A new development with 10 single-family residential lots was constructed by the city of Buhl. Five of the 10 lots have sold to private individuals, who in turn will hire contractors to build the homes. Construction of new homes on the sold lots is anticipated to begin this summer. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with an $87,000 Development Infrastructure grant to help pay for road excavation and infrastructure related to water, sewer and storm sewer. Total project investment is $401,960.

The new Burnett Addition is located adjacent to Burton Park and on a site that was vacant ball fields. Each lot is graded and ready for construction. Extended to the lots are city utility services and private natural gas infrastructure.

According to city officials, the new development helps meet Buhl’s housing needs. The city recently sold the last residential lot in Stubler Addition which created an immediate need for residential lots. Once the Burnett and Stubler Additions are built out over the next two to four years, the result will be 22 new single-family homes.

Buhl currently has 965 residents and is home to numerous businesses. The city is located along Highway 169, a main thoroughfare in the region. The community is situated high on the Laurentian Divide and midway across the Mesabi Iron Range offering panoramic views of the historic Grant Iron Mine.

Public amenities include a library, park, bocce and basketball ball courts, playground, pavilion and skateboard ramps, an 18-hole disc golf course, and trails for walking, hiking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The paved Mesabi Bike Trail winds through the city, and Judson and Stubler Mine Pits offer fishing, boat access, docks, a swimming beach and campsites.

The new development helps fill a void in the region’s housing market and increases Buhl’s tax base.

St. Louis County Housing Redevelopment Authority also supported the project with a $150,000 grant.

For Development Infrastructure grant information email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) launched Phase II of Thrive Up North, a marketing and recruitment campaign designed to attract new workforce populations to Itasca County including: professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners and families. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $20,000 Development Partnership grant. Total project investment was $162,000.

“Thrive Up North showcases Itasca County communities as a place that offers great work life balance, a great place to start a business, and a great place to raise a family,” said Tamara Lowney, IEDC president. “In order to develop the most unified marketing possible, we sought input from area employers and businesses. Visit Grand Rapids provided the expertise from a tourism perspective on how to best showcase the region’s amenities and assets.”

Phase I included video production, a new logo, a website and marketing campaign. Phase II produced storytelling videos, expanded marketing, rolled out an incentives package to encourage individuals and families to relocate to Itasca County, and created a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan for workforce recruitment.

Examples of the storytelling videos:

The Allen Family: They moved from the Twin Cities to Itasca County in 2021 to raise their family. Dr. Kaely Whiting-Allen is a Family Medicine Practitioner at Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital. Her husband Andrew Allen is a remote worker for Dahlen Systems. Their children, Mac and Raegan, enjoy their new home with a yard, playing in the outdoors and attending the local school.

Watch the Allen Family video.

The Erickson Family: Missy Erickson is from Spring Lake Park, Minn. and moved to Coleraine in 2011 after a blind date with her now husband, Kyle. The pair have made their home in Itasca County and share five children who thrive in the Greenway school district. Missy works at Affinity Plus Credit Union, and Kyle is an Operations Manager at Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI) and a softball coach at Minnesota North College-Itasca.

Watch the Erickson Family video.

The Peterson Family: Trisha Peterson grew up in Deer River, Minn. and spent 20 years away from the area after graduating from high school. She played and coached collegiate volleyball and served in the United States Air Force. She returned to Minnesota to help her family with a hardship and is now the Camp Director at Camp Hiawatha. Trisha enjoys raising her five-year-old son Kingston in the region with seasons and endless opportunities that Itasca offers.

Watch the Peterson Family video.

In addition to the videos, Phase II also introduced a relocation incentive package last year that included $2,000 cash, $50 to a local brewery, $50 to a local meat shop and a 20-quart Thrive Up North branded cooler.

“Relocation incentives are popping up across the country,” said Lowney. “We received over 20 applicants, and 13 have been accepted so far including two child care teachers, three mental health therapists, a forester, a wildlife research biologist and a production control manager. All of these new residents in our region filled professional job vacancies. Regional employers supported the incentive program and have seen great returns. We are excited with the response we’ve had and look forward to continuing these efforts in 2023.”

IEDC is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the creation of high-quality jobs in and around Itasca County. Other project partners included Blandin Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Northspan, The Promise is You organization of Chisholm/Hibbing, Visit Grand Rapids, Welcoming Communities Taskforce of Itasca County and regional employers.

Learn more about Thrive Up North.

Email Whitney Ridlon for Development Partnership grant information, or call her at 218-735-3004.

Oxygen Service Co. (OSC) opened a new office in the industrial area located between Highway 53 and Hoover Road in the city of Virginia. OSC purchased the property from Firelight Galleries and converted the existing building from a retail occupancy to an office/retail/industrial occupancy. Firelight Galleries relocated its retail operations to Virginia Uptown Mall after the sale to OSC. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with an $18,616 Commercial Redevelopment grant to the city of Virginia which helped pay for interior demolition of the Firelight building. Total project investment was $249,000.

OSC is a 100% employee-owned company that provides welding tools and equipment from notable industry manufacturers. OSC offers equipment such as plasma cutters, MIG/TIG welding machines, multi-process welders, welding helmets and welding safety equipment. It also offers robotic platforms, automation equipment, rental equipment, industrial and specialty gases, dry ice, and welding rod and wire. OSC can serve all types of customers including large industrial, contractors and home hobbyists.

“The previous business (Firelight Galleries) that was located in our Virginia building utilized its fireplace displays as their primary heat source,” said Dan Kipka, Oxygen Service COO. “Due to the nature of a retail operation versus an industrial operation, substantial interior renovations were required including interior demolition work. Our company was excited to open our Virginia office to expand our reach and service our valued customers even better.”

OSC was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in St. Paul. It has six locations in addition to St. Paul and Virginia including Duluth, Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota and Eau Claire and Appleton, Wisconsin. OSC services customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the eastern Dakotas and northern Iowa.

“Oxygen Service Company is a great addition to the industrial area near the Trunk Highway 53,” said Britt See-Benes, Virginia’s city administrator. “They are a very reputable company with multiple locations and a strong history in Minnesota and the Midwest dating back nearly 60 years. We are very pleased to welcome them to the city of Virginia.”

Learn more about Oxygen Service Co.

For more information about Commercial Redevelopment grants email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010.

In the 2022 Legislative Session, the Office of Broadband Development (OBD) was directed to create a new program, the Broadband Line Extension Connection Program. The purpose of the program is to award grants for the extension of existing broadband infrastructure to unserved locations. An unserved location is a location that does not have a wired broadband service of at least 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.

View the Line Extension Connection fact sheet.

How the program works: People can report to OBD that a wired broadband service is unavailable at their residence or business by entering information on the online application below, by calling 651-259-7610 and requesting a paper application or by talking to someone at OBD who will complete the application on their behalf.

What happens after an application is submitted: Every six months, OBD will send the list of addresses to each broadband provider offering service in Minnesota. Providers then have ten days to notify OBD that they can provide service at any of the addresses on the list. OBD will then contact those people to let them know the name of the broadband provider that can offer them service and any discounted pricing plans available.

For those addresses that are not served by a provider or in an area that will be built with an already awarded Border-to-Border Broadband grant project, OBD will hold a 60-day reverse auction where broadband service providers can bid to extend service to one or more of the addresses on the list. 

View the online application.