Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

ESCANABA -- The first Ice Masters 500 is taking place in Escanaba this weekend.

Snowmobilers are visiting the U.P. from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Locals are quickly realizing the impact that the tournament is having on Delta County tourism. When it comes to lodging, all of the snowmobilers in town need a place to stay. Motels are seeing a huge increase in bookings for this weekend's events.

"I would say probably about 50 percent of our rooms are due to the ice race...folks who are in the area. We definitely are putting on more staff. Our restaurant will be very busy tonight, and we're very much looking forward to that," said Sarah Mattoon, manager at Terrace Bay Inn.

The time trials were on Friday, and more races were scheduled for Friday afternoon, but because of technical difficulties with the track, they were postponed.