Giant Duluth snow sculpture honors UMD superfan Hoagie, unveiled by Harry Welty

At the corner of 21st Avenue and 4th Street in Duluth, sculptor Harry Welty unveiled a community snow sculpture on March 2, 2026 to honor Dale "Hoagie" Haagenson, a longtime University of Minnesota Duluth superfan. Fox21Online reported that the piece was placed "right along the corner of 21st avenue and 4th street in Duluth," making the tribute visible to neighbors, passersby and UMD fans who often travel that route.

Haagenson, known across the region as "Hoagie," died Tuesday February 17th 2026 at age 65. Fox21Online described him as "one of the area’s biggest supporters of all things UMD sports," and noted that "Since then, there have been numerous celebrations and gatherings to honor his life and legacy." The snow sculpture is the latest public expression of those community memorials in the weeks after his death.

The sculpture was created by Harry Welty, whom Fox21Online called "a well-known snow sculptor in Duluth," and local reporting confirms Welty unveiled the work to mark Haagenson's legacy as a Bulldog superfan. An internal briefing about the unveiling begins a sentence with the phrase "and stands at" but did not include dimensions in published accounts, so the sculpture's height and precise measurements were not reported alongside the March 2 unveiling.

Neighbors and UMD supporters have already treated the intersection as a focal point for remembrance since Haagenson's death on Feb. 17 and the March 2 unveiling. The combination of public gatherings and a visible, human-scale memorial on a busy Duluth corner offers a noncommercial place for collective mourning and for children, students and older fans to remember a figure tied tightly to local sports culture.

Published reports do not specify whether the installation was authorized by the city or placed on private property, nor do they include statements from Haagenson's family, UMD officials or Welty beyond the coverage noting the unveiling. For now, the snow sculpture stands at 21st Avenue and 4th Street as a temporary public tribute created by a recognized local artist, reflecting the rapid communal response after "Hoagie" passed away and the role that visible memorials play in neighborhood life as Duluth moves into spring.