Thank you, Trig and Tula, for all that you do

On behalf of the entire community — those who live here and those who love to visit here — The Lakeland Times and the River News would like to take this opportunity to offer a big thank you to Trig and Tula, not only for the new foundation they are establishing to benefit our communities but for a lifetime of achievement and giving.

It is indeed an honor to live in and to be associated with such generous and selfless leadership. The Solbergs are true leaders because they not only care about the place they call home, they show that care by returning the bounty of their hard work to help our people and institutions thrive.

It’s probably obvious, but we would like to point out that such generosity and leadership is extraordinarily rare in this modern world. 

It’s not to say that other local communities don’t have generous leaders and businesspeople who care and act altruistically. They do. But it is to say that very, very few local communities have the kind of leadership that Trig and Tula Solberg deliver — one in which the guide star of their lives is the local community.

With Trig and Tula, community comes first, while in other places communities get the leftovers.

Over the years, we’ve been honored to see Trig and Tula put this community first principle into action. Not only have they provided an essential service through their business — not merely affordable but bountiful for a rural area — but they have worked overtime to help the employees who provide that service in myriad ways over the years.

Today that workforce totals more than 600 workers and their families, a not insignificant imprint.

Indeed, Trig’s workforce itself can be called a community, and it reflects the larger community vision that Trig and Tula have long embraced. It is one of the secrets to their success, along with their hard work.

For the community at large, we have seen their amazing contributions help build our community into the prosperous place it is, year after year. Whether it’s equipping a personal aircraft with fixed-wing Medevac to serve the Northwoods or funding a change for a hangar for a local hospital that makes over 500 life-saving flights per year, Trig and Tula have stepped up to the plate time and again to serve their neighbors.

Indeed, in 2024, Trig’s donated $2 million to local organizations annually. Stop for a second to think just how amazing that is, and it is only the beginning.

Not least, Trig Solberg has been a civic leader who has rolled up his sleeves to contribute to the civic process. Among other things, he has served as chairman of the state’s Natural Resources Board and worked with such conservation organizations as the Nature Conservancy and Trees for Tomorrow.

Then too, the story of their own humble beginning leaves another lasting impression for those who want to stay and live in this wonderful place we call the Northwoods. Nobody gave them a dime. They had to work hard to earn it. Trig and Tula had to borrow money to open their first grocery store in Land O’Lakes and rented a house for $75 a month. They then opened their Minocqua store in 1974.

That was a golden day not just for Trig and Tula but for Minocqua, and it shows that with hard work and dedication, dreams can still come true here. They sure did for Trig and Tula, “beyond their wildest dreams,” as they have said.

Because of Trig’s and Tula’s efforts, the dreams of many have come true. And now, thanks to this new foundation, many more dreams will undoubtedly be in reach.

From the bottom of our hearts — and we believe we speak for the entire community — thank you Trig and Tula Solberg for all you have done, for all you do, and for all that your new foundation will accomplish. It is an honor to know and to have lived and worked in the orbit of your leadership, vision, and generosity.

So few communities have such common leaders. We know how lucky we are, and we are grateful.