A zip line across a mine pit.

A climbing wall at an old mining facility.

Helicopter tours above the new Highway 53 bridge.

A region-wide expansion of all-terrain vehicle trails.

With creative thinking and community investment, northeastern Minnesota is on the brink of enormous opportunities to expand tourism and attract new residents to the region, says Megan Christianson, Visit Grand Rapids executive director.

“We are finally at a phase where we have young entrepreneurs moving back to the region who have a lot of good ideas,” said Christianson. “We’re on the cusp of something that’s really good. But we need communities to do some risk taking and invest in (tourism) infrastructure.” 

The future of northeastern Minnesota’s tourism industry is the focus of a major tourism conference, Thursday, April 20, at Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.

The Northeast Minnesota Tourism Conference covers topics including marketing, social media, web site pointers, planning, partnerships, and ideas aimed at injecting new life into existing tourist attractions.

It’s the first conference of its kind in northeastern Minnesota in a decade, according to organizers. 

“We want to get the point across that tourism has a very big impact in northeastern Minnesota,” said Christianson. “The Iron Range has huge opportunities for tourism. The economic impact of tourism is very diverse for our towns. For some areas, it’s the foundation, but for others, it’s timber, taconite and tourism. “

Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality industry in 2015 in northeast Minnesota recorded more than $913 million in gross sales and employed 17,140, according to Explore Minnesota, a state tourism organization.

Read the full article and get registration information.

Recharge the Range, a strategic roadmap to advance economic development and quality of life on Minnesota’s Iron Range, is energizing its communication efforts with the launch of a new website.

"The website will greatly help all of our groups see what the others are doing and stay informed," said Sara Ferkul, Recharge the Range coordinator. "I encourage everyone to share the website with friends, co-workers and community members to encourage more people to get involved."  

The new website, www.rechargetherange.org, features meeting information and updates regarding each of the Recharge the Range committees. 

Born out of a significant downturn during 2015-2016 in the region’s iron mining industry, seven Recharge the Range community committees and two spin off committees are taking action to implement a series of new ideas brought forward at four public forums.

On Thursday, March 30, the Minnesota Department of Administration’s Office of Equity in Procurement will hold its second annual State Procurement Opportunity Fair in St. Paul.  

The opportunity fair will bring together agency procurement representatives and small businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, people with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged Minnesotans. Goals of the fair are to: 

• connect state purchasing decision-makers with under-represented businesses that are interested in doing business with the State
• provide business owners with information about upcoming procurement opportunities 
• connect business owners with State processes and State agency communication tools

The fair will be held at the Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building in St. Paul from 1 to 4 p.m. 

View the opportunity fair flyer and learn more about the Office of Equity in Procurement.

Mesabi Daily News

BIWABIK — Growing up with a ski resort practically in her backyard fostered a great love of the sport for Andriana Senarighi.

The 22-year-old, of Biwabik, was just 3 when she began skiing at Giants Ridge. “She spent her whole life skiing,” said her mother, Sara Senarighi.

But that all changed for Andriana at age 18, when she developed a mitochondrial disease that has left her unable to walk or talk. “She was a normal kid, and then her senior year of high school — boom,” said her mom.

The disabling genetic disorder which has caused muscular degeneration was exacerbated by chemotherapy she underwent to treat a brain tumor.

Mother and daughter both thought Andriana’s passion for the winter sport was forever in the past. However, Andriana is back on the slopes.

Andriana’s dream to ski again has come true thanks to Giants Ridge’s Adaptive Ski Program, a partnership with Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute and Allina Health.

Courage Kenny’s Northland chapter, based in Duluth, provides training and equipment to the volunteer-driven program, which runs six Sundays beginning in January. It’s open to children and adults ages 6 and older who have physical disabilities and youth with autism spectrum disorder.

Twenty-eight volunteers made this season a success for the 15 participants who trekked to the Ridge each Sunday from as far as Canada, said Mark Hanna, Courage Kenny sports/recreation coordinator.

Read the full Mesabi Daily News article.