Star Tribune
Hikers, ATVers, cycling groups, snowmobilers find common ground in northern MN
Minnesota outdoors lovers haven’t always played well together: motor sports devotees and quiet sports enthusiasts maintain and use separate trails, with some debating which groups are better stewards of natural resources.
But now, in northern Minnesota, several competing trail groups are setting down a new path.
A collection of mountain biking enthusiasts, ATV riders, hikers, snowmobilers, skiers and community leaders are meeting to find common ground across the Mesabi Range. Their new group, the Arrowhead Coalition of Trails, has a mission built on a shared ideal: Working together to draw more outdoor recreation tourists to the region. They’re talking about sharing volunteers and trail maintenance gear, creating a new marketing plan to represent all of them, and even sharing a vault toilet.
The groups are learning how much each type of sport can benefit their communities:
At its first meeting last month in Virginia, the coalition saw data about the volume of out-of-towners, for example, who rumble on ATVs and side-by-sides on places like the Prospectors Trail system that connects Ely, Tower and nearby towns. And the metro cyclists who sweep into facilities like Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm.
A University of Minnesota analysis of ATV use in Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis counties found that more than 219,000 riders visited the region in 2023, injecting an estimated $36 million into the economy, with $12 million in labor income. On average, an individual rider spent a little more than $144 per day at local businesses.
The Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota found in 2023 that tourists made up 67% of riders at Redhead and 85% at Giants Ridge, which has won raves for its downhill trails outside of ski season. Most visitors have come from the metro area.
The upshot: Designated trails draw varied visitors to the Arrowhead, and development will drive more tourism.
Star Tribune
Vandals uproot 60 new trees on St. Paul riverfront tossing many in the Mississippi River
Sixty newly-planted trees along St. Paul’s riverfront were uprooted Wednesday night, and most were tossed into the water, in an act of vandalism costing tens of thousands of dollars.
“I’m incredibly sad. It’s hard to fathom,” said Karen Zumach, the director of community forestry for St. Paul-based non-profit Tree Trust, which contracted with the city to plant the trees with the help of high school students in October. “I like to think that trees are the least controversial thing we deal with these days.”
The trees were planted over two days along Shepard Road, in the area of Upper Landing Park and the Sam Morgan Regional Trail.
Photos taken by city staff Thursday showed a long row of piles of upturned dirt circling around holes in the ground where the trees once stood. All but 14 of them were tossed into the Mississippi River, rendering them unsalvageable, Zumach said.
The St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department estimated the damage comes to $40,000.
The St. Paul Police Department confirmed Thursday it received a report of the vandalism and an investigation is ongoing. The city parks department said in a statement the vandalism is believed to have occurred overnight.
The 14 trees that did not end up in the river have been reinstalled, Zumach said. The process to replace the others has yet to be determined, but the planting season has already passed.
About 25 high school students helped plant 250 trees while school was out during the annual MEA conference for state educators in October, Zumach said.
The Minneapolis City Council was unable to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s recent veto of an ordinance that would give some organizations first dibs on buying certain rental housing units in an effort to preserve affordable housing.
Under the proposal, if the owner of certain rental units wants to sell, they would have to give certain “qualified organizations” the first shot at buying their property, with exceptions for sales to renters or family members, for example.
Frey wrote in his veto letter that “now is not the time to make it harder to invest in our city’s housing stock.” He said while he agrees with the goal of preserving affordable housing, he doesn’t believe the ordinance will accomplish that in the current housing market.
“I appreciate the intention behind this ordinance, and in a different housing market when investment was more free-flowing, I may have a different perspective,” he wrote.
Supporters said the proposal would keep thousands of units of affordable housing available and prevent large investment firms from gobbling them up — and potentially hiking rents to reap profits.
The council voted 7-5 to override Frey, but needed nine votes.
Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, who co-authored the ordinance, argued when it was before the council on Oct. 31 that it would help small, local developers buy property that’s now being bought up by national investment firms or hedge funds.
Council Member Linea Palmisano said she was torn on the ordinance when it was before the council, saying the city has an affordable housing crisis, but that she was concerned about unintended consequences, such as whether first-time home buyers wouldn’t be able to compete. She voted for it then, but voted against an override on Thursday.
Hills-Beaver Creek held off a late Mountain Iron-Buhl rally to win the first Nine-Player state semifinal Thursday at U.S. Bank Stadium, 26-20.
The Patriots had a 26-14 lead late, but fumbled the ball away at their own 5-yard line. Mountain Iron-Buhl capitalized on the turnover and scored right away, making the score 26-20.
Mountain Iron-Buhl got the ball back with 43 seconds remaining and moved into Hills-Beaver Creek territory, but Sawyer Bosch intercepted a pass to end the threat.
Hills-Beaver Creek will face the winner of the Fertile-Beltrami-LeRoy-Ostrander semifinal in the state championship Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m.
