Clay County Sheriff’s Office approved to purchase 2 new snowmobiles

MOORHEAD, Minn. (Valley News Live) - The Clay County Sheriff’s Office will have two new snowmobiles ready to ride next winter. The Clay County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of two new sleds at a meeting on Tuesday, March 7.

The Sheriff’s Office currently has two snowmobiles, which are 2014 Yamaha trail sleds. Sheriff Mark Empting told commissioners the snowmobiles work well on trails, but are “a bit dicey” to operate in more remote areas. Empting says a deputy rolled one of the department snowmobiles and another was injured trying to prevent a sled from rolling.

The Sheriff’s Office says, as of January 2023, they had just over $15,000 available in their internal service fund. They plan to sell or trade in the two current snowmobiles and those funds would also go back to the department.

The Sheriff’s Office has received bids from Polaris and Ski-Doo. The Polaris model would cost approximately $15,100 and the Ski-Doo model is just over $15,600.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Department utilizes snowmobiles to do enforcement on snowmobile trails in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. They also use the sleds for emergency rescues and youth snowmobile safety courses.

With the approval of the Clay County Commission, the snowmobiles will be pre-ordered and should arrive next fall or early winter.