Sept. 25, 2025

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jordan Metsa, Communications Director

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

Over $17 million invested into education, businesses, mining research, public works and housing in the Taconite Assistance Area

At today's Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) Board meeting, approximately $17 million in projects were reviewed that support area K-12 school districts, grow new and existing businesses, advance research in the mining industry, modernize infrastructure and public facilities, and increase the housing inventory.

Minerals Article Legislation/2024 Tax Omnibus Bill Projects: $6,000,000

• Ely Independent School District No. 696: $5,000,000 for planning, design, engineering, demolition and construction related to the district's athletic complex.
• Rock Ridge Independent School District No. 2909: $1,000,000 for demolition of the James Madison Elementary School in Virginia.

Business Development Loans: $3,715,000

• Eveleth Economic Development Authority: $3,600,000 to purchase the former Eveleth IGA building and make repairs needed to ready it for a tenant to occupy the premises and operate it as a grocery store.
• Hibbing Fabricators Inc: $115,000 to purchase two new electric press brakes.

Development Partnership Grant: $600,000

• University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI): $600,000 to complete the installation and commissioning of a world-first Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) Research Furnace at NRRI’s Coleraine laboratory. (The Fiscal Year 2026 Development Partnership program budget was amended from $2,000,000 to $2,600,000 to support this grant.)

Public Works Grants: $4,429,000

• City of Aurora: $500,000 to support road reconstruction, water and sewer line upgrades, and curb, gutter and sidewalk replacement. The project will provide essential services to 45 residential homes and the Mesabi East School building, while also redeveloping the community center and fire hall parking lot.
• City of Beaver Bay: $250,000 to replace aging and failing sanitary sewer and water lines, while making the city’s infrastructure more resilient and protecting the environment from untreated wastewater being released into the Lake Superior Watershed.
• City of Biwabik: $185,000 to furnish and install 652 new water meters throughout the city, with an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system and leak detection capabilities.
• Central Iron Range Sanitary Sewer District (CIRSSD): $400,000 to extend and connect a sewer main for the development of a new St. Louis County Public Works Facility on County Highway 5 across State Highway 169, near the CIRSSD wastewater treatment plant. The extension will also provide service to five residential properties.
• Chisholm-Hibbing Airport Authority (CHAA): $27,000 to design and rehabilitate an aircraft taxi lane that supports 18 aircraft storage hangars that are owned by CHAA and leased to pilots for long-term aircraft storage.
• City of Coleraine: $300,000 to purchase and install 555 new water meters at residential and commercial properties, improving water usage monitoring, enabling early leak detection and streamlining data collection for more effective utility management.
• Cook County/Grand Marais Joint Economic Development Authority: $175,000 to reconstruct a taxi lane that serves as a critical access route for aircraft to and from hangars.
• City of Ely: $169,000 to support the water main and sewer line extension and hookup for the redevelopment of the former train depot and Wilderness Outfitters facility. The long-vacant depot property is slated for renovation by a developer into a restaurant, brewery and outdoor event center.
• Feeley Township: $52,000 to upgrade the town hall and cemetery. The town hall’s entrance pad will be repaired, interior flooring will be replaced, and a garage and wood chip storage bunker will be constructed. The cemetery’s headstones will be restored, landscaping will be improved, and management software will be added.
• Goodland Township: $84,000 to upgrade the town hall with a new roof, new flooring, new exterior doors and interior paint. The building functions as the township’s community center, and it houses the township’s volunteer fire department.
• City of Hibbing: $1,500,000 to construct a new 65,000-square-foot regional public safety center, which will be attached to the current public works building. The new center will house the city’s police and fire departments, improve emergency response and enhance community safety.
• City of Leonidas: $300,000 to support storm sewer upgrades and road reconstruction. The project includes the rebuild of a main thoroughfare alley with additional stormwater management capabilities, and it includes citywide pavement rehabilitation.
• City of Mountain Iron: $200,000 to slip line the sanitary sewer main from the old downtown area to the wastewater plant, which will eliminate inflow and infiltration into the city’s wastewater system.
• City of Tower: $287,000 to upgrade the public works facility and the community civic center with structural and mechanical improvements. The project will also update the zoning ordinance at the Tower Municipal Airport to align with state statute.

Public Works Grants Increases: $287,000

IRRR previously provided grant funding for the two projects below. The grant increases are due to construction bids being higher than originally anticipated.

• Biwabik Township Increase: $120,000 to expand the township’s firehall to allow for increased firefighting services, additional equipment and training opportunities. The firehall provides essential fire and rescue services to Biwabik Township and surrounding communities.
• City of Calumet Increase: $167,000 to upgrade the city hall with a new roof, updated electrical wiring and LED lighting, ADA cement steps/ramp, an ADA chair lift or elevator, improved ventilation and duct work, new insulation and expanded space for events and storage.

Housing Grants: $2,078,000

• Aurora Housing and Redevelopment Authority: $11,500 to support the Neighborhood Revitalization Mini Grant Program focused on home exterior improvements to 20 houses.
• Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority: $350,000 to extend utility infrastructure to connect 12 future homes in the Norra Skogen Common Interest Community in Grand Marais. The homes will be owner-occupied and limited to full-time residents.
• City of Ely: $146,500 to repair the drainage system and replace the sidewalks, doors and gutters at Northwoods Townhomes, a 26-unit market rate senior rental development owned by the Ely Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
• Itasca County Habitat for Humanity: $150,000 to support utility infrastructure, site work and construction of two new net-zero passive homes in Calumet.
• Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority: $850,000 to develop 75 market rate workforce apartments on a five-acre site in northwest Two Harbors.
• North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity: $500,000 to support utility infrastructure, sitework and construction of eight home sites across Iron Range communities. The project includes building five new homes, rehabilitating one home and developing two future home sites.
• Toivola Meadowlands Development Board: $45,000 to replace the siding, window trim and storm doors at Meadowlands Manor, a 12-unit apartment building. The building provides rental housing for local residents and seniors.
• City of Virginia: $25,000 to redevelop the second story of an existing commercial building into a new residential housing unit located on the city’s main street.

The projects reviewed at today’s board meeting support IRRR’s Fiscal Year 2026 spending plan which helps to fund projects in business, community and workforce development in the Taconite Assistance Area.