Project Conception
A breakout group from the 2013-2014 Superior Leadership program, chose as their community project to develop a proposal to create a winter festival that would benefit Superior at a time of year when there isn’t much going on. Their project, conceived last year during one of the coldest winters on record, centered on bringing a gentleman by the name of Roger Hanson to Superior to build what was initially referred to at their Leadership project presentation in May 2014 as an ice castle. (Follow this link to learn more about Leadership Superior.)
Roger Hanson – The Iceman
Hanson had been building large ice creations in the backyard of his home in Big Lake, Minnesota for several years. When the Leadership group approached him about bringing his talents to Superior, specifically to Barker’s Island, he was all in. For more information about Roger Hanson and his past accomplishments, follow this link to his Ice Project Facebook page.
(Use the search word “ice project” to view previous postings on Explore Superior regarding the Ice Project.)
Where the Money Comes From
Although information about how this project is being funded is available, ES notes that significant confusion exists about how it is being financed. One of the recurring concerns on local social media is that it is being built using local tax dollars, money that would be better spent “plowing snow and repairing streets.” While it is true that tax dollars are being used, the funds allocated for the Ice Project come from sources specifically set aside for tourism development, and do not detract in any way from City services.
According to Mayor Bruce Hagen, and Chamber President Dave Minor, the $30,000 budget is entirely paid for by the hotel/motel rooms collection tax. One half of the budget comes from the Tourist Development Fund which is funded directly from the rooms tax, and the remaining $15,000 comes from the City of Superior’s share of the rooms tax. These are funds that are dedicated to tourism related events and campaigns, with the goal of getting “heads in beds.” Past examples of use of these funds are efforts made to bring business to Superior during Grandma’s Marathon, and the ice racing held on Barker’s Island.
The Hotel/Motel Tax Funds Tourism Promotion
In addition to the base budget of $30K, additional funds have been allocated to host light & sound shows on the site on February 14th, 21st, with the celebration culminating in a light and fireworks show on Saturday, February 28th. The City will be fully reimbursed for those events by major sponsor National Bank of Commerce.
When asked, Chamber President Minor stated very clearly that no local tax dollars are being spent on this project, but instead through taxes assessed visitors to Superior when they stay at city hotels. This is very much in line with how tourism related events are funded in Duluth.
What Benefits Does This Bring to Superior?
The obvious question is, how does one determine what this project brings to the City? There are the upfront costs of $30,000 to bring Mr. Hanson in to setup his equipment and start making ice. Weather permitting, he will achieve his goal and create a structure that will bring people from near and far to enjoy the view. But, how do we determine if this is a benefit for Superior, and whether it should become an ongoing event?
For starters, let’s be clear…this is a one year commitment between the City and Hanson, with a two year option should the City determine this to be a successful promotion. Contrary to what has been stated on various social media sites recently, the City is not committed to this for three years.
Posted by Arlys Kohl on Facebook, Sunday, Feb. 1
Secondly, the hope is that the Ice Project will bring people to Superior to view it, take pictures in front of it, and ultimately spend money. Early signs point to “Yes,” at least when you view a post from Maplewood, Minnesota resident Arlys Kohl who made the following post on the “You Know You’re From Superior When…” Facebook page this past Sunday:
“In town from the Cities and just had to see the ice sculpture so put my husband in the picture for height reference. Wow! Beautiful day for viewing!”
Finally, once the project wraps up at the end February, the City and the Chamber will cooperate with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to calculate the “earned media income” using a formula devised by the state to calculate the dollar value of the publicity generated by the project. Cities, counties and states spend a great deal of money advertising what they have to offer; one need only to drive back and forth between Duluth and the Twin Cities to view the many roadside billboards advertising cities and events that take place in the Northland to confirm this.
Related to that, is the fact that a reporter from the New York Times will be in Superior today to interview Roger Hanson, Mayor Hagen, and Chamber President Minor, about this project. That interview will ultimately appear in the New York Times, as well as on their webpage. This will no doubt create further requests for interviews from various news sources. Given that a single advertisement in a major newspaper such as the Times can cost thousands of dollars, this is certain to boost the value of the Ice Project as a promotional tool for the City of Superior.
About The Celebration
As mentioned above, National Bank of Commerce is a major sponsor of the project, and is paying the tab for the sound, light and fireworks shows scheduled to take place this month on the 14th, 21st, and 28th. According to Valerie Blanchenay of NBofC, there will be Children’s Light Shows scheduled on the 14th and 21st at 6 pm and 7 pm, with a family friendly light show to follow at 8 pm on both evenings.
The finale will take place on Saturday, February, 28th when NBofC will put on two light and fireworks shows orchestrated with sound. The first at 6 pm is considered to be a “Children’s Show,” and the second at 8 pm is to be “Family Friendly.” In addition to the shows, there will be bonfires on site each weekend, as well as local vendors offering goods for sale.
How He Does It
Simply put, Roger Hanson strings cables from tall poles, and then sprays them with water until ice begins to grow. Technically speaking what that means is a process of thorough advance planning, including site selection, eventual drainage requirements, and public safety are considered carefully before the first drop of water ever freezes.
Site preparation is next and includes setting up two 80-foot support towers, with complex rigging, and a 65-foot sprayer tower. According to Hanson, the support towers will not support the final structure but are an essential component of the building process.
For the Barker’s Island project he is using water pumped from the bay (the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was consulted on this process to insure the project was within state guidelines). Before he can begin spraying the water on the sculpture, it must be filtered several times and the temperature adjusted to prevent freezing, but cold enough to provide for quick freezing once applied.
How to build a wall of ice in three “easy” steps.
Since the ice will melt (we hope) in the spring, consideration is given to keep the bay clean. With that goal, Hanson has installed a series of pumps, filters, and tanks underneath his living quarters located on site that filter the water before applying it to the sculpture. In the spring, the sculpture will melt naturally and the water will find its way back into the bay.
Once the water is available, Hanson somehow manages to elevate it 65 feet up to a robotic pressure sprayer through a series of components that use the effects of gravity to move the water. To learn about that you should visit him this Saturday at 2 pm when he will explain to all comers how his equipment works.
The sophisticated sprayer utilizes an on-board weather station that measures wind speed and temperature, and then Hanson’s special computer software to calculate the distance and angle of the cable controlling the sprayer. According to Hanson, once the calculations are completed by his computer, the sprayer charges to the correct pressure, aims, and releases a two second spray. This process takes place over and over again, with the computer adjusting the direction of the spray continually.
Guinness Book of World Records
Hanson estimates that the Superior Ice Project will weigh an astounding 6 million pounds when complete and be 70’ high, by 90’ wide. Should he achieve those measurements, he hopes to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. To monitor the site for safety purposes, Hanson always has someone on-site watching the tower of ice to insure that no one approaches it in an unsafe manner. Hanson has indemnified the City and named the City of Superior as “additional insured” ($1 million aggregate) on a certificate of insurance in the same manner in which the city requires all organizers of special events to do.
Yichun City Ice Sculpture 2010
The tallest ice sculpture on record was 53’, 2.58” and was built in Yichun City, China with the record being made official on January 19, 2010. The sculpture was in the shape of a dinosaur and is pictured to the right.
Need ES remind our readers that would mean Superior, Wisconsin would be a part of that record?
As of February 1st, the Ice Project is 53’ tall and 17’ wide, and weighs an estimated 1 million pounds. The record for a similar structure is just a few inches away. However, in order for the project to qualify for breaking the record, the sculpture must be free standing, with all cables removed. According to the Superior Ice Project website, this will require additional funding or the record may go unverified by Guinness.
For more detail on how Hanson builds the Ice Project follow this LINK to be taken to his website.
If you enjoyed this post from Explore Superior, and would like to spread the word about the Ice Project, please share this with your friends and family. Before you know it, the whole world might know about it!
Past Explore Superior posts about the Ice Project:
- Baby, It’s NOT Cold Outside – January 24th
- Ice Castle Taking Form – January 11th
- Lake Superior Ice Project – December 3rd
- Plans for Ice Sculpture Heating Up – November 18th
Why is it that we spend money on this ice sculpture that fell over and embarrassed superior nation wide and is criticised daily and only a handful of people want but you can’t come up with the money to have the parade in superior, which draws thousands of families every year and everyone in superior enjoys and appreciates and is a yearly tradition for those families, and don’t tell me the money can’t come from the same place because that’s not true-
Clarifies the ice project at Barker’s Island. How disappointing for the ice sculptor, but he will continue to work on a final project for the celebration.