Club News

Club News Clearwater Trail Blazers Help Improve Local Trail System

Foxtailers Snowmobile Club

Paul and Gail Friborg and their club, the Clearwater Trail Blazers, received word that a trail reroute through a WMA in Clearwater County was finally approved and could be completed. After more than a year of meetings and discussions with state agencies, the agreements were finally reached. With the leadership and help of David Schotzko (DNR Parks & Trails), Ken Brein, Lee Peterson, Craig Strandlein, David Rongstad, Terry Hoie, Erickson Logging, and Friborg Contractors this bridge was built and installed it on an adjoining landowner’s property. This is a great asset to their trail system! Come up to MnUSA Region 1 and enjoy the outdoors and the great trail systems including this area and new trail.

Pictured left to right: Aaron (Pete) Peterson, Lois Adkins, Jackson Larson, Larry Shepherd and Jerry Larson.

Aaron (Pete) Peterson, President

After taking an unwanted year off, the Foxtailers Snowmobile Club wanted the 2021 Trail Opener kickoff event to be big.

St. Michael provided the Foxtailers a great lead with the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the afternoon of December 4th, 2021, and the Foxtailers hosting the kickoff event in the evening. It was a full day of holiday and winter festivities.

This year’s kickoff party was a well-attended event where past members got to mingle with new members. Young and old gathered to ring in another season of our favorite winter activity, regardless if there was snow or not. The event chairpersons, Jerry and Jackson Larson, stepped up to the challenge in a big way. The father-son duo said it was a group effort to put on an event with a membership drive, entertainment, appetizers, refreshments, merchandise table, door prizes, a silent auction and a whole lot of fun. The event helped sign up nearly 40 new members for the 2022 season, the current membership in excess of 120 memberships (solo and family). The Foxtailers Snowmobile club looked for a worthy recipient to donate the proceeds of the event. Several options were put forward and the club overwhelmingly chose to support the MSEAF 2022 Veterans Ride.

Club member Doug Reich and his son attended the 2019 Veterans Ride in Two Harbors. Reich said the event exceeded every expectation with a nice guided ride, meals, bonfire and accommodations to all attendees. In the interest of finding out more information, Foxtailers members reached out to MSEAF past president Larry Shepherd and learned this is free to any veteran, including a snowmobile to ride, accommodations and meals, so any donations are greatly appreciated.

Past trail opener kickoff events raised around $1,000. Due to hard work and some generous donors, the Foxtailers raised over $5,000 for this year’s veterans ride. Shepherd made the trip up to the January club meeting to accept the Foxtailers’ donation.

The Foxtailers Snowmobile Club would like to thank all veterans for their service and dedication. We’re proud to be able to support such an event.

The Foxtailers Snowmobile Club is based in St. Michael, Minnesota, part of the Wright County Snowmobile Association and MnUSA. The club maintains trails in Wright County, Minnesota, hosts youth safety certification every fall, club rides (winter and summer), trips, helps with Albertville’s Friendly City Days and other social events throughout the year. If you are looking for fun with a strong snowmobile emphasis, check out https://foxtailers.com. Meetings are held the second Monday of every month at Liberty’s Restaurant and Bar in downtown St. Michael.

Snow P.A.S.S. Program Funds More Than $500k in Projects

In its inaugural season, the Ski-Doo Snow P.A.S.S. grant program is providing more than $580,000 in funding towards more than 100 projects for snowmobile organizations across North America.

With more than 200 applications for project funding submitted in just two short months, the response from the snowmobile community was phenomenal. BRP and their network of Ski-Doo dealers teamed up to provide the funding to these hard-working volunteer organizations need.

“Together with the support of our amazing dealers, the SkiDoo Snow P.A.S.S. grant program surpassed all expectations,” said Annick Lauzon Director, Global Marketing, Sea-Doo & Ski-Doo. “We are very pleased to help these passionate organizations continue their efforts to improve trails and infrastructure for all snowmobilers across North America,” Lauzon added.

Each organization was eligible to receive up to a $5,000 grant if their project application was selected as a recipient. The projects chosen to receive funding stretch across North America— from Nova Scotia to Alaska.

With the enthusiasm of organizations and riders, the future of snowmobiling remains bright. Stay tuned to SkiDoo.com and the Ski-Doo social media channels for updates on Snow P.A.S.S. project progress later in the 2021-22 snowmobile season.

Year two of the Ski-Doo Snow P.A.S.S. program will open again for organizations to submit their projects for funding in Summer of 2022.

Wherever the trail leads, there’s an AmericInn nearby waiting to offer you friendly service, a comfortable and quiet night’s sleep, and always a place to park your sled.

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