Ice drag racers, property owners reach compromise for 2026 season

Ice drag racers, property owners reach compromise for 2026 season

BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
A dispute over a fence erected on the frozen waters of Lake Alexander was resolved early Saturday morning after property owners and Merrill Ice Draggers (MID) officers reached a temporary agreement that allowed the day’s racing event to proceed.
The incident occurred around 7 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2026, in the bay area off the boat landing at Council Grounds State Park in Merrill, where the MID were preparing for one of their annual Ice Drags racing events.

The MID have held the Ice Drags on Lake Alexander for more than 60 years, typically hosting four to six races each winter on Saturdays in January and early February. The events draw tourists to the area and contribute to the local economy, the MID said.
The races take place on a plowed 1/8-mile strip on the frozen lake, with fencing erected to separate the racing area from the rest of the lake for safety purposes.
Scott and Stacy Pettit, who own riverfront property on the lake, erected a fence on the ice in early January along what they believe to be their property line extending across the lakebed in the bay area. The Pettits maintain they own the lakebed and mineral rights beneath the navigable waters in that section of the bay.
“We have the right to keep the mess and everything they bring with them” out of “our end of the bay,” Stacy Pettit said. “We live up here. We travel this, we trap this ... we want to enjoy it.” She noted they also like to ice fish in the bay.
She added that the issue extends beyond race days: “It’s constant. We’re putting up with it constantly ... It’s 100% a noise issue and a usage issue. So how do we come out here and safely fish where we have the right to?”
Stacy Pettit also said that when the Ice Draggers are not holding events, “Everybody else is — quads, snowmobiles, other cars, trucks, you name it — racing up and down their lanes. So this little event doesn’t stop when they’re not here. It’s constant.”
The fence, however, extended across the stopping area that MID officers and volunteers say is necessary for some racers whose vehicles reach high speeds and cannot stop quickly enough to make the first turnaround, including vehicles equipped with studs for ice traction. Volunteers said the fence created a safety hazard that could result in crashes, vehicle damage, driver injuries, and potential liability to the Pettits if the fence were to remain in place during the actual races. They maintain plowing the extended stopping lanes further into the bay is also necessary for safety reasons.
“Some of the vehicles cannot necessarily stop in that time,” one MID member said, explaining the need for the extended stopping area.
Dan Hixon, President of the MID, explained that the extended stopping lanes must be plowed because at high speeds, even hitting a small amount of accumulated snow can cause vehicles to lose contact with the ice entirely. Ice racing tires don’t grip on snow, he said, and a car traveling at speed hitting snow can roll over, which could be fatal.
Harley Hixon, Vice President of the MID, said, “We only plow on here just for safety of the people that can’t slow down. [Referring to the area in the bay beyond the Pettit’s fence.] Say if [there’s] like a brake failure, there’s something, it happens. That’s the only reason we have down here.”
When MID volunteers arrived early Saturday morning to set up for the races, they began carefully cutting the fence poles from the ice to remove the barrier. The Pettits observed the removal and contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy responded to the scene and determined there is no law prohibiting the Pettits from erecting a fence on what they consider their property, nor is there a law prohibiting the MID volunteers from removing it. All parties acknowledged the public’s right to use the navigable waters, whether liquid or frozen.
“From what’s been explained to me, there’s nothing that says you can’t put a fence up out here,” Deputy Sundquist said. “There’s also nothing that says they can’t take the fence down. There’s no laws either way.”
“Unfortunately right now, there isn’t a law that I can enforce,” he said. “I mean, I can’t make her move the fence. I can’t tell you guys [MID] you can’t remove the fence. Basically, I’m here to make sure nothing happens.”
After lengthy discussion, the parties reached a compromise for the remainder of the 2026 racing season. MID volunteers agreed to carefully remove the remaining Pettits’ fencing, roll it up, and deliver it to the Pettits’ property the following day. MID also agreed to erect their own fence in the same location at the conclusion of each race day, which they would then remove before subsequent races and reinstall afterward.
“We will put our own fence up here every time we are done racing for the day so we don’t damage yours,” said Dan Nehrbass, MID Treasurer. “And that’s our compromise.”
“In exchange, we will not recreate in the race area during their events,” the Pettits said. “Our intent is to find common ground for a compromise.”
The Pettits made clear the agreement applies only to the 2026 racing season and that they still have objections to the extent of the bay area used for the racing events and have other issues.
The couple filed a lawsuit against Merrill Ice Draggers, Inc. in 2021, alleging nuisance and trespass and seeking declaratory relief related to property rights under the public trust doctrine, among other issues. Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Galen Bayne-Allison dismissed the case in February 2024, citing procedural issues and insufficient evidentiary facts to support the claims. The Pettits filed a motion to appeal in March 2024, and the case is currently pending in District 3 of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, where it has been awaiting a decision since October 2024. Appeals in Wisconsin typically take many months to resolve, and it is not unusual for a case to remain pending for a year or longer.
Following Saturday’s agreement, the Jan. 31 Ice Drags event proceeded without incident.