TOWER- There were congratulations all around as trail supporters, planners, funders, and local politicians celebrated the formal completion of the 165-mile-long Mesabi Trail, the longest paved recreational trail in Minnesota.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony in Tower on Tuesday, there were nods to the past and the future as the improbable idea of a trail stretching from the Mississippi River to the Boundary Waters became a reality.
“I was going to bike here today,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald, “but then I woke up…” He pointed to the wind blowing around the tent panels and noted he had decided to drive over from Ely.
The weather on Tuesday was cool and very windy, but it didn’t stop many other trail enthusiasts from biking over to the ceremony which was hosted by the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority, who oversees the trail.
The trail was supported by both local trail enthusiasts and area legislators. Rep. Roger Skraba was a city council member in Ely back in 1994 when the trail planning process was underway. At first, he said, he was totally opposed to having the trail share a corridor with the existing snowmobile trail, but soon he was won over.
“I am now a trail person,” Skraba said. “This is one of the reasons we live here. Trails are transformative.”
Skraba is one of many local legislators who were able to use their voice and committee seats at the state level to help fund the trail over the past 30 years.
Current Sen. Grant Hauschild, as well as former state legislators Rob Ecklund and Dave Lislegard, and late legislators Dave Tomassoni and Tom Rukavina were all singled out for their commitment and vision for the trail.
Hauschild noted the trail is a connection from our past to the future. “This trail connects our communities and connects us to nature. This is the most beautiful part of Minnesota.”
He singled out biking enthusiast and former longtime Rep. James Oberstar, who was instrumental in getting federal grant funding that kicked off the start of the trail’s construction.
Skraba noted that if Oberstar was still alive, he certainly would have ridden his bike from Chisholm to Tower for the ribbon cutting.
Skraba said he is so proud of the trail, though he had hoped the last leg finished would be in Ely. “I wanted to save the best for last,” he said with a laugh, “but Tower is great, too.”
IRRR Commissioner Ida Rukavina noted she was just graduating from high school 30 years ago when trail construction first started. She also joked she had her first volunteer consulting job as a high school student, handing out information about the trail at a statewide event.
“This is a great example of what we can accomplish,” she said. The IRRR has granted over $1.7 million in the last six years for trail construction and related projects. She reminded everyone that the mining industry’s production tax makes projects like this possible.
Others were remembered for their vision and dedication to the project. Former St. Louis County Board member Liz Prebich was an early and fervent supporter of the plan. While she passed away 25 years ago, her husband Tom Butorac was on hand to speak about her early vision.
“She talked about having a paved trail all across the Iron Range,” he said. “I was just a cynic.” But then, he said, the couple visited Lanesboro, a community in southeastern Minnesota that has built a tourism economy around its bike trail, where he became convinced.
He also talked about Liz’s most important contribution to the trail.
“At first, planning was not going very well,” he said, “and they were in danger of having to return their federal grant money.”
“I introduced her to Bob Manzoline,” he said. At that time Bob was working for the city of Virginia as an engineer.
“They made him the director of the trail. He thought it was a short-term job!”
Manzoline, standing in the back of the tent, just nodded with a smile. “This trail wouldn’t have happened without Bob,” Butorac said.
“We hired Bob, and we have a trail,” he said.
Manzoline only recently retired from his job, and he was clearly excited to see the trail finally completed. When the ribbon was cut at the end of the ceremony, he was given the honor of hoisting the giant pair of bright-red scissors.
Bob Whalen spoke about the eight years of planning that went into the trail before the first bit of asphalt was even laid.
“In November 1988 Commissioner Prebich asked a bunch of bikers to meet in Chisholm.”
“Let’s build a trail,” she said. “We thought that would be wonderful.”
What they didn’t realize was this was going to be almost a lifetime volunteer commitment.
After a few years of planning, the group formally became the Mesabi Trail Work Group, and Whalen was asked to be chair.
“I realize now what railroading is,” he said. Several of the initial work group members also attended the ceremony.
Mapping the trail took time and patience, and this was often a challenge.
“Bob Manzoline jokes that he has walked the entire length of the trail multiple times,” Whalen said.
Besides working on the route, the working group established the trail’s rules and regulations.
He said while the endpoints of the trail were easily determined, putting the rest of the trail on the map was like assembling a huge puzzle, and getting all the pieces in between to fit.
Whalen said he isn’t done dreaming about paved trails in the area. He would love to see a trail from Ely to the north shore, as well as a trail from Virginia to Duluth.
“It has been an absolute joy to see how the trail has been put together,” he said.
McDonald ended the ceremony lauding the contributions of the three legislators, all now passed, who were the “giants” in helping fund the trail. Rep. Oberstar increased federal funding for trails nationwide, including in Minnesota, designating over $4 million to get the trail project started. An avid cyclist, Oberstar rode his bike over 2,000 miles each year.
Dave Tomassoni, the late state senator, was also instrumental in securing trail funding.
“He was our most passionate advocate,” McDonald said. Tomassoni was instrumental in getting agreements with the DNR and the area mining companies for trail routes.
An annual trail ride in his honor, the Tomassoni Tour-Cycle for ALS, is set to take to the trail Sept. 18-19, with riders tackling between 50 and 100 miles during two days of riding to raise funds for ALS research. The riders will travel between Tower and Ely on Saturday.
Finally, said McDonald, the late Rep. Tom Rukavina was instrumental in securing state bonding, as well as IRRR funding, for many miles of the trail, including the section that runs alongside the state’s largest bridge in Virginia.
“We sure miss these three giants,” McDonald said.
Thanks were given to many other trail supporters, funders and agencies, as well as Mesabi Trail and Railroad Authority staff, and then the ribbon was cut to signify the completion of the 165-mile-long Mesabi Trail.