With my retirement date drawing near, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect back with gratitude on a wonderful eight years as commissioner. It has been my privilege and honor to serve northeastern Minnesota as a representative of both the Dayton and Walz administrations. 

Whether expanding child care, increasing broadband access, improving downtowns, strengthening education, or enhancing outdoor recreation, I’m proud of our efforts to make the region stronger and better positioned for the future. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our employees. We successfully maneuvered through a worldwide pandemic and ended up stronger and more efficient than ever. 

I am also grateful for the members of the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board and our many agency partners, who were critical to bringing projects and initiatives to fruition.

I wish our incoming commissioner Ida Rukavina the best of luck and am confident that she will enjoy her new role as much as I have. She will be working with the best employees around, and I look forward to seeing the great things that they will accomplish together.

Thanks for the memories! 

Sincerely,

Commissioner Mark Phillips  

Under Commissioner Mark Phillips' leadership, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation strategically invested resources to foster vibrant growth and economic prosperity in northeastern Minnesota.

Here is a look at some of the agency's investments by the numbers: 

• Business Loans: Invested $71.13 million in business loans for a total project investment of $652.67 million. 
• Community Grants: Invested $134.45 million in community grants for a total project investment of $1.09 billion.
• Education: Invested $12.44 million in Iron Range Engineering, $13.57 million in higher education and $122.18 million in school collaboration projects.

The agency also invested in the following regional initiatives:

• Broadband: Invested $6.23 million for a total project investment of $29.34 million.
• Business Energy Retrofit: Invested $7.98 million for a total project investment of $41 million.
• Child Care: Invested $1.89 million for a total project investment of $14.66 million.
• Downtowns: Invested $3.38 million for a total project investment of $15.65 million.
• Trails: Invested $13.29 million for a total project investment of $29 million. 

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation's biennial report is now available. The report highlights the programs and projects in which the agency has invested over the past two fiscal years. 

During the biennium, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were extremely challenging. The agency provided special loan and grant funding to area businesses and communities that were negatively impacted by the pandemic. 

The agency also provided $36.8 million in business loans with a total project investment of $504.5 million. In our communities, the agency invested $43.85 million, which leveraged a total project investment of $374.55 million. A sampling of successful projects is highlighted: Heliene USA, Advanced Machine Guarding Solutions, Iron Trail Motors Event Center and Zup’s Food Market. The region’s growth as a recreational trails destination and the Minnesota North community college merger are spotlighted as well.

View the biennial report.