A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Brett Carlson drove his big block 1978 Ford 103 feet, 9 inches into a 200-foot-long canal of mud during Saturday's Mud Bog race in Kettle River. The goal of the race was not speed (except in the case of a tiebreaker), it was to see how far a person could drive their vehicle in the mud.
Saturday's Mud Bog drew a range of vehicles.
Five-year-old Jackson Rohauld has the best seat in the house for the mud bog: on his stepdad Josh Lucking's shoulders. The two were excited to see their friend, Alex Sorenson, was the next one up.
A grand total of 555 people paid to get in and watch Saturday's Mud Bog, which returned to Ma & Pa Kettle Days after a hiatus of over five years.
The determined Brett Carlson took first in both the Prostock and Modified categories at Saturday's Mud Bog event.
Alex Sorenson drives his yellow Ford into a canal of mud at Saturday's Mud Bog race in Kettle River, a huge part of the annual Ma & Pa Kettle Days celebration. Sorenson took second place in the "unlimited" category.
Saturday's Mud Bog drew about 20 different vehicles, some of them driven more than once by different drivers.
Even people on horses appreciate the mud bog
Over 555 people attended Saturday's Mud Bog event during Ma & Pa Kettle Days, more than three times the population of the small Carlton County town.
For those who aren’t familiar with mudding sports, there’s more than one type of mud bog, although they all involve vehicles driving into a giant mud pit.
The determined Brett Carlson took first in both the Prostock and Modified categories at Saturday's Mud Bog event.
“This particular mud bog is more of a ‘bounty hole’ style. You’re not really supposed to make it through,” explained mud bog committee member Eric Senarighi.
A mud bog is very different from a mud run, he said.
“When you do a mud run, it’s maybe only a foot to 18-inches of mud, and it’s how fast you can do it. Everybody’s timed,” he said. “In a mud bog or bounty hole, you just shoot in as far as you can and you’re marked on distance.”
Alex Sorenson drives his yellow Ford into a canal of mud at Saturday's Mud Bog race in Kettle River, a huge part of the annual Ma & Pa Kettle Days celebration. Sorenson took second place in the "unlimited" category.
About 20 different cars, trucks and wildly modified vehicles participated in the event, which began in 1984, but hadn't been held since the pandemic.
Of course, there’s was much more than a mud bog going on at this year's Ma & Pa Kettle Days. Highway 73 turned into a midway of sorts, with lots of booths and shopping, plus plenty of family, friends and food, including a steak fry Friday, pancake breakfast Saturday, ice cream and pie and food trucks. A bean bag tournament started at noon.
