Employees at Minnesota Diversified Industries on the western Iron Range won’t be working in an old potato barn anymore.

A renovated 110,000 square-foot facility in Cohasset is replacing an old potato barn in Deer River that has housed some Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI) operations.

MDI, which produces plastics products, largely for the U.S. Postal Service, has finalized an agreement to expand into the former Technimar building.

“We’re excited about it,” said Peter McDermott, MDI president and chief executive officer. “It enables us to expand and gives us the capacity to handle surges from the postal service. It also provides us with the opportunity to expand our product line.”

MDI’s mission is to serve people with disabilities by offering inclusive employment opportunities and services. MDI also employs non-disabled persons who work side-by-side with disabled employees.

The non-profit, which traces its roots to 1964, currently employs 488 at operations in Deer River, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, and the Twin Cities. 

The Cohasset facility will be the largest building owned by MDI. MDI plans to have the expanded facility operational in the second quarter of 2016.

Initially, the Cohasset facility will employ 20. An additional 40 to 60 workers are expected to be hired at the facility within five to six years.

MDI’s goal is to develop a line of polypropylene products in Cohasset that are similar to the company’s existing line of polyethylene postal totes, trays and commercial products.

MDI is also seeking to develop an occupational skills training center at the facility that would focus on helping high school graduates with disabilities prepare to transition into the workforce.

IRRRB provided a Development Infrastructure grant to assist with the $3.3 million project.

Community leaders from the Aitkin area are invited to a Friday, Jan. 8, listening session with IRRRB Assistant Commissioner Joe Radinovich. The session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the 40 Club.

The session is the fourth in a series aimed at gathering input from community leaders on business, community, and workforce development needs.

IRRRB is establishing a strategic plan designed to support business development, invest in vibrant communities, grow the workforce of tomorrow, and advance value-added mineral opportunities.

Mayors, city councilors, economic and community development, education, chamber of commerce, and other community leaders are encouraged to attend.

Over coming weeks, additional sessions will be scheduled in communities across the IRRRB service area.

RSVPs for the listening sessions are requested. RSVP to sara.ferkul@state.mn.us or 218-735-3043.

Pictured above: IRRRB Assistant Commissioner Joe Radinovich addresses attendees at the Hibbing/Chisholm listening session in December. 

An Explore Minnesota Website Feed on the Giants Ridge web site is helping promote a wide range of activities in northeastern Minnesota.

The website feed, located at the bottom of the Giants Ridge homepage, www.giantsridge.com, highlights a variety of upcoming recreational, cultural, and educational events within a 50-mile radius of Giants Ridge.

According to Explore Minnesota, the website feed provides visitors with travel ideas and event information from around the region, utilizing an Explore Minnesota database of Things to Do, Places to Stay and Event listings. The feed is continuously updated. 

The feed helps drive traffic to both the Giants Ridge and Explore Minnesota websites, according to Explore Minnesota officials. Giants Ridge is one of the first to adopt the feed, said Tim Campbell of Explore Minnesota.

Over about a month and a half, the feed has resulted in over 31,000 referrals from the Giants Ridge website to the Explore Minnesota website, the largest single website feed source for Explore Minnesota, according to Campbell.   

Northeastern Minnesota activities currently posted on the website feed include a Jan. 7 painting colors of the night sky event on a snowshoe walk at Minnesota Discovery Center, a Jan. 22-24 Wilderness Survival course at the International Wolf Center, and Family Discovery Days Jan. 9, Feb. 13 and March 5, at Minnesota Discovery Center.

Explore Minnesota, which is promoting the website feed, expects other businesses to also adopt the free feed. Contact Tim Campbell at 888-876-6784 to add the feed to your website. 

Due to the popularity of last year's camp, Giants Ridge is again offering a Mountain Explorers Youth Camp for beginners and intermediate level skiers and boarders. Participants will improve their skills, explore the mountain and have tons of fun with professional instructors. 

The camp is open to skiers ages 7-15 and boarders ages 8-15. 

Two sessions are planned: 

* Session 1: Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7

* Session 2: Feb. 27, March 5 and March 12 

 Details & Registration

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