Sep. 10, 2006; WI. Wisconsin snowmobile news; Tales from the wild. Despite no snow on the ground, Dan Starr, a DNR conservation officer in Tower, recently discovered fresh snowmobile tracks near an area lake. He later found a group of 20 people pulling on a rope that led to deep water as well as a pontoon boat pulling a rope with a similar destination. Starr questioned an individual in the water who said he had been trying to skip his snowmobile from one shore to the next over 15 feet of water when it sank. The snowmobile was recovered, and enforcement action was taken for careless operation. Read more American snowmobile news articles here...

Sunday, March 12, 2006; LAKE GENEVA, Wis. -- Snow blankets Lake Geneva as WPSA Snocrossers ready for final; Months of snowmaking and preparation will pay off next weekend as the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour prepares for its season finale at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa. The Nielsen Enterprises Grand Finale is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 17-19, and will be telecast on ESPN2 on April 7 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. “The Grand Geneva staff spends the entire ski season preparing the venue for our race,” said Kent Lungstrom, Executive Vice President-Operations, PowerSports Entertainment, Inc. “Though the temperatures have been above freezing, piles of snow nearly 25 feet high have been created in the parking lots, and the ski hills are blanketed by several feet of snow. Despite the weather, we will have more than enough snow to create an exciting and competitive track. We’re looking forward to a fitting finale for one of our most competitive seasons on record.” Read the whole story here...
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Mar 13 2006 ; Snowmobile Hit and Run ;Mary Rinzel; The St. Croix County Sheriff's Department wants your help in finding a snowmobiler who ran over a woman, and then drove away. Investigators say 47-year-old Kathleen Fredrickson was walking with her husband on County Road C in New Richmond around 8 p.m. on Monday. They heard a snowmobile approaching, but were not concerned because the trail ran along the ditch. Shortly after, Kathleen was struck from behind and thrown almost 30 feet. She has several broken bones and was taken to a St. Paul hospital where she remains in serious condition. Police say the snowmobiler did not stop or slow down, but was followed by a yellow snowmobile. Officers believe the two were riding together. If you have any information on the identities of either snowmobiler, you're asked to call the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office at 715-381-4320.
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Sunday, March 12, 2006; LAKE GENEVA, Wis. -- Snow blankets Lake Geneva as WPSA Snocrossers ready for final; Months of snowmaking and preparation will pay off next weekend as the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour prepares for its season finale at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa. The Nielsen Enterprises Grand Finale is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 17-19, and will be telecast on ESPN2 on April 7 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. “The Grand Geneva staff spends the entire ski season preparing the venue for our race,” said Kent Lungstrom, Executive Vice President-Operations, PowerSports Entertainment, Inc. “Though the temperatures have been above freezing, piles of snow nearly 25 feet high have been created in the parking lots, and the ski hills are blanketed by several feet of snow. Despite the weather, we will have more than enough snow to create an exciting and competitive track. We’re looking forward to a fitting finale for one of our most competitive seasons on record.” Read the whole story here...
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Wisconsin ; Wednesday, March 8, 2006; Politics, natural resources management mix; By Jim Mense, Outdoors Columnist; Early last week we received two letters in the mail. One was from the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and another from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. Never has there been such agreement on any one issue in our memory. One organization sees fit to block a late antlerless deer season in an effort to get a handle on over-population of deer in the state. Another list of organizations worked out a new deer season framework that would substantially stream-line deer season, permits and regulations and remove the October T-zones hunts, replacing T-zones seasons with a herd-reduction season the second Thursday through Sunday, following the traditional November deer hunting season. more news...
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EAGLE RIVER WI. – 3/6/2006 ; In recent years, the summer vacation season for many families has shrunk from a dozen weeks down to between eight and 10. WisBusiness: Snowmobiling Business Rivals Summer Tourism for Northern Wisconsin; By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com “What with school getting out later and so many kids involved in summer activities, our busy period is now June 20-Aug. 15,” said Holly Tomlanovich, who runs the Bayside Motor Lodge here. If it weren’t for snowmobiling, which pumps thousands of riders into Vilas and other northern Wisconsin counties every weekend, Tomlanovich isn’t sure if she could make it. “Snowmobilers mean $30 to $35 million to our county’s economy over the winter,” said Tomlanovich. “That’s huge. “We’ve been full on weekends since the beginning of January,” she said in late February. “And we are half to two-thirds full during the week. links to more Wisconsin snowmobile news here...
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Wisconsin ;Phillips, WI ; March 02nd, 2006; Zone T still at the center of deer politics; Interest groups want bonus antlerless seasons scaled back; DNR says Zone T is popular and effective Ryan Stutzman THE-BEE Phillips, WI ;The December Zone T hunt also lasts four days, beginning the second Thursday after Thanksgiving. Snowmobile lobbyists have been successful in limiting the December Zone T hunt to areas south of Highway 8, even though early snow conditions have been spotty in many recent years.Even as the dye sets for the 2006 season, advocates of rules reform are looking to next year with a handful of proposals. One proposal would schedule the December hunt a week earlier. That means the December Zone T hunt would overlap the muzzleloader season. Oginski said that would be a law enforcement nightmare because Zone T rifle hunters could claim they shot a buck with a muzzleloader. read the big news story here...
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Wisconsin ; HORTONVILLE WI. — Sliding into home plate takes on a whole new meaning when it’s done on a snowmobile.For more than 25 years, a bunch of area riders have made it a tradition to take a break from riding the trails and instead to spend a weekend chasing around after a bright orange ball at the Hill & Valley Riders’ annual snowmobile softball tournament. “We wait all year for this weekend,” said Shane Stone of Shiocton, playing for his 10th year. “We grew up with snowmobiles and this is just a more interesting way to celebrate,” said Laura Kimball, of Black Creek. “Friends and family all come out to play. Instead of sitting indoors or hitting the trails, it’s more of a group activity where everybody’s mingling and you can hear the badgering going on. It’s just been a really good time.” end of snowmobile story here...

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Wisconsin ; Snowmobile Show and Swap Meet; Snowmobile Swap; Erica Dao;More than 100 vintage snowmobiles were on display this afternoon at Sherwood Inn, just north of Fall Creek. People from all over Wisconsin and Minnesota showed up for the event. With the 55 mph speed limit bill making headlines, some shared their viewpoints on the proposed law. "They shouldn't go any faster than 55 at night or during the day. Snowmobiling is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be an enjoyment," aid Shelly Ross, a snowmobiler from Holcombe. Dan Jensen, the event organizer, is anticipating a bigger and better show next year and plans to donate money to the Fall Creek area. more wisconsin news here...
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Wisconsin ; Friday, February 24th, 2006 Currently: 21°F ;Snowmobile Speed Limits Feb 24, 2006;State lawmakers are trying to keep you safe on the snowmobile trails. But in Madison safety's become a controversy.; A member of the state senate says speed's important, but creating a nighttime speed limit isn't enough to keep the trails safer.He believes alcohol consumption while riding is a bigger concern.According to the DNR Conservation Warden Rick Peters, the two often go hand in hand. Typically the people that are operating at excessive speeds are also operating while intoxicated."We can show through our past experience in 2001 that if we do speed enforcement we're also going to have an excellent opportunity to reduce the number of intoxicated operators on the trails." Either way, some snowmobilers say the new regulation could never be enforced enough to significantly decrease fatalities. Don Aanonsen says he thinks targeting the sled manufacturers is the way to go. "Let's lower the speeds, let's lower the quickness. Why are they making them so fast?" more on alcohol and operating a snowmobile here... or discuss it here on our snnowmobile news boards...

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FRI., FEB 24, 2006 - 12:59 PM; Wisconsin ; Weak laws invite snowmobile deaths; Wisconsin State Journal editorial; The argument against cracking down on reckless and drunken snowmobilers in Wisconsin goes something like this: Snowmobile safety should be an issue of personal responsibility, not government regulation. When snowmobilers speed or ride drunk, the risks they take are their own. more on snowmobile safety here...

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Feb 22, 2006; Madison Wisconsin; County snowmobile trails shut; Now you see 'em, now you don't. After opening for the first time in weeks last Friday, Dane County snowmobile trails have closed less than a week later.Parks Director Darren Marsh said recent warmer weather and heavy trail use have significantly reduced snow depths on the trail corridors, forcing the trails to shut down. "Additional snowfall and below freezing temperatures will be needed before the trails can be reopened," Marsh said.Cross country ski trails in Dane County remain open and are reported to be in good condition. For the latest trail conditions, call the Dane County Parks information phone line at 242-4576.- Bill Novak
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Feb 22, 2006 8:38 pm US/Central; Snowmobile Fatalities In Wisconsin Climb To 26; Terry Kovarik;(AP) WAUSAU, Wis. Despite a new law enforcement crackdown meant to make Wisconsin's snowmobile trails safer, 26 riders have been killed in crashes so far this winter, a trend that had a state safety expert discouraged Tuesday. "We are on pace to have another record, and that is not something that is very favorable or we wanted to occur," said Gary Eddy, the Department of Natural Resources' snowmobile education administrator. The 25th fatality this season happened Tuesday afternoon when a snowmobile traveling at a high rate of speed hit several trees along a trail in the Oneida County town of Nokomis, and the 26th took place Tuesday night in the Shawano County town of Angelica when its operator either was thrown or fell off onto Wisconsin 29 and was struck by a pickup truck, sheriff's officials said. story here...

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Man Thrown From Snowmobile; Alison Struve; A Marathon County man is dead after he was thrown from a snowmobile and hit by a car when he was trying to stop for a stop sign. It happened a little before 6:00 p.m. 2/16/06, in the town of Alban, on County Highway I just north of State Highway 66. video clip and story here...

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Feb 20, 2006 ; Four People Die In Weekend Snowmobile Accidents; Terry Kovarik; (WFRV) Authorities have identified four snowmobilers killed in separate accidents this weekend in northern Wisconsin. Dead are…36-year-old Gerald Jurek of Kaukauna, 38-year-old Lisa Luedtke of Oak Creek, 41-year-old John Mettler of Eau Claire and 33-year-old Joseph Larson of Glen Flora. All four died Saturday night. Jurek was killed when his snowmobile jumped a snowbank in Oconto County and struck a tree. Luedtke died in a snowmobile crash in Forest County. Mettler and Larson were killed in separate accidents in Sawyer County when their snowmobiles left the trail and hit some trees. Watch the video news clip here!

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Thursday, December 30, 2004; Derby time fast approaching The track at the World Championship Snowmobile Derby is ready and waiting for the 42nd annual race. At right, snowmobilers, racers or not, have been finding the trails through downtown Eagle River favorable this year. (Daily News photos by Mike Skubal) Track ready and waiting For ten days in January, Eagle River is the Snowmobile Capital of the World. January 7-16, 2005, marks the 42nd Annual World Championship Snowmobile Derby, and the track will be ready.

Chuck Decker, owner of the Eagle River Derby Track on Highway 45 North, says preparations start early, "Weather dictates, we wait until there is one or two inches of frost in the ground, then water every chance we get."The outer track, the raceway for the oval sleds, is made of glare ice, 10 to 12 inches thick. The sno-cross racers use the infield, banked and snow-covered.Snow for the infield is both trucked in by the city and made by a snowmaking machine owned by the track. The Derby Track uses about two million gallons of water to prepare the ice oval and for snowmaking.A four thousand gallon tanker truck is used to haul water, emptying its load in just 12 minutes. A Bombardier groomer with tiller finishes off the preparations, shaving ice while watering the track.A secondary system uses a Harley Rake, used in commercial landscaping, to smooth racing surfaces. "The weather is helping, we have very good conditions," said Decker. Safety measures include hay-bale barriers, two bales thick and three bales high, and double layered fencing.

Chuck Decker bought the track from his father, Dick, in 1989. Dick had purchased the track from the Lions in 1985. Much has been added since 1989, including snowmaking capability, corporate and rental suites, and reserved heated seating.The Derby kicks off January 7-9 with the Vintage Races. "Some of the greatest interest is in Vintage Racing, sleds of the sixties, seventies, and eighties, restored and ready to race," said the younger Decker."Vintage racing is popular. Older guys, when they were kids, dreamed of having one of these machines," said Decker. "Now they're older and have money, they find them and restore them, and they want to race."On Thursday January 13, oval, sprint, and sno-cross racers arrive for qualifying, with time trials and sprints. Friday January 14 means qualifying in Junior, Women's, and Semi-Pro classes in both oval and sno-cross.Friday also means Friday Night Thunder, with racing, demonstrations, and entertainment, including fireworks at 7 p.m.

Saturday, January 15, features qualifying for the World Championship Oval and Sno-Cross, and select Oval and Snow-cross finals. Sunday, January 16 brings the finals in the top classes of both Oval and Sno-cross."We want everyone to know this Derby is a salute to the military personnel," said Dick Decker. "We've got an F-16 flyover at 2:45 p.m. on Friday the 14th, from the Madison Air National Guard, and several military displays."Miss Wisconsin will be present on Sunday, Jan. 16.For schedules, rates, and information about Derby events, call 715-479-4424.

A trace of snow has fallen and melted this month, leaving the landscape a pale brown. It's the color of money for the Manitowoc County Highway Department. "Our snow budget is in good shape; January was very good to us," county Highway Commissioner Gary Kennedy said. "We're about $50,000 to the good of where we would normally be at this time of year." The department's annual budget is about $600,000, Kennedy said, which covers a calendar year. Kennedy said Tuesday afternoon that early Department of Transportation computer projections show 3 to 6 inches of snow falling tonight and Thursday in the Lakeshore area. That's not nearly enough for Joe Wotruba, lawn and garden salesman at Eis Implement, Two Rivers. He said any snow now is too little, too late. "Particularly with snow throwers, after the first of the year people just try to get by with what they've got," Wotruba said. "That's even more the case with two or three weeks, maybe, of hard winter left. It could change if we had back-to-back heavy snowfalls."

Posted February 16, 2006 ; Snowmobile fire destroys garage ; The Post-Crescent , BLACK CREEK — A snowmobile started on fire and destroyed a garage here Wednesday afternoon. Fire Chief Scott Yahle said the fire at a detached garage at 507 N. Main St. started just before 3:30 p.m. and caused some damage to the siding of the home. The home is owned by Margaret Drephal and occupied by Cody Parker. He said the garage is a total loss, but said no dollar estimate of damage was immediately available. “There were a lot of things inside and that’s why we don’t have a dollar amount,” he said. He said items in the garage that were lost include other snowmobiles and a pontoon boat.

Shane J. Stamper drowned after the snowmobile he was driving failed in its attempt to navigate across open water on the northern section of Pokegama Lake, near Gary and Lynda's Lakeshore Resort in Chetek. According to a press release from the Barron County Sheriff's Department, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, Barron County Dispatch received a 911 call from Lakeshore Resort at approximately 5:57 p.m. The caller advised that a snowmobile and its operator had gone into the water near the resort. The caller stated the operator of the snowmobile was seen "floundering" in the open water, trying to make it to shore. Deputies from the Barron County Sheriff's Department, along with members of the Chetek Fire Department, Chetek Emergency Medical Services, ambulances from Chetek and Rice Lake, the Chetek Police Department, and Wisconsin DNR wardens, responded to the scene.

Chetek Fire Department Chief Joe Atwood says the department received the page at 5:58 p.m., and mobilized immediately. Atwood says department members were at the fire hall for a training session, allowing their response time to be even quicker than normal. "We just happened to be assembled at the fire hall for a meeting when the call came out," says Atwood. "We were on the scene within minutes."

Atwood adds the first responder system that the department has been slowly implementing had kicked in with the original call. Captain Dan Becker, who lives within approximately two miles of the scene, was the first rescuer to arrive. "I just happened to be running late for the meeting when the first responder call went out," says Becker. "I knew I lived close to the scene and I took off." Becker says he arrived at the resort within two minutes, but Stamper was already under the water. "I teach ice rescue classes in the area and I keep an ice rescue suit in my car," Becker says. "I put the suit on, radioed for additional resources, and commenced searching for the victim."

With directions from bystanders, Becker commenced his search in the area where Stamper was last seen. Becker says he continued his search until other rescuers arrived. The group formed a rescue plan, then after hearing the nearest dive team - either from Weyerhaeuser or Chippewa Falls - was at least an hour out, they re-initiated the search. Atwood admits the area is a popular one for people to skip their snowmobiles, but the size of the area of open water was unusually large due to mild temperatures. "There's usually just a small area of open water this time of the year, but because of the recent weather the open area was at least 150 yards long and 80 yards wide," says Atwood. "That's a lot of area to cover when someone's under water."

The department owns six ice rescue suits, says Atwood, and all six were in use for the rescue. There were also three rescuers in an ice rescue boat with a drag line, as well as bystanders in a boat also dragging a line. "We were all doing whatever we could to find this guy," says Atwood. "We were trying to cover as much area as possible."

After being under water for approximately an hour and 30 minutes, Stamper's body was recovered. Atwood says Stamper was immediately placed on a backboard, put into a waiting ambulance, and taken to the Chetek Municipal Airport where the Mayo One helicopter was waiting. Stamper was then transported to Luther Hospital in Eau Claire where he was later pronounced dead.

'We tried to talk them out of it' According to Gary Root, owner of Lakeshore Resort, Stamper and Reid Tiegs of Dallas had been skipping their snowmobiles prior to stopping at his resort. "There's been a lot made about how they had been drinking - people saying they were drunk or whatever - but when they were in here neither of them finished a beer," says Root. "In fact, Shane's wasn't even touched. So if they drank, it wasn't here."

Root recalls that Stamper was hesitant about going back out to skip, as he had never done it before that day. "We tried to talk him out of it," Root says. "But he decided he would go anyway." Root says Stamper and Tiegs jumped on their snowmobiles and headed back onto the ice. He adds that Tiegs made one pass north and south before Stamper decided to go for it. "Shane was sitting right outside the bar watching," says Root. "But as soon as he took off I knew something was wrong because the snowmobile didn't have enough power, it was like it was dying or something."

Root says he watched Stamper plunge into the icy waters of the lake. "I watched the taillights on the snowmobile go under and I shouted at Lynda, 'there's a snowmobile down, call 911,'" says Root. "I yelled out to Shane to ask him if he was okay and Shane yelled back, 'No,' so I told Lynda to call 911 again." At that time Gary and Lynda both ran out of the bar along with a friend. Gary told the friend to pull his truck right up to the water for a source of light while he went to the shed to try and find a rope and life preserver. Lynda says she tried to communicate with Stamper. "I just kept yelling out to him, 'Talk to me, Shane, talk to me,'" Lynda remembers as she tries vainly to hold back tears. "There was no response."

Gary says that by the time he returned with the rope and preserver, Stamper was already under water. "It couldn't have been more than 15-20 seconds and he was under," says Gary. "We knew about where he was, but there was nothing we could do to get to him." Gary says Stamper's snowmobile had gone under about 40 feet from shore, too far for them to be able to throw anything to Stamper. "If he could have just gotten a little closer..." Gary says, pausing to collect himself. "Maybe we could have saved him." "He drowned right in front of us," Lynda adds, in tears.

The Roots say that even though they were unsuccessful in rescuing Stamper, the rescue crews did everything they could. "The emergency crew was just amazing," says Lynda, impressed by how quickly Becker and the rescue team arrived at the scene. "Not to mention all the people that were helping around here. We had cold firefighters in here and guys getting their wet suits on." Both Lynda and Gary say they are very appreciative of the efforts given by volunteers and the rescue workers that day.

The aftermath; The Roots add that they have since placed a boat near the lake with oars and a rope, and they will be receiving a bag and rope system for rescues, as well as training on how to use the equipment, from the Chetek Fire Department. "Anything we can do to keep this from happening again," says Lynda. "Anyone who wants to learn how to use this equipment is more than welcome to come by," adds Gary. Barron County Sheriff Tom Richie says that Tiegs was subsequently taken into custody on the charge of operating while intoxicated on a snowmobile. Richie adds that snowmobile skipping is not illegal in Wisconsin.

An obituary for Shane J. Stamper appears elsewhere in this week's Alert. Stamper is the son of Leo and Melissa Stamper of Dallas. ©The Chetek Alert 2006