Lack of snow has some northern Minnesota businesses struggling
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When Theresa Rautio was growing up in northern Minnesota, she remembers snowbanks so tall she could slide on to them from her garage roof.
That’s a far cry from the past two winters, with barely any snow. And that’s been a huge blow to the family bar and restaurant she owns outside the small town of Britt, among the lakes and woods north of the Iron Range.
“It’s not just The Wooden Table. It’s all businesses up here,” she said. “We’re all struggling.”
The Wooden Table Inn is located just off the Taconite Trail, a major snowmobile corridor stretching 165 miles from Grand Rapids to Ely.
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In 2023, Tweetie, as everyone calls her, counted over 1,000 snowmobilers eating and drinking at her restaurant.
“Last year we had 10 sleds, and this year we had 14 sleds. And then we got rain,” she said. “In 2023, I sold 1,500 gallons of gas. I’m the only place right on the trail that sells premium gas. And last year I sold 10 gallons of gas.”
It’s been so slow she’s closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She’s cut staff on Sundays. “I’ve become a very good dishwasher,” the 64-year old joked. She worries she may not make it until the spring.
“It’s devastating. It’s the difference between keeping the lights on or not in the winter time,” she said.
Yet Rautio stressed she is not quitting, not after weathering COVID-19, staffing shortages and inflation. She said the business has been a community staple in the area for decades. She took over after her brother, the previous owner, died suddenly in 2019.
“I’m gonna fight it to the bloody bitter end,” she said.
The lack of snow has also hurt retailers, resorts and lodges, mechanics and other businesses catering to snowmobilers.
Kyle Colbert and his wife run Lake Vermilion Houseboats. In the winter they rent out about a dozen snowmobiles, when he typically earns up to a quarter of his revenue. But he’s barely rented any snowmobiles the last two years.
“We had one group go out the day right after Christmas, and then after that, we’ve had to cancel everybody else,” he said. “We’re not renting sleds until we get some more snowfall.”
Last year he qualified for an emergency federal loan from the Small Business Administration. But he said the money still hasn’t come through.
“What we’re really looking for is we need some state help” he said. “There was some talk last year with Explore Minnesota that there was going to be some grants through the state, and we really need that if they want to have tourism.”
Despite the dearth of snow, some businesses are seeing a big rebound from last year.
Paul Schurke, owner of Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge in Ely, said tours are fully booked.
“The phone just rings and rings every day,” Schurke said. “There’s so much pent up demand after last year’s grim snow drought. People are just desperate to get out and enjoy some kind of winter.”
Conditions are not optimal, with only about six inches of crusty snow on the ground. But that’s enough to safely run sled dogs.
Cold temperatures have brought a strong start to the ice fishing season across much of the state. And downhill ski areas have been able to make plenty of artificial snow, including in Duluth, where Ann Glumac manages Spirit Mountain. She said sales are doubled compared to the same time last year, and slightly ahead of the previous winter.
“We’ve had a good start to our season and a good holiday week. So we’re actually doing well,” Glumac said.
But the lack of natural snow still hurts the bottom line. It costs several hundred thousand dollars to pump water out of the St. Louis River and up the 700 foot hill, and then pay staff to blow snow through the night.
“So it is a significant expense, but obviously it allows us to open,” Glumac said.
Across the region people who rely on winter tourism are worried about the future. Northern Minnesota winters have warmed by several degrees over the past few decades. While many winters are still snowy, thaws have become increasingly common.
Kim Osterhoudt has owned Pine Beach Resort in Side Lake for 30 years.
“It could really change northern Minnesota,” she said. “I don’t mean that as a fear statement. I just mean that it’s changing.”
Osterhoudt weathered COVID, but she said the past two winters have been the worst she’s seen.
“I had business every month of COVID. I had to do a lot of special things to make it happen. But I can’t make snow and I can’t make ice,” she said.
Osterhoudt and other local business owners gathered this week to commiserate and share ideas to stimulate business. They plan to produce posters thanking customers for supporting them.
They also want the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to allow ATV riders to use frozen snowmobile trails when there’s no snow.
“We’re realizing this could be a trend, not a fluke,” said Rautio at The Wooden Table Inn. “That’s why we have to make changes.”