ProRodeo Sports News - June 15, 2018

SPECIAL SECTION

HEADWATERS PRCA RODEO Park Rapids, Minn. July 6-7 parkrapidsbullride.com When Randy Jokela finished college 40 years ago, he wanted to bring a slice of the Western lifestyle to the Midwest. For four decades, Jokela has remained committed to his stance. The Headwaters PRCA Rodeo in Park Rapids, Minn., will celebrate it’s 40-year history when it opens this summer, and Jokela, the owner of the rodeo production company Jokela ProWest, has been there for it all. “I was involved in rodeo when I was younger,” Jokela said. “I did some bull riding, I did some roping. After I started competing in rodeo more in Minnesota and North Dakota, I thought the real Western rodeos just weren’t in the Midwest. “It was my endeavor to try to create a true Western rodeo in Park Rapids, to bring the real West here. It’s gotten there. We have a great rodeo.” Jokela, who grew up in Red Lodge, Mont., among the company of rodeo heavyweights such as the Lindermans and the Greenoughs, feels as though the Headwaters PRCA Rodeo has succeeded in importing the Western style of rodeo to Minnesota. “It’s so unique,” Jokela said. “We’re in the middle of lake country, but during those four days, it feels like you’re in the West. That was always my goal, because I thought that Midwestern people, Minnesota people andWisconsin people, for that matter, they were really missing out on the taste of the real West.” Park Rapids is about 80 miles east of Fargo, N.D., and lies square in the heart of northern Minnesota. The town of fewer than 4,000 residents has embraced the rodeo, and subsequently, the Western lifestyle.

This year is the 40th anniversary for Headwaters PRCA Rodeo. Photo courtesy Park Rapids rodeo

“(The rodeo) is huge,” Jokela said. “What we do is try to attract the locals and the tourists and those from within a couple hundred miles, and it is, without a doubt, the largest event in Park Rapids.” In celebration of the annual commemoration, Jokela says the rodeo is going all out. “The band we have the first two nights is really significant,” Jokela said. “We’re bringing in Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band. They were the ones chosen for the first performance at the NFR this year.” The Park Rapids community owns a rodeo all its own during the fabled summer run, and Jokela is proud of the groundwork he’s laid over his 40 years of service to the rodeo and to the town. “We try to create great hospitality for the cowboys and for the barrel racers,” Jokela said. “We love having cowboys in Park Rapids.”

ProRodeo Sports News 6/15/2018

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