Northern Exposure: Winter EV Ride & Drive | Ely

EV in Driveway

Minnesota winters, rural roads, and electric vehicles are made for each other!

This free in-person event allowed folks to test-drive new EVs in winter conditions during Ely’s annual winter extravaganza. CURE partnered with Drive Electric Minnesota and the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs).

As part of Ely’s Winter Festival this event featured:

  • Ely’s newest & fastest charging stations
  • Test drive and experience first-hand how safe and reliable electric vehicles perform in the winter
  • Meet with local electric vehicle owners to hear about their experiences navigating rural roads
  • Learn about utility programs that reduce the cost of electric vehicle ownership
  • You may even have the opportunity to meet with a local celebrity!
  • Free Hot Chocolate ☕️ ☕️ ☕️ !!!

⚡️🚙 ⚡️ 🚗 ⚡️ TEST DRIVE!!!! Electric vehicles for test drives included a Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla X, and Tesla Y.

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Kelsey Olson

Kelsey Olson

Director of Environmental Stewardship

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Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.

Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the Minnesota Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, whether this is canning local produce, making kombucha, or other treats!

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