June 18, 2024

NEWS RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jordan Metsa, Communications Director

218-735-3061, Jordan.Metsa@state.mn.us

Over $490,000 in Culture & Tourism grants awarded

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) awarded a total of $492,500 in Culture & Tourism grants to 27 projects. The agency invests approximately $600,000 annually into the grant program across its 13,000 square-mile service area. The grants assist projects that support arts, culture, history, tourism and recreational activities, enhance the quality of life in the region and attract visitors. “This is a large batch of grants and represents communities from all throughout our service area. The response demonstrates the strong commitment that our local communities and local people have to improving the amenities and quality of life,” said IRRR Commissioner Ida Rukavina. “From McKinley to Mountain Iron and all across the core Iron Range and from Ely over to Itasca County, communities are stepping up to help with everything from hockey rinks to music and the arts. I am pleased with the work and innovation occurring in our local communities, and I look forward to watching these projects develop.”

Recent grants include:

• Adaptive Wilderness Within Reach, Ely: $16,000 to purchase a handicap-accessible kayak launch, adaptive kayaks and gear for participants at North of North, a new wilderness resort on Birch Lake.
• Biwabik Township: $15,000 to upgrade and modify existing tennis courts to include pickleball.
• City of Bovey: $25,000 to add a hockey rink to a community park.
• City of Chisholm: $25,000 to upgrade the Memorial Park which is located adjacent to the new Kiwanis Splash Pad. Upgrade include accessibility features such as a rubber surface and new play equipment.
• City of Ely: $17,000 to add a scale model of a United States Forest Service sea plane and a mural depicting the wilderness and the float planes in action to the Chapman Street Pocket Park.
• City of Hibbing: $22,000 for a portable stage trailer for use at community events, festivals and concerts.
• City of La Prairie: $26,500 to upgrade the amenities at Ryan Park including the hockey rink, warming shack, spectator netting, baseball field, tennis and basketball court.
• City of McKinley: $15,000 to replace the aging and outdated equipment at a community park.
• Ely’s Historic State Theater, Ely: $5,000 to purchase ADA equipment including a hearing system with closed captions and headsets for the theater guests who have hearing loss.
• Embarrass Region Fair Association, Embarrass: $14,951 to improve the amenities at Timber Hall by adding a public announcement system, banquet tables and carts, round pens, generator, baby changing stations, lighting, signage, bleachers, benches and ticket booths.
• Friends of the Parks Inc., Cook: $20,000 to transform the ice rink into a multi-purpose year-round amenity located at the Doug Johnson Recreation Area. The rink will be resurfaced so that it may be used for pickleball during the summer months, and the rink’s hockey boards will be replaced.
• Goodland Township: $13,000 to add a pavilion, benches, handicap accessible picnic tables, trash receptacles and a shade structure to a community park.
• Grand Portage Reservation Tribal Council Business Committee, Grand Portage: $30,000 to construct a playground at the Grand Portage Community Center which houses the Oshki Ogimaag Charter School, after school programming and youth summer camps.
• Greenwood Community Recreation Board, Tower: $15,000 to construct three new pickleball courts in the Greenwood Township Recreation Area.
• Jim Gillach Memorial, Aurora: $17,000 to add landscaping, drainage, seating and signage around the newly established community pickleball courts.
• Knife River Heritage & Cultural Center, Knife River: $30,000 construct an open-sided shelter over the commercial fishing exhibit which includes the 35' commercial fish tug CRUSADER II, a 35' viewing deck into the boat's interior and five interpretive displays that are mounted on the viewing deck.
• Lincoln Parent Teacher Organization, Hibbing: $25,000 to add adaptive play equipment to the Lincoln Elementary School playground.
• MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids: $7,500 to complete equipment updates and improvements to the pottery studio.
• Mesabi Fit Coalition, Mountain Iron: $25,000 to develop the outdoor field area of the Mesabi Fit property. ADA-compliant play apparatus, safety ground covering and an equipment storage building will be added.
• Mesabi Musical Theatre, Gilbert: $2,000 to support the production of the musical Ruthless! which will be performed in July at the Hibbing High School Auditorium.
• Minnesota Children’s Press, Grand Marais: $12,500 to construct four local history kiosks for display at the North Shore Letters Multicultural Mini-Museum Addition. The project will also launch a digital media campaign to promote the new displays and mini-museum.
• North House Folk School, Grand Marais: $18,000 to construct a welcome center with a school store, public garden and outdoor learning spaces.
• Pike Township: $15,849 to renovate the community park located by the town hall. Improvements include resurfacing and striping the tennis court and constructing a new gazebo.
• Save Our Ship Inc., Knife River: $25,000 to build the infrastructure and concrete foundation needed to house the historic Leif Erikson ship at the Knife River Heritage & Cultural Center.
• Lake Vermilion Cultural Center, Tower: $25,000 to make improvements to the sound, lighting, heating, air conditioning and bathrooms so that the facility may be used year-round.
• Truman Blakesley American Legion Post 432, Feeley Township: $25,000 to upgrade existing and install new recreational amenities at the six-acre public park and campground in Feeley Township near Warba.
• Two Harbors Curling Club, Two Harbors: $5,200 to replace the carpet throughout the upstairs of the public areas and the windows throughout the entire building.

The next Culture & Tourism grant cycle is open July 1 through Oct. 1, 2024. Cities, townships, nonprofits, Tribal governments and governmental entities located within the agency’s service area are eligible to apply. Key application dates:

• July 1 through Sept. 25: Pre-applications must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 25.
• Oct. 1: Full grant applications and required documentation must be submitted by 4:30 p.m.
• If program funds are available after the cycle, applications may be accepted from Jan. 1 through May 1, 2025, or until program funds are substantially committed for the fiscal year, whichever occurs sooner.

Applications must be submitted through the FLUXX grant portal. Access the FLUXX portal.

Email Danae Beaudette or call her at 218-735-3022 for Culture & Tourism grant information.