Stern Companies, Inc., a Brainerd Lakes Area-based rubber and plastic components manufacturer, is expanding its company with an additional manufacturing facility to Hoyt Lakes Laskin Energy Park.

Stern will operate in the former DOWCO building where it will manufacture plastic components used in such products as agriculture devices, recreational boats, agronomy and lawn care vehicles, utility vehicles, and salt spreaders for parking lot de-icing. Several of its clients are located in the Iron Range and upper Midwest, including ASV Holdings of Grand Rapids, Minn., Crestliner and Lund Boats of New York Mills, Minn., and Toro/BOSS Plow of Bloomington, Minn. and Iron Mountain, Mich.

According to Stern CEO and Owner Shawn Hunstad, the two biggest competitive advantages Hoyt Lakes offered for his company’s expansion were the uniquely skilled and trained workforce available due to the closing of DOWCO (formerly Premier Plastics) and the existing 30,000 square foot building.

“One of our largest struggles in the plastics manufacturing industry is finding employees who have specialized training in rotational molding,” said Huntsad. “The former DOWCO and Premier Plastics employees have the base knowledge and transferable experience we need to expand our operations.”

The building includes all needed infrastructure for rotational molding to accommodate production lines and equipment. Stern performs rotomolding in its Brainerd location, however in addition to rotomolding, it will also perform vacuum forming and fiber glassing in Hoyt Lakes. The two added services enable Stern to increase its range of parts for existing customers as well as expand its customer base.

Stern has already begun limited operations in Hoyt Lakes and will add manufacturing processes, equipment and employees throughout the next 12 months.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported this project with a bank participation loan to Stern to help purchase production equipment and a non-recourse loan to Hoyt Lakes Economic Development Authority to purchase the building from DOWCO. The agency’s grants and loans are funded through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry. Email Matt Sjoberg for details or call him at 218-735-3037.

Bridge View Park opened last month offering one of the few places that Minnesota’s tallest bridge can be viewed in its entirety. Located on the Mesabi Trail less than a mile south of East Chestnut Street in the City of Virginia, the park reveals a spectacular view of the 204-foot Highway 53 bridge that spans across the Iron Range’s deepest open mine pit, the Rouchleau.

“The park is an opportunity to educate local residents and tourists about the significant impact that mining has in our region,” said Beth Pierce, Iron Range Tourism Bureau director. “Mining plays a huge role in how we live, work and play in northeastern Minnesota, and the new park showcases an excellent example of post-mining land use.”

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the park project with a Laurentian Vision Partnership (LVP) Minescapes grant. The agency’s grant helped pay for fill materials, crushed rock for a walking path to access the park from the trail, interpretive signage and fencing. Other funding partners included Virginia Foundation, City of Virginia, Mesabi Trail, St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority, and Iron Range Association of Realtors.

“The City of Virginia workers did an amazing job clearing and preparing the area for the park,” said Pierce. “Through a strong collaborative effort the public has access to an area that commemorates a majestic feat of mining and engineering.”

For LVP Minescapes grant information, email Jim Plummer or call him at 218-274-7006.

The city of Deerwood’s history is deeply connected to the Railroad Aid Bill of 1857 and the Homestead Act of 1862, in which early settlers received 160 acres in return for living on and farming the land for five years. The city began to boom for these early settlers when the Northern Pacific Railroad forged through and provided connectivity from Carlton to Brainerd, Minnesota, with a stop at Deerwood’s depot. The next boom was mining when iron ore was discovered in the early 1900s and gave birth to the Cuyuna Iron Range on which Deerwood is situated.

Named for its abundant whitetail deer, Deerwood is three square miles and has 532 residents. The city’s economy is connected to recreation at the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike trails, healthcare at the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby, Magnum Machining in Deerwood, and other larger businesses in Aitkin and Brainerd which are about a 20-minute drive. Aeropipe just located a plant in Deerwood and will provide 50 full-time jobs utilizing technology from the aerospace industry to manufacture liners for existing water and sewer lines without having to excavate the roadways above the infrastructure.

To complement the economic growth surrounding Deerwood, the city recently embarked on rehabilitating its commercial and residential building inventory. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation provided Deerwood with an Application Fund grant to help pay for a grant writer to apply for state level funding to assist with building rehabilitation. Preparing an effective grant proposal, identifying funding sources, and navigating the application process can be costly and requires technical expertise to which small communities often do not have access.

Deerwood hired professional grant writer Nancy Grabko of Community Fundraising Solutions of Duluth, and she successfully secured a $554,893 grant from Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)’s Small City Development Program (SCDP) to help pay for rehabilitation of ten owner-occupied homes, two multi-family apartment buildings, and five commercial buildings. According to Grabko, Deerwood’s community support and “skin in the game” throughout the entire application process was a major factor in securing the DEED funding. 

“The $3,750 grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation resulted in an influx of over half a million dollars to northeastern Minnesota,” said Michael Aulie, Deerwood mayor. “Our city will significantly improve its building and housing inventory and make the city more attractive for existing and new residents.”

Deerwood is a model example of how the Application Fund grant can improve communities within the Taconite Assistance Area. Grant writing assistance is part of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation’s commitment to advancing innovative economic growth. In fiscal year 2018, the Application Fund provided $33,000 to area organizations for grant writing services. That resulted in $1.78 million from other funding sources that were utilized in the region to help support a performing arts center, housing rehabilitation, historic landmark preservation, entrepreneurial assistance services, and a volunteer tutor program for K-12 public school students. For Application Fund grant information, email Whitney Ridlon or call her at 218-735-3004.