Dahms – Redwood Falls, Paul Torkelson – Hanska, and Dean Urdahl – Grove City, and Gary couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they (the legislators) had at the last Rendezvous and were looking forward to our Feb. 3-6, 2022 event! If they are excited to attend, you should be too. Find information in this edition to register.

The trails are open and we are off and running. Get involved with your club and try to recruit one new member. If we all do that we can double in size. In the time it takes to sell a sled at the end of a driveway you should be able to sign up one new member.

LAKE VERMILION

Connects to the Arrowhead and local trails.