The business started in a backyard shed with no running water. Now, Tastefully Simple is a $100 million-plus taste-testing party company with more than 350 employees and 28,000 independent consultants. Over the years, Jill Blashack Strahan has persevered despite many obstacles.

All the employees at the Arctic Cat plant in Thief River Falls celebrated the production of the 1 millionth Arctic Cat snowmobile on Thursday, Aug. 26. The 1 millionth snowmobile is a 2011 Crossfire LTD. Employees were invited to sign the snowmobile. Arctic Cat employs 1,200 area residents. (This photo may be purchased above.)

    Arctic Cat’s 1 millionth snowmobile rolled off the production line on Thursday, Aug. 26.
    Arctic Cat got its start in 1961, but it came upon hard times at the end of the 1970s. In 1981, after two seasons of little snow and tough economic times, Arctic Enterprises was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That didn’t stop a determined group of former employees, however. They reformed the company under the name Arctco, Inc., and the first snowmobile rolled off the assembly line on Aug. 1, 1983. Nearly 27 years to the day, the 1 millionth snowmobile rolled off the production line of the company now known as Arctic Cat.