Local News

  There isn't a sign yet at the entrance to town, but surely it's only a matter of time before this small farming community in Sibley County recognizes its most famous resident: Trevor Flannery, the 2007 National Pedal Pull champion.
  
The 10-year-old won the title last month at the National Pedal Pull championships in Mitchell, S.D., which featured hundreds of boys and girls from around the country.
  
What is a pedal pull? It's like a tractor pull, but instead of motorized vehicles, competitors use miniature tractors powered by pedal power to haul weighted sleds.
  
In Trevor's case, that involved hauling 300 pounds at the Corn Palace in Mitchell to beat Chase Von Eye of South Dakota for the title in the boys' division for his age group.
  
As far as anyone knows, this is the first time Green Isle (population 334) has had a national champion in anything.
  
"We're pretty proud," said Jim Flannery, Trevor's father. "It's not something everybody does. It's real tough competition. ... At the motel in Mitchell where all the pedal pullers were staying there were only draft horses. There weren't (any) little kids."
  
For his victory, Trevor won a $100 savings bond, a good-size trophy, a medal, an invitation to the International Pedal Pull championships in July in Iowa and everlasting fame in the town of Green Isle.
  
Trevor, a fourth-grader, has been written up in the local papers, been mentioned on the local TV news, congratulated by his minister from the church pulpit and received numerous letters at his home as if he were a movie star or famous athlete.
  
"It's been something," Kristine Flannery, his mother, said Tuesday from the family farmhouse. "He's handled it pretty well. I thought it was good that he found something that he liked and that he was good at."
  
The victory capped off a busy summer for the Flannery family, which spent much of the time traveling to pedal pull competitions in Minnesota and Iowa, one of the national hot spots for pedal pulling.
  
The sport originated in the mid-1980s when a miniature tractor was modified and a weighted sled was attached.
  
Rules were quickly established, with the winner being whoever pulls the weight the farthest without his or her feet touching the ground.
  
A "full pull" is one of 40 feet. If two kids tie, then there is a pull off to determine a winner. This is done by adding weight to the sled until there is no full pull, according to the Iowa Pedal Pull Association.
  
Pedal pulls soon became a favorite at state fairs in the Midwest and elsewhere. Eventually, competitions sprang up independent of the fairs.
  
"It's real popular," said Gloria ZumBerge, Trevor's grandmother. "This is something they do around here 'cause this is farm country."
  
Trevor saw his first pedal pull at the McLeod County Fair when he was 4.
  
"He didn't like it at first," his father said, "then he saw the trophies and got excited."
  
The events are open to boys and girls ages 4 to 12. Winners of regional events are eligible to go to state finals. State winners then compete at the national event.
  
"If you're looking for a big training program, there wasn't one," Jim Flannery said.
  
Trevor "trained" for the event by helping his grandpa pull rocks from the farm fields and riding his bike about a quarter mile to the only convenience store in town.
  
Trevor, who has been competing since he was 4, faced 37 competitors from 20 states. It was his first national victory after finishing second last year.
  
He's modest about his victory. He never realized he'd become such a big deal around this little town.
  
"I was excited because I got to go to South Dakota," said Trevor, who celebrated by asking his family to take him out for Chinese food. "I wasn't expecting it at all."