Larry Koch says he’s doing his part to alleviate the struggle of small-town businesses.
Starting with an all-terrain vehicle trip from Siren, Wis., to International Falls next week, Koch, 69, and a group of riders want to send a message to small-town residents.
“In the little town that I was born in (Siren), when summer left us, and deer hunting season left us, our town was a ghost town,” Koch said. “Until snowmobiling started and brought people in again, during winter local businesses went way down and they struggled to survive.”
Then snowmobiling began in the 1960s, and “changed everything,” he recalled.
“Now with marginal snow years, ATVs can take their place,” he said. “The next boom is the ATV. We (small towns) have changed to being a recreational area that can be used 12 months out of the year.”
But ATV trails are yet to be fully developed and easily accessible, he said. Snowmobile trails “pretty much take care of themselves,” he added, since that sport is older.
His plan is to work with local chambers of commerce, including the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, to improve ATV trails and routes and improve the way trails are marked, he said.
“Most people are afraid of taking an adventure like this because they are afraid of getting lost, especially if you’re taking your family,” he said. “If you ask around little towns, about 70 percent of people have an ATV. They’ll use it on a farm or to go on a short ride. But you can also make a vacation out of it — you can make it into an adventure.”
The three-day trip to the Falls is based on the idea of sending a larger message to residents of small towns: taking trips across regions through ATV trails brings tourism to towns, supports local businesses, and ultimately boosts economies and creates jobs, he said.
“We’re doing this to show people and to show towns that if you have trails and you have access to them, then people will come to your town and spend money, and that creates jobs,” Koch explained.
His group includes his childhood friend Ken Nelson; Rick Thompson, president of Turf and Tundra, Siren’s ATV club; and Greg Olson, treasurer for the Wisconsin state ATV club.
Littlefork ATV rider Lyle Larson will also join the group.
The ATV riders, all of whom are over the age of 65, will depart Siren Sunday and is expected to reach Moose Lake by the end of the day.
On Monday, the group plans to ride from Moose Lake to Bemidji, where Bill Larson will join the ride.
The group will depart Bemidji at 8 a.m. Tuesday and hopes to arrive in the Falls by 4 p.m. The group will first stop in Littlefork to join with Lyle Larson.
Koch said the International Falls Police Department has agreed to escort the group through town from the Falls Holiday Station Store on Highway 53, ending at the chamber. And he said he has received permission from U.S. border officers to line up along the Canadian border.
Koch also plans to invite local people to sessions he conducts to help people plan their ATV adventure. He encourages all interested in help in planning a trip or finding trail routes to contact him at 612-750-6766 or Olson at 612-280-1220.
Koch said he knows of 25 other ATV clubs whose members want to take trips like these to encourage boosting small-town economies.
Koch is retired from working in the recreational business for 39 years. In 1990, he organized and financed a six-week snowmobile trip from White Bear Lake to Moscow to “create a better relationship between the U.S. and Russia,” he said.
“We’re just a bunch of fun people who like adventure,” Koch added. “This shows that if you like the outdoors and you like adventure, you can get on an ATV and take a trip like this to create a better business atmosphere in (small) towns.”
