Nov. 17, 2021
 NorthRidge Community Credit Union broke ground earlier this month on a new 4,680-square-foot facility on an undeveloped commercial property in Hibbing. The credit union currently operates out of another location on East Beltline Road in Hibbing, and its new location will be north of the Hampton Inn on 9th Avenue West. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $300,000 Development Infrastructure grant to the city. Total project investment is $3,358,600.
As a full-service financial institution, NorthRidge Community Credit Union provides lending and banking services to over 6,500 members. Credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit organizations that accept deposits, make loans and provide other financial services similar to traditional banks.
NorthRidge currently has nearly 30 full-time employees and is expected to add up to two more as the new Hibbing location grows. It is scheduled to open July 2022. NorthRidge has four other offices in northeastern Minnesota: Biwabik, Ely, Hoyt Lakes and Virginia.
“Our new location in Hibbing will have significantly greater visibility,” said Nicholas Mathiowetz, NorthRidge president/CEO. “We look forward to the potential of adding new jobs and continuing to provide access to affordable banking and lending services, including to those who have poor credit or no credit history.”
Funding partners include NorthRidge Community Credit Union and the city of Hibbing.
Learn more about NorthRidge Community Credit Union.
Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation grants are funded through taxes paid by Minnesota’s mining industry.
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The iconic Taconite Rock in Babbitt is situated in front of the city’s main thoroughfare shopping and retail center. To create an outdoor sitting area and public space amidst the downtown focal point, the city added pollinator and ornamental gardens, solar lights, benches, landscaping, new flags and a flat slate platform surrounding the enormous rock. Aging and crumbling sidewalks were replaced, and a utility vehicle and water barrels were purchased for more efficient maintenance and irrigation. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a Downtown Streetscapes grant.
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Taconite Rock is 28 tons and was removed from the Peter Mitchell Mine area, where Mitchell put down the first recorded test pit on the Mesabi Range in 1871. He discovered a strip of taconite that was 1.5 miles wide by 12 miles long.
“Babbitt is considered the birthplace of Minnesota’s taconite industry, and Taconite Rock is a symbol of our city’s mining history,” said Mayor Andrea Zupancich. “Just across the street from the shopping center is a community park with a children’s playground, shelter and picnic tables. The enhancements to Taconite Rock tied the downtown area together and improved the resident experience. In addition, with our increase in tourism, the area has the potential to draw visitors into our downtown.”
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Babbitt is a small community of 1,500 residents located at the eastern end of the Mesabi Iron Mining Range near Birch Lake. The city is only two portages from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Babbitt recently developed a 22-acre campground complex with 49 new campsites at the Birch Lake Recreation Area. The recreation area has a popular developed swimming beach, picnic area, beach house, public boat landing, two new docks and boat cleaning area. Birch Lake is one of the most heavily fished lakes in northeastern Minnesota and attracts outdoor recreation tourists and anglers from Minnesota, the United States and Canada. The new campground is expected to increase tourist traffic even further because it will be connected to the new Prospector Loop ATV trail system.
Email Whitney Ridlon or call her at 218-735-3004 for Downtown Streetscapes grant information.
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 Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation in 2020 awarded $2 million in grants to 12 communities across the region that were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants ranged from $50,000 to $400,000. Each community leveraged their own funding with the grant to establish a lending program for businesses located within their community. Communities included: Babbitt, Chisholm, Cook County/Grand Marais, East Range, Ely, Eveleth, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Greater Itasca County, Virginia, Silver Bay and Tower.
The Taconite Area Community Relief Grant Program collectively assisted 145 businesses and impacted 776 jobs through a total of over $3.9 million in zero-interest loans administered by the 12 communities. The communities can retain the loan repayments for future economic development purposes.
“The businesses located within the agency’s service area provide jobs to workers and provide the public with many goods and services. They were faced with extraordinary challenges and financial strain during the pandemic,” said Commissioner Mark Phillips, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. “The communities utilized funding from the agency to custom tailor their own businesses assistance programs that helped alleviate the impacts and disruptions experienced by businesses over the past 18 months.”
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Old School Lives, a nonprofit community center located in the center of Cotton Township, made exterior building renovations to improve visibility and accessibility. Improvements included: a new sign along Highway 53, sidewalk reconstruction with two new handicap accessible entries, a new timber-framed pergola entry and garden planters and new exterior trim paint. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $12,500 Downtown Streetscapes grant.
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The building is the largest in Cotton and is a former school that opened in 1922, closed in 2011 due to low attendance, and was part of Independent School District 2142. The building was purchased by a local faith-based nonprofit in 2013 who converted it into a community and arts center that is operated entirely by volunteers. (ISD 2142 now consists of five schools in St. Louis County and is geographically Minnesota’s largest school district at just over 4,000 square miles.)
“We will celebrate the tenth anniversary of Old School Lives in 2022,” said Program Director Kate Crispo. “The grant allowed us to make improvements that help us prepare for that milestone of service to the community and honor the history and future of the building. A lot of volunteers helped develop it into a vital part of the community’s economy, quality of life and human support services in northeastern Minnesota.”
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The community center serves a 30-mile radius in central St. Louis County, including about 8,000 residents of Canyon, Eveleth, Floodwood, Forbes, Iron, Kelsey, Makinen, Meadowlands, Melrude and Saginaw. It also attracts tourists due to its prominent location along Highway 53, the main thoroughfare between the Iron Range and Twin Cities.
Old School Lives is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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