Лесозаготовители Миннесоты собрались на крупнейшую отраслевую выставку года

Northern Minnesota loggers have hearts as big as the timber they cut. The 72nd North Star Expo, Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept 19 at Itasca County Fairground in Grand Rapids, is loggers’ biggest event of the year. The expo brings together loggers and others stakeholders in the forest products industry for two days of camaraderie, education and a look at the latest in timber harvesting equipment. It also offers the public the chance to see huge logging equipment and visit about 100 vendors who exhibit everything from hand tools to chain saws, firewood processors, sawmills, skid steers, tires, fuel providers, lubes, automobiles, and more. “It’s huge for us,” Ray Higgins, Minnesota Timber Producers Association executive vice president said. “It’s the highlight of the year for us. The big thing it does is bring people together.” For another year, the event also shows how loggers bring people together for a good cause. A check for nearly $100,000 will be presented to Gillette Children’s Hospital from area loggers, Chad Lovdahl, an Effie logger and chairman of the expo said. The check comes from a Log A Load for Kids fundraising program, Lovdahl said. For one day over the last several years, loggers have donated the money they receive for the wood that they deliver to area wood products mills to the program, Lovdahl said. “Most guys get three loads a day to the mills,” Lovdahl said. “It’s really something how guys come together.” Log A Load for Kids is a national organization that began in 1988 in South Carolina, according to the Minnesota Timbers Producers Association. It soon spread across the nation. Including in northern Minnesota. Log A Load for Kids in northern Minnesota stepped forward two years ago when a nephew of Birchdale logger Brady Hasbargen was injured in a dirt bike accident, Lovdahl said. Hasbargen’s nephew was airlifted to the Twin Cities, but didn’t survive. This year, 36 northern Minnesota truckers hauled timber to different area mills on a day in late July to raise money for Log A Load for Kids, Lovdahl said. Area wood products mills on the special day also donated the stumpage on which the loggers cut the timber, Lovdahl said. A total of about 50 companies connected to Minnesota’s logging industry this year participated in the program through either labor, materials, or cash to benefit sick and injured children, according to the Minnesota Timber Producers Association. “It’s a pretty neat thing,” Lovdahl said. “Guys are calling asking to volunteer to give up their loads.” Along with Log A Load for Kids, a recent truck/tractor pull and a Sept. 11 golf tournament, also raise funds for the program, Lovdahl said. The expo itself will bring together loggers, Soil and Water Conservation officials from across the state, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, landowners, conservation groups, wildlife groups, and others from within the industry, Higgins said. Some of the key discussions center around the importance of forest health and how to keep forest health strong in Minnesota, Higgins said. There’s both outdoor and indoor exhibits. Lovdahl said there’s about 60 outdoor exhibits and 30 indoors. “Our booths are full, so it should be another good expo,” Lovdahl said. The expo is free. With a dry winter of 2025-2026 and a dry summer, northern Minnesota loggers have so far had a good year, Lovdahl said. However, fuel costs are an issue, he said. “Fuel costs are high, there’s inflation and there’s always concerns about the market,” Lovdahl said. “The good news is we’ve had good logging conditions. I know the wood purchasers in the state want to purchase wood and we’re hoping they have a strong purchasing season as we get into winter.” In addition to an open invitation to the public, about 200 area high school students will attend the expo, participate in workshops and visit an off-site timber harvest, Higgins said. “It’s a deal where they can learn more about the industry and find out there are jobs whether it’s in the woods, as a forester, in a mill, or as an environmental scientist. There are all kinds of jobs they can learn about.” The event is sponsored by the Minnesota Timber Producers Association. “You can come, look around, kick the tires and learn about the industry,” Higgins said. “It’s nice to see everyone get together for a couple of days to celebrate the industry and make sure we’re all connected.”