Editing Thief River Falls, Minnesota (section)

====Snowmobiles====
[[Arctic Cat]], Inc. can trace its roots to former [[Polaris Industries]] founder Edgar Hetteen who left Polaris in 1960 and started Polar Manufacturing in Thief River Falls. Shortly after changing name to Arctic Enterprises, the new company produced snowmobiles. Arctic Cat purchased several boat manufacturers including Spirit Marine which produced the first [[Wetbike]] in 1978. A few snowless winters in the early 1980s bankrupted the 20-year-old company, which closed its facilities by 1982. In 1984, Arctic Cat was reborn under a new company name, Arctco, which was changed to [[Arctic Cat]] in 1996. It was announced at the end of 2024 that Arctic Cat would close during the first half of 2025 in Thief River Falls.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 19, 2024 |title=Arctic Cat to cease operations at Thief River Falls, St. Cloud plants |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/12/19/arctic-cat-to-cease-operations-at-thief-river-falls-st-cloud-plants |website=MPR News |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=February 14, 2025}}</ref>