It's only a couple weeks until the Pennington County Fair in Thief River Falls, Minn., and the new-this-year Arctic Cat Village display.

More than two dozen beautiful vintage Arctic Cat snowmobiles will be on display, along with oodles of great memorabilia.

There will be plant tours and live bands.

New Arctic Cat snowmobiles and TOR side-by-sides and ATVs will be on display.

And there will be the great vibe that happens at one of the coolest county fairs anywhere.

It all happens July 18-22.

Click for a few more details.

Fans of Arctic Cat who want to see the hometown and experience the down-home fun of a county fair should mark July 18-22 on their 2018 calendar.

"Arctic Cat Village" is a new attraction at this year's Pennington County (Minnesota) Fair, held at the county seat of Thief River Falls, Minn.

In addition to all the regular goodness of a county fair, you'll be able to see Tom Ische's collection of amazing Arctic Cat machines and memorabilia; there will be plant tours of Arctic Cat/Textron Off Road; Team Arctic race teams displaying their trailers and sleds; a chance to win a Prowler EV side-by-side; and more.

Spring flowers are just around the corner, so act fast:

Today is the LAST DAY to to Spring Guarantee your new 2019 Arctic Cat snowmobile and get the best deals of the season.

The 2nd Annual Hunter Houle Memorial Foundation fundraiser is set for Saturday, April 28 in the Twin Cities.

On tap that day: Indoor go-kart racing on an awesome track (where you and I will show Tucker Hibbert and Zach Herfindahl why they’re LUCKY we don’t race them on a weekly basis!); great people; incredible auction items; a new-this-year banquet dinner option; and raising funds for a great organization.

This event is a BLAST! Plus it's a great place to meet oodles of famous snowmobile racers, all of whom have promised to let me with the go-kart races.

It's also a great fundraiser whose proceeds will go to help people in need.

Click for more info.

Sunday night we find out what Arctic Cat has in store for 2019.

Got any ideas what the future will bring?

Got a man-cave that needs some more cool stuff?

The Arctic Cat Garage Collection might be exactly what you want.

Check these things out (along with the official ArcticInsider recommendations.)

This weekend ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minn., is celebrating its 10th year as a premier event destination with a special Eliminator snocross event this evening followed by snowmobile demo rides on Saturday.

Check it out in person if you're in the area, or watch the livestream this evening.

Click for more info.

On Saturday, dozens of snowmobilers crossed the Mackinac Bridge, the legendary suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac (splitting the waters of the Great Lakes Michigan and Huron) that connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan.

This has got to be one of the more memorable 5-mile snowmobile rides anywhere!

Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot (5-mile) bridge is commonly referred to as the"Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac. It's the world's 19th-longest main span and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere, and it's wonderfully iconic bridge in the Great Lakes region.

Organized by the awesome Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in Naubinway, Mich., Saturday's event was the second annual and an homage to the original snowmobile crossing of 50 years ago. Jim Langley, 80, was this year's Grand Marshall. He was one of the two original riders to cross the Mac 50 years ago, and he rode his restored 1966 Polaris during this year's event.

Click to see a few more pix and details.

Remember that lawsuit that BRP brought against Arctic Cat over chassis design and rider position (the same lawsuit that had a ruling in favor of Arctic Cat by a Canadian court last February)?

There was a ruling by a Minnesota jury last week in favor of Arctic Cat.

Click to read the story from Law360.com.

Arctic Cat and Speedwerx have had a very close relationship for a whole bunch of years, from race engines to concept vehicles to Black Cats sleds to high performance products to...well the list goes on and on.

For the first time ever, there are now Speedwerx Hypershift Clutch Kits available for most recent model machines, from all Arctic Cat dealers, and via the online store.

These kits deliver the same promise as all of Speedwerx's stuff: more perforemance.

Click to read the details and see if it's something you're interested in.

As the years tick by, my weary eyes need ever-increasing light to see with the clarity that I expect.

The LED headlight that comes stock on select, recent Arctic Cat snowmobiles delivers improved performance in exactly this way.

Now this headlight is available as an accessory for 6000 and 8000 series models.

Click to see the light.

Arcticwear continues to round-out its clothing line for snowmobilers, with the new Mid-Weight Wool Socks joining the Champion Advantage Jacket for the coming season.

Now that grey is the new black, the Champion Jacket hits the bullseye of current style trends.

The socks won't get much notice, aside from whoever wears them and appreciates their warmth and dryness.

Click for a few details on each.

The Snowmobile Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Germain, Wis., announced today its four inductees for 2018: Team Decker Racing, Bryan Dyrdahl, Trapp Brothers Racing Team, and Rick Ward.

These honorees will be inducted into the SHOF on Feb. 17, 2018, in St. Germain, coinciding with the annual Ride With The Champs and other events. All snowmobiling fans are invited.

Click for more info on the inductees and the upcoming event.

It's been a few years since Arctic Cat has offered a premium boot featuring the latest materials and technology.

The new Boss Cat boots are a return to that category, and something that I'll be checking out this winter.

Click to get the skinny on this @$$-kicking boot.

Today Textron Off Road unveiled its 2018 line of ATVs and Side-by-Sides, including the model families: Alterra, Wildcat, Prowler and Stampede.

The company clarified which models will constitute its new line, as well as which models will remain while inventories last.

As I look at the announcement, it looks like 2018 is a transition year for the company, which makes perfect sense considering the monumental process of bringing Arctic Cat into the Textron family.

Click to read the official release from Textron Off Road.

Today Textron Off Road unveiled its 2018 line of ATVs and Side-by-Sides, including the model families: Alterra, Wildcat, Prowler and Stampede.

The company clarified which models will constitute its new line, as well as which models will remain while inventories last.

As I look at the announcement, it looks like 2018 is a transition year for the company, which makes perfect sense considering the monumental process of bringing Arctic Cat into the Textron family.

Click to read the official release from Textron Off Road.

I've experienced the parental years of going snowmobiling with kids who are either too young to ride on their own or (in the case of my daughter), not interested in riding by herself.

Some families opt for dedicated 2-up riding sleds, such as the various Pantera models. Other families opt to "tough it out" using their regular, one-up machines.

These days there's a much more elegant solution for most recent-model Arctic Cats that doesn't require a dedicated 2-up machine, in the form of a 2-up Seat Kit.

Click to read a few virtues and details.

Team Arctic straightline racer Glenn Hall just set another record, this time ProMod class in 1/8-mile asphalt  bike/sled class aboard the Stilson Racing/Hypersports Arctic Cat 9000-Series Turbo:

0.167 seconds:            REACTION TIME

1.140 seconds:            60-FT ELAPSED TIME

3.216 seconds             330-FT ELAPSED TIME

5.041 seconds             1/8-MILE ELAPSED TIME

133.09 MPH               1/8-MILE SPEED

Glenn and the team delivered this outstanding result this past weekend at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario.

it's a reflection of the team's expertise as well as the incredible power-to-weight advantage of an Arctic Cat Turbo.

Congrats to the Stilson Racing/Hypersports team!

The mother ship is strong, stable and profitable.

Textron Inc. today reported second quarter 2017 income from continuing operations of $0.57 per share or $0.60 per share of adjusted income from continuing operations, compared to $0.66 per share in the second quarter of 2016. During this year’s second quarter, the company recorded $13 million of pre-tax special charges ($0.03 per share, after-tax).

Revenues in the quarter were $3.6 billion, up 2.6 percent from the second quarter of 2016. Textron segment profit in the quarter was $295 million, down $33 million from the second quarter of 2016.

“Revenues were up in the quarter primarily driven by the Arctic Cat acquisition,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott C. Donnelly. “We saw strong performance at Bell and were encouraged by the continued strengthening in commercial helicopter demand.”

Click for the full release.

It's mid-July, which means the lakes are just starting to thaw in northern Minnesota. Time to swap the heavily insulated Arcticwear gear with something a little more summer-like.

Arcticwear has some new utility jackets for the 2018 season that might be exactly what you're looking for now and in future months.

Click to check 'em out.