For the folks not aware, there was a lot of activity in the Ely area last weekend with the highlight being two racing events.
Right at the entrance to town there were people, vehicles and sled dogs for the WolfTrack Classic event at the Ely Regional Trailhead.
Just down the road and out on the lake in Winton was the KCPRO East kids snowmobile race on Fall Lake.
Both events brought people to town and both of them went off without a hitch from all accounts.
This was the 18th WolfTrack Classic and reminded us of the original dog sled races that date back to 1970s. Known as the Ely All-American Race, this grew into an international event that led Ely to be known as the “Sled Dog Capital of America.” Mayor J.P. Grahek even proclaimed it as such by proclamation in 1979.
While races that traversed roads and lakes has changed to the current event, the interest and excitement of having a dog sled race in Ely hasn’t changed.
We were glad to see the new location worked as well as it did. By changing the location from Ely’s east end to west end, two road crossings were eliminated and a nice warm building where folks could gather and visit was added.
Snowmobile racing in Ely has a long history as well, from a track near the Longbranch that was used for a number years and there was even a professional ice racing circuit that came to town for a short time as well. There have been snowmobile radar runs on area lakes at times.
The KCPRO races have been held on Fall Lake for a number of years and there have been several Ely families who started and continued to race around northeast Minnesota at various locations.
Kids snowmobile racing is a family event with moms and dads helping out with making sure the races happen safely and successfully while the kids get a chance to race on an oval ice track.
That Ely can host events like the WolfTrack Classic and KCPRO shows the versatility of our community and the continued desire for folks to come here and spend money. Plus we get to enjoy having them here. Winner, winner!
