Ronald McDonald House Ride in New York Mills raises more than $100,000 in donations, 5 million pop tabs to sell for scrap

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The 22nd annual Ronald McDonald House RIDE in New York Mills brought in more than $100,000 in cash donations and 5 million aluminum pop can tabs to be sold for scrap all to benefit the famed charity.

Greg Karvonen, one of the original organizers of the annual 150-mile charity motorcycle ride from New York Mills to Verndale to Wolf Lake and back, said he’s seen amazing growth in the ride’s popularity over the years for the very worthy cause.

“It’s actually the world’s largest motorcycle ride for the Ronald McDonald House,” said Karvonen. “We raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Fargo, N.D., and it’s help families of sick children have a home away from home. The Ronald McDonald House serves thousands and thousands of families every year where they are at.”

He also said, over the course of all 22 rides they’ve done, the donations and live and silent auction bids have been generous.

“Over the 22 years, we’ve raised more than $2 million for the House,” he said. “And, every year, we give away a $25,000 motorcycle on a raffle every year, and we have a live auction and silent auction and people have been very generous.”

This year, Karvonen said he was a little hesitant because of the rain the night before, but hundreds of bikes ended up making it out by Saturday morning.

“With all the rain the night before, we thought it was going to keep some people home,” said Karvonen. “But they poured in, and we had almost 500 motorcycles show up.”

David George Jr. wins a 2023 Harley-Davidson Street Glide as part of a raffle during the Ronald McDonald House Ride in New York Mills on June 10, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM News)

The winner of this year’s big raffle prize, a 2023 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle, was David George Jr., of Hewitt, Minn.

Next year’s Ronald McDonald House charity motorcycle ride in New York Mills will be June 8, 2024.