Whistling Pines Counseling in Hibbing was one of 90 businesses that received a Taconite Area Business Relief loan, a COVID-19 economic assistance program funded by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation and administered by The Entrepreneur Fund.

Whistling Pines is a private mental health practice offering individual, group, family and couples psycho and trauma therapy services to ages 0 to 100, as well as parenting classes. It was founded in 2019 by Stacy Englund who is a licensed Medical Social Worker (MSW) and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). Prior to opening Whistling Pines, Englund’s therapy background was concentrated in mental health services at area schools.

The Taconite Relief loan helped Englund offset lost revenue when she temporarily closed her facility in March 2020 due to statewide pandemic restrictions. It also helped with expenses related to establishing a home office during the initial closure, teletherapy equipment and supplies related to new cleaning and public health procedures.

“I assist over 40 clients each week. When my facility closed, I quickly mobilized to offer teletherapy to my clients so that services were as uninterrupted as possible,” said Englund. “As soon as the restrictions allowed, I reopened the office one day per week for clients who did not have equipment or internet connectivity for teletherapy.”

Whistling Pines is now fully reopened and has returned to a client load near what it was prior to the pandemic’s onset. Englund still conducts teletherapy for those clients that prefer it.

“The pandemic revealed that some clients actually prefer teletherapy. It saves them drive time and is more convenient. Some clients prefer in-person, and I am happy to offer both options. My clients choose what works best for them,” said Englund. “The pandemic also brought about the positive change in insurance companies accepting teletherapy as a billable service. That was a huge advancement in the mental health field for the providers and the patients.”

Teletherapy also expanded Englund’s service area because people from further away can connect with her remotely.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented financial and logistic challenges to my business,” said Englund. “I am very thankful not only for the financial support from the Taconite Relief loan, but also for the general business advice and assistance offered by The Entrepreneur Fund.”

The Taconite Area Business Relief Loan Program was established in June 2020 and funded at $5 million. Local businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to apply for 2% interest loans of up to $40,000 to be used as working capital or any legal purposes. No repayment on the loans is due for the first six months, followed by 60 payments of principal and interest. Applicants must intend to re-open if currently closed due to the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has created extraordinary economic challenges in northeastern Minnesota,” said Commissioner Mark Phillips, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. “The Relief Loans have assisted 90 businesses, and loan funding is still available to help move forward through the economic recovery.”

Ninety loans totaling $3,116,972 have been issued to businesses, and the loans have positively impacted 886 jobs. Learn more about Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation COVID Relief programs.

Loonies Coffee Shop on Chestnut Street in downtown Virginia was one of the businesses that utilized the SBDC CARES Act resources. Loonies opened for business January 2021 amidst the pandemic and offers indoor and takeout service of coffee, wood fire pizza, sandwiches, soup, quiche and pastries. It is owned by Cassandra Hainey, Jeff Zupetz and Allen Lewis who met in the Blandin Leadership program three years ago. All have full-time jobs in the Virginia area, and they joined together to launch Loonies. Hainey is the executive director for Volunteers in Education. Zupetz is an Emotional Behavior Disorders teacher at Northland Learning Center. Lewis is the fire chief at Virginia Fire Department. (Pictured left to right: Zupetz, Hainey and Lewis. Photo: Herberg Photography by Justine.)

“Following the Blandin program, Jeff, Allen and I met to discuss how to implement in our community what we learned,” said Hainey. “We shared a common interest in strengthening mental health resources, and the concept of Loonies was born. We decided to open a downtown coffee shop to bring people together and use some of the profits to fund nonprofits connected to mental health services.”

Loonies donates 10% of its profits to local nonprofits that work to reduce the stigma and increase access to mental health services in the Quad Cities. United Way of Northeastern Minnesota’s United for Veterans was chosen as the nonprofit recipient for proceeds during the first quarter of 2021. United for Veterans provides resources, including mental health assistance to local veterans. Learn more about United for Veterans.

Hainey and her partners met Betsy Olivanti at the Blandin program. Olivanti is the SBDC regional consultant and provides technical support to local businesses (existing and startups) such as business plan development, feasibility and financial analysis, market research, advertising and sales, loan packaging, strategic planning, accounting systems and e-commerce. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation provided a Development Partnership grant to Northland Foundation to support an SBDC representative located on the Iron Range.

“We called on Betsy to help us with the start-up and take our idea to reality,” said Hainey. “She gave us so much support, technical advice, and connected us to key people, local grant programs and services specifically designated to help small businesses. She had the connections and knowledge we needed to launch Loonies. When starting a small business, there is no official checklist to follow. Betsy made sure we did not miss a step.”

Loonies has one full-time and five part-time employees. It is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Saturdays beginning March 20. See Loonies featured menu items and order online.

Pictured below: Corbet Hainey orders from McKenna Lackner at Loonies.

“While the SBDC has maintained a local presence since the early 2000s with expertise to assist small businesses at no charge, we added additional consultants with specific expertise to assist small businesses throughout the pandemic, due to the CARES Act funding’” said Olivanti. “We want every Iron Range small business owner to access this assistance if they need it.” 

Small business owners who would like no-cost assistance in marketing, human resources and/or bookkeeping can sign up for services at Northland SBDC’s website to connect with a local consultant. Read the success stories of northeastern Minnesota businesses that have utilized SBDC.

For Development Partnership grant information email Whitney Ridlon at Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation or call her at 218-735-3004.

Note: Loonies also utilized a Business Energy Retrofit (BER) grant and city of Virginia Downtown Redevelopment grant. Both grant programs are funded by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation and administered by AEOA and the city of Virginia respectively.

Pictured at right: Janna Goerdt and sons Jasper and Milo visit Loonies.

Coffee mug and pizza oven photos: Herberg Photography by Justine.

“Our goal is to bring people into local retail or service businesses, sometimes for the first time,” said Betsy Olivanti, Revive Virginia chairwoman. “There will be monthly gift card drawings to participating businesses. We hope this will encourage shoppers to visit each participating business and drop their name in the drawing at multiple sites. There will also be live music during the event at the new pocket park on Chestnut Street in Virginia and hopefully in other Quad City downtown locations.”

Art walks take place in many rural and urban communities across the nation. The events are usually pedestrian-friendly in neighborhoods and downtown areas. In northeastern Minnesota art walks have been established in Ely for three weeks in February and Grand Rapids on the first Friday of every month.

Interested businesses and artists may register online for First Thursdays QC. The business fee is $15 per month with an annual commitment, or $25 per month with an occasional commitment. Participating businesses will be provided a complimentary sandwich board that may be displayed outside of their location, and the business will also be included in event maps and advertising. There is no fee for artists.

“We plan to kick off the first art walk on May 6 with a block party in Virginia on the 400 block of Chestnut Street,” said Beth Pierce, Iron Range Tourism Bureau executive director. “We are working to schedule similar events in Eveleth, Gilbert and Mountain Iron for the following months. The impact could be quite substantial from multiple weeknight events that emphasize our region’s retail, small businesses, eateries and artists. I believe art walks can attract both local residents and tourists.”

Project partners include Iron Range Tourism Bureau, Laurentian Chamber of Commerce, Lyric Center for the Arts and ReVive Virginia which is a nonprofit organization formed to focus on downtown preservation and revitalization. The project also received grants from Virginia Community Foundation and Explore Minnesota.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation’s grants are funded through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry. Email Danae Beaudette for Culture & Tourism grant information or call her at 218-735-3022.

The city of Hibbing demolished 38 dilapidated structures using Residential Redevelopment grants from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. During the past three fiscal years the city removed:

• 16 houses.
• 17 garages.
• 5 accessory structures.

“By using the Residential Redevelopment grant program, the city of Hibbing has been able to demolish vacant structures that are dilapidated, blight, uninhabitable or a safety hazard for the residents,” said Hibbing Building & Zoning Permit Technician Tina Glad. “Many of the property owners have redeveloped their property by building new structures after the demolitions are complete.”

Since 1982 the Residential Redevelopment grant has provided funding for demolition within the agency’s service area to pave the way for a cleaner, healthier environment, more attractive communities and new construction.

Grants may be awarded to cities, townships, counties and tribal units of government to demolish dilapidated single-unit residential homes, residential duplex homes of no more than two units, garages, sheds and barns.

Grant money is still available to communities this fiscal year. Learn more about the Residential Redevelopment grant guidelines.

Email Danae Beaudette for information or call her at 218-735-3022. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation funds its grants through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry.