Iron Range Tykes, a new 8,520 square foot childcare center, will open next month in Mountain Iron and serve up to 90 children ages six weeks to 12 years old. Located across from Lake Country Power, the facility was made possible with a development infrastructure grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation to the city of Mountain Iron.

The center will feature five classrooms with daily curriculum, a gymnasium, two outdoor playgrounds and a commercial kitchen to prepare home cooked, nutritious meals. It will serve up to 12 infants, 28 toddlers, 20 preschoolers and 30 school age children and operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Busing will be provided for the Virginia, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Eveleth-Gilbert and Cherry school districts.

“The opening of Iron Range Tykes is very important to our area families, employers and workforce,” said Mark Phillips, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation commissioner. “The state of Minnesota, including the Iron Range, has a childcare shortage which is a critical economic issue. The new center will be a tremendous asset to our region.”

According to the Center for Rural Policy and Development, the state’s childcare need is by far the greatest in northeastern Minnesota where there's a huge gap between the number of families needing childcare and the number of providers available.

“Our goal is to be the Iron Range’s recognized leader in childcare, and our motto is learning through play,” said Shawntel Gruba, Iron Range Tykes owner and operator. “There will be art and music outside as an extension of our classroom, and we will be implementing HighScope, an early childhood curriculum used by the Mountain Iron-Buhl school district.”

According to Gruba, the center’s experienced and credentialed staff of 15, the use of new technologies and the new building construction including in-floor heat make Iron Range Tykes a unique and innovative childcare center in the region.

A mobile app called Brightwheel will be utilized by Iron Range Tykes. Designed specifically for childcare centers, the platform enables parent engagement through messaging, photos, videos, daily reports for meals, naps and activities and bill payments.

Iron Range Tykes is a prevailing wage construction project paying union wages. Local union company Mesabi Bituminous completed all of the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation-funded work. The project was supported by University of Minnesota Small Business Development Center (UMD SBDC), and an open house is scheduled for September. For more information about development infrastructure grants, email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

Visit the Iron Range Tykes website.

The famed Grace photo was taken by Bovey photographer Erik Enstrom in 1918 towards the end of World War I and will celebrate 100 years on Sept. 3, the state’s official "Picture Grace Day."

The photo is recognizable around the world and depicts an elderly gentleman, Swedish-American Charles Wilden, bowing his head in prayer and giving thanks over a loaf of bread, a bowl of gruel and the Bible. The photo was declared Minnesota’s official state photograph in 2002 after decades of it resonating with people in northeastern Minnesota and beyond.

The time period in American history when the photo was taken involves the first global war and the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic which killed an estimated 50 million people of whom 1,800 were Minnesotans. Mr. Wilden was a foot-scraper salesman, and when he walked into Enstrom Studio to sell his wares the photographer is reported to have been struck by the salesman’s kind face. Mr. Enstrom was once quoted as saying, “I wanted to take a picture that would show people that even though they had to do without many things because of the war they still had much to be thankful for."

“Grace Oral History Project” is being created by A+B Productions in cooperation with Itasca Historical Society (ICHS). Thirty Itascans of varying ethnicities, generations, ages and professions were asked the question, “What does the Grace photo mean to you?” Their responses are being compiled into a video that will be released on Sept. 3 at the Bovey Farmer’s Day Celebration. The oral history will also be available online and at the ICHS museum in Bovey which attracts about 4,000 visitors annually. Through the online exhibit the public will be able to upload and share their own stories about the iconic photograph.

“The picture represents themes of the early 1900s such as immigration, poverty, diversity, labor, war, health, community and simply being thankful” said Lilah Crowe, ICHS executive director. “Those topics and community conversations are still relevant to our culture 100 years later.”

According to EMMY® (regional) nominated Director/Producer Alisi Styles of A+B Productions, the 30 participants shared about their personal lives and how they were impacted by significant moments in history. “Through the filming we became keenly aware that we were sitting in a sacred space and that history was being made,” said Styles. “Oral history is a very powerful method of storytelling and it will transform the ICHS Grace exhibit into a multimedia experience.”

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported this project with a Culture & Tourism grant through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry. Email Danae Beaudette for details or call her at 218-735-3022.

Situated on Bigfork’s main street is an 82-year-old historic Village Hall. Built during the Great Depression, it is currently undergoing a major restoration scheduled for completion this summer.

Constructed in 1936 through the federally funded Works Progress Administration (WPA), the building was part of a nationwide effort under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal which employed millions of Americans during the depression. The two-level fieldstone building was built by construction laborers who were parents and grandparents of many families still living in Bigfork today.

The Village Hall has served as the civic and community center since it was first built and today remains central to Bigfork’s social, recreational and governmental functions. In part because of its unique design with a flat roof and masonry exterior using stones collected in a nearby field, the Village Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, placing it in the company of sites across the nation that have been declared worthy of preservation in order to protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.

The renovation began in 2017 and has encompassed every aspect of the building. However, the exterior masonry work required minimal repairs because it was so solid and skillfully created. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation provided a development infrastructure grant to make the building ADA compliant and handicap accessible.

A group of local citizens formed the Bigfork Improvement Group (BIG) and began an initiative to save the Village Hall when preliminary discussions began to demolish the historic building and build a new city hall and community center. Preserving and restoring the building quickly gained public support from Bigfork residents.

“Bigfork citizens have been instrumental in this endeavor,” said Angie Storlie, city clerk and treasurer. “This facility has a rich history in our town and will continue to serve as the community and government center for future generations. And because of its distinct aesthetics and main street location, it defines the character of and greatly enhances our downtown business corridor.”

The second level of the building was once used as a film and performing arts theater for community dances and celebrations. Once renovated, the former theater space will be available for wedding and private event rentals creating revenue for the city.

“Bigfork is very grateful to all of the organizations that have supported the restoration,” said Storlie. “Along with the grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, we have received support from Blandin Foundation, Minnesota Historical Society, BIG and private businesses and citizens.”

For more information about development infrastructure grants, email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

Palisade is the first town in northeastern Minnesota to offer free Wi-Fi along its entire main street corridor. Prior to 2018, the rural community in Aitkin County had very limited options for high speed internet. Community stakeholders and activists partnered with broadband providers to work through fiber access barriers. One of the providers, SCI, assisted Palisade with planning ‘Fiber To The Home’ for all Palisade residents.

“Several Iron Range communities have hot spots that provide free Wi-Fi within a certain distance or range, for example at a public library,” said Whitney Ridlon, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation community development representative. “What Palisade did is unique in that the city strategically placed many hot spots that created a larger reach covering its main street corridor which is about the size of two football fields.”

The project was part of a larger Blandin Foundation program designed to advance broadband in northeastern Minnesota rural communities which is critical to economic development, education, healthcare and quality of life. The Blandin broadband program was supported in part by a grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation.

The Department of Administration’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and the Office of Equity in Procurement (OEP) are hitting the road to talk about resources that are offered to businesses wishing to work with state and federal government entities. Topics will include:

• How Things Get Done
• Introduction to Government Contracting
• Doing Business with the State/State Certifications 
• Opportunities in Your Backyard

Learn more and register for one of the following sessions:

DULUTH
Tuesday, Aug. 21, 12:30 to 4 p.m.
UMD Center for Economic Development
Register for the Duluth session.

IRON RANGE
Wednesday, Aug. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Mountain Iron Community Center
Register for the Iron Range session.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation promotes and invests in regional business, community and workforce development through a selection of grant programs. Four programs will accept applications beginning in September for the fiscal year 2019 funding cycle:

• Culture & Tourism – Assists with projects that support arts, culture, heritage and recreational activities.
• Drilling Incentive (DIG) – Assists with exploratory drilling for new metallic minerals and/or new deposits of minerals within the Taconite Assistance Area.
• Application Fund – Assists with the costs of preparing and applying for a grant that can produce innovative economic growth.
• Mine Pit Lakeshore Enhancement – Assists with development and restoration of mine pit lakeshores.

Eligible applicants in the Taconite Assistance Area are encouraged to apply for one or more grants. Applicants can access the grants management system (FLUXX) by clicking here.

FY19 grant guidelines and application processes will be posted on the agency website online beginning Aug. 31 here. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation funds its grants programs through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry.

Pursuant to authorization provided by the Minnesota Department of Administration under Minn. Stat. Sec. 16B.2975, the Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation will be holding a sale to dispose of surplus state property on Friday, Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 4261 Highway 53 South, Eveleth. 

Items for sale include: 

• Office furniture – desks, chairs, bookcases, tables, filing cabinets
• Photography/Videography – lighting kits, microphone stands, projection screens, speaker cabinets, cameras
• Miscellaneous shop items – tires, hoses, toppers, seed spreaders, gas cans, snowblowers

The sale will be held rain or shine, and there will be no early viewing.  All purchases shall be for cash, and all sales shall be made on an “as is” basis.  All items sold must be removed by 3 p.m. on the day of the sale.  State of Minnesota employees are not allowed to purchase items in the sale pursuant to MN Statute 15.054.