Northern Twistars Gymnastics has been in its new home for the past year at the former Plaza Bowling Lanes building in the City of Virginia. The 16,800 square foot building underwent a complete interior demolition to make way for a new gymnastics training facility used by 400 boys, girls and adults.

Twistars is owned and operated by Iron Range natives Gwyn Roos and Lisa Fix, both former Virginia High School gymnasts and coaches. Since 2008 when it was founded with 75 students, Twistars has operated in three other Virginia locations, each of which it outgrew due to increasing demand in the community.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation provided a commercial redevelopment grant which helped pay for the internal demolition, transforming the aging bowling facility into a modern gymnasium. “We could not have relocated our business to this facility were it not for the agency’s grant,” said Roos. “We now have a large enough building for our customer base, and it is in an excellent centralized location in Virginia pulling students from Hoyt Lakes to International Falls.”

Twistars offers child and adult gymnastics classes, yoga classes, a boys Ninja program, a competitive team program, and performance cheerleading. Students range in age from 18 months to 60 years old. In addition, the facility may be rented for kids’ birthday parties.

Virginia resident Jacob Rosandich is a part time Ninja instructor, and two of his three children are Twistars students. According to Rosandich, the facility gives his family and many others a healthy and fun option for building confidence and lifelong fitness through gymnastics.

“Northern Twistars is an excellent example of economic partnership among the City of Virginia, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation and private sector business,” said Mark Phillips, agency commissioner. “Gwyn and Lisa have developed an excellent business that is meeting an important quality of life demand in our communities.”

Grant money is still available to cities, townships, counties and tribal units of government this fiscal year. Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

Established in 1913 by Giulio Forti and his wife Virginia (Ricci) Forti, Italian immigrants to northeastern Minnesota, Sunrise Bakery of Hibbing became the producer of many of the Iron Range’s unique ethnic foods such as rustic Italian breads, potica, strudel, biscotti and kolackys. 

One hundred years later, Giulio’s great grandson and fourth generation baker Paul Forti and his wife Hannah (pictured) own Sunrise and are in the process of restructuring the business with the help of a loan guaranty from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. The Fortis intend to increase operational efficiencies and expand sales, while upholding the family tradition of creating high quality goods made from scratch and without preservatives.

“My great grandfather Giulio had very humble beginnings as a first generation immigrant handcrafting Italian breads and delivering them locally by horse drawn carriage,” said Paul. “Today we have grown from those humble beginnings to crafting a larger variety of products and distributing them on a regional and national level. We are committed to growing that even further.” 

According to Hannah, the loan guaranty is enabling them to fine tune in-store product presentation, packaging, and quality controls. Sunrise is also upgrading its management and accounting software, increasing its marketing and digital presence, and enhancing its online store.

“All of the upgrades will better position us to expand sales of our private-label goods, specifically our restaurant and baked goods product line in the Duluth and Grand Rapids markets,” said Hannah. “And we are growing our wholesale distribution through partnerships with numerous Minnesota retailers to sell our products.”

A loan guaranty is an agreement between the agency, a private lending institution and the borrower, and the agency shares in some of the financial risks of business development. Businesses headquartered within the agency’s service area that have been operating under the same management for at least two years are eligible candidates for a loan guaranty. 

Email Scott Sundvall for loan guaranty information or call him at 218-735-3015.

Established in 1911 with the discovery of high grade iron ore in northeastern Minnesota, the small town of Ironton was an auspicious boom town. Only two square miles, it had a vibrant business district, prairie-inspired architecture and an underground iron ore mine. Ironton welcomed a variety of newly arrived European immigrants seeking work and a new home in America.

Now, more than 106 years later, Ironton like many rural American small towns is trying to revitalize itself in the 21st century. The Ironton community recently came together to update its comprehensive plan which will guide the city in future decisions concerning housing, transportation, economic development, land use, recreation, cultural arts, public utilities, and community facilities.

“The plan development process took about six months and truly brought the community together,” said Amy Baratto, Ironton city clerk and treasurer. “Our steering committee was led by a professional planning firm and comprised of community members, business owners and the city council.”

Following the comprehensive plan, Ironton explored possible grants to assist with components of the new plan. It received an Application Fund grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation to help pay for a grant writer, who successfully secured state and federal funding to rehabilitate 10 owner-occupied houses, six rental properties (50 total units), and two downtown commercial properties. According to Baratto, this has a significant impact on the housing and commercial property inventory in Ironton and a resulting increase in tax base and tax values.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation assisted Ironton in its revitalization process with Comprehensive Plan and Application Fund grants. This assistance is part of the agency’s commitment to advancing innovative economic growth within its service area communities.

“We’ve accomplished a lot, but there is still a long way to go. I am so proud of this community,” said Baratto. “Slowly but surely Ironton will achieve its goals, with the next three being additional housing rehabilitation, downtown corridor redevelopment and a possible bike trail connecting downtown to nearby Cuyuna Recreation Area.”

For comprehensive plan or application fund grant information, email Whitney Ridlon or call her at 218-735-3004.

Pictured above is the city hall in Ironton. 

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation publishes a print edition of The Ranger newsletter in the Mesabi Daily News, Hibbing Daily Tribune and Grand Rapids Herald-Review. 

The Jan. 2018 edition highlights the impact the agency's business and community development programs had on the region in 2017.

Read the print edition of The Ranger.