Construction began last week on a new Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) and Wellness Center at the North Homes Children and Family Services campus in Grand Rapids. It will serve Serious & Emotionally Disturbed children ages 11 to 21 who require intensive psychiatric care and mental health therapy in a residential setting with 24/7 nursing support, while keeping kids connected to their family and community.

The project entails:

• The renovation and expansion of the existing Itaskin Center, adding an 11-bed wing to create a 52-bed facility. The secure, detention section of the existing building will be repurposed and no longer detain juvenile justice children.
• The construction of a new Wellness Center equipped with a half court gymnasium, weight room, and programming space for cultural, spiritual and family programming. The center will provide a therapeutic holistic approach to improve the physical and psychological health of at-risk youth and cultivate long-term resilience.

The Itaskin and Wellness Centers will be located adjacent to North Home’s existing Community Mental Health Center and are anticipated to be completed in spring 2021. The three-building campus will provide a continuum of care, and the PRTF will bring a new care model to the north central region of the state. The PRTF treatment model is fairly new to Minnesota, and only a few facilities across the state are in operation. The Grand Rapids location will be the first in northeastern Minnesota outside of Duluth.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported this construction project with community development grants to the city of Grand Rapids totaling $365,900 and a $1 million bank participation loan to North Homes. Total project investment is $6.5 million. Other funding partners include Blandin Foundation, Minnesota Department of Human Services and North Homes.

“This level of service to children and families in our region would not have been possible without the financial support from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation,” said Connie Ross, North Homes residential programs administrative director. “The new facilities will create private investment, tax revenues, and construction and permanent jobs in Grand Rapids. We anticipate to create 50 new full-time positions once it is fully operational.”

North Homes recently filled a key position with the hire of a wellness director, a licensed health professional who is returning to her home region of northeastern Minnesota. Click here to view additional North Homes job openings.

“The new treatment facility and wellness center will bring new professional employment opportunities to our region, as well as grow the diversity of our overall health care system,” said Commissioner Mark Phillips, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. “The newly expanded center will positively impact our communities, workforce and economy.”

North Homes will continue to collaborate with the Grand Rapids School District for educational services and with Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital for medical and psychiatry oversight of the program.

North Homes Children and Family Services is a private, non-profit agency that provides comprehensive mental health services to children and families across northeastern Minnesota. It originated in the 1980’s when Founder and CEO Jim Christmas recognized a gap in youth services. Many children were being sent outside of the region for needed services, which added costs and stress to families and disconnected children and their families from their own community. Christmas founded North Homes in 1990 with one residential group home in Grand Rapids. It has since grown to offering numerous mental health programs throughout northern Minnesota including foster care, adoption, outpatient care for children and adults, school-based services, supervised parent-child visitations, substance abuse programs and residential homes with transitional services.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation grants are funded with taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry. For loan information email Scott Sundvall or call him at 218-735-3015. For community development grant information email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

Sign and groundbreaking photos courtesy of Grand Rapids Herald-Review.

The city of Babbitt was one of 12 northeastern Minnesota communities that received a Taconite Area Community Relief grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. Babbitt received a $50,000 grant, matched $20,000 of its own money and then provided $70,000 in low-interest loans to eight businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The businesses within our small community were heavily impacted by the global pandemic,” said Babbitt Mayor Andrea Zupancich. “In addition to their fixed costs, their expenses dramatically increased in order to purchase disinfectant, personal protective equipment, gloves, masks, sanitizer, disposable menus and other specialty supplies. Some businesses had to lay off employees, were temporarily closed, or reopened at a reduced capacity. The community lending program enabled the city to provide them support that is greatly needed during this time.”

The businesses received loans ranging from $5-11,000 with a .5% interest rate for a term of five or ten years. Junction Inn Properties received two loans, one for each of its Babbitt businesses: Junction Inn Suites & Conference Center and Junction Inn Bar & Grill.

“My two businesses obtained funding through the federal Payroll Protection Program, but those funds were exhausted to cover payroll and fixed expenses during the months surrounding the shelter-in-place order,” said Gary Burow, Junction Properties owner. “The community lending program from the city of Babbitt came at the right time to help us to continue weathering the storm of the global pandemic. The terms of the city’s loan, including a 90-day loan payment delay, were of great benefit.”

The Taconite Area Community Relief Grant was established in July by a unanimous vote of the agency’s Board. Twelve applications were received, and all were funded at various levels with financial participation from each community.

“The COVID Relief program enabled Babbitt to utilize the resources locally as they best saw fit,” said Commissioner Mark Phillips of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. “Babbitt can retain the loan repayments for future economic development purposes. The program embodies our agency’s ongoing mission of investing into northeastern Minnesota communities and businesses.”

Click here to learn more about Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation COVID Relief programs.

Local lodging entrepreneur Shawn Callahan used a Downtown Building Rehabilitation (DBR) grant to help transform a vacant building on main street Biwabik into a three-unit lodging facility. The grant is helping offset costs of bringing the century-old building into code compliance. One lodging unit is complete, and two are under construction and scheduled for completion next spring. All units will be fully furnished and extended stay live/work rentals.

The renovated space is named Green Gate Gasthaus, which in German is a local inn that provides a gathering place and lodging accommodations. The name was inspired by the Bavarian theme of Biwabik’s main street. Callahan will add the new facility to his portfolio of nine other vacation rentals located in the nearby Giants Ridge Recreation Area, all marketed under the Green Gate Guest Houses brand.

The renovation of the downtown property was previously delayed when a vehicular accident resulted in extensive structural damage. Despite the enormous setback, Callahan proceeded with repairing and renovating the building, as pictured. 

“The Gasthaus project has had a lot of twists and turns,” said Callahan. “We’ve pressed forward with the renovation through a car crash, the COVID-19 global pandemic and an extensive main street reconstruction. However, when we completed the first unit (pictured), the demand was growing for extended stays by remote workers and vacationers.”

Within the building, there is 650 square feet of commercial space, in addition to the three lodging units, that Callahan will fully renovate and eventually lease to a private operator. There is also a 1000-square-foot accessory unit on the lot for future development.

“The commercial space is well suited to accommodate a coffee shop or retail start-up,” said Callahan. “I am seeking one or more motivated entrepreneurs to bring their complimentary businesses to the site. It’s a highly visible location along main street in a growing small town near Giants Ridge, so the year-round economic potential is huge.”

Callahan also received a Business Energy Retrofit (BER) grant to make the building more energy efficient. Upgrades to the HVAC systems, insulation/air sealing, and replacement windows and doors were aided by the BER funds. Both BER and DBR grants are available to small businesses located in the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation service area. The grants are funded by the agency and administered through a partnership with Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA). For BER or DBR grant information email Vince Meyer at AEOA or call him at 218-735-6828.

Strong arts, culture, heritage and recreational activities are essential to the quality of life and economy of our region. Nine projects were recently awarded Culture & Tourism grants.

• Knife River Heritage & Cultural Center, Knife River: $5,750 to create outdoor interpretive panels at the North Shore Scenic Railroad Depot that tell Knife River's history from the native people’s perspective.
• Friends of the Finland Community, Finland: $5,000 to purchase digital equipment to livestream community and cultural events.
• Pelican Lake Resort Association, Orr: $10,000 to launch an advertising campaign that promotes the Orr community and businesses.
• Revive Virginia, Virginia: $4,710 to host a series of downtown community events featuring musical performances and artisan demonstrations.
• Itasca County Historical Society, Grand Rapids: $5,000 to develop video mapping showcasing businesses, trails and tourist attractions along the Avenue of Pines Scenic Byway.
• Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation, Grand Rapids: $20,000 to replace an outdated playground with a modern, handicap-accessible playground at Cloverdale Park in Nashwauk Township.
• North House Folk School, Grand Marais: $20,000 to help construct a new driveway entrance to improve safety and accessibility.
• Friends of the Parks Inc., Cook: $16,500 to develop a community park that includes an area to honor the branches of the United State Military and veterans.
• Hoyt Lakes Chamber of Commerce, East Range: $13,270 to (1) complete a trail map project that identifies connectivity improvements in the East Range region and (2) produce a paper trail map for recreational trail users.

Does your community have a project that improves the region’s arts, culture or recreation? New applications will be accepted in March 2021. Click here to learn more about grant guidelines and the application process. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation funds Culture & Tourism grants through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry. Email Danae Beaudette for details or call her at 218-735-3022.

Pictured: The Ely Chamber of Commerce used a Culture & Tourism grant earlier this year to add a handicap-accessible ramp and entryway into its building that serves as a community information hub for local businesses and visitors.

The official State of Minnesota Veterans Day Program will be held virtually this year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 30-minute recorded program will be available starting at 8 a.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11 on the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs website. 

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) invites all Minnesotans to celebrate and honor all veterans who have served our state and country.