Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) will host a Business & Community Development Resources Workshop on Tuesday, July 14 at the Mineland Reclamation office in Chisholm. The workshop will help businesses, communities and organizations learn about grants, loans and programs available through the agency.

The workshop will be offered in two sessions: Community Development from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and Business Development from 11 a.m. to noon. Participants may attend one or both sessions, with time available for networking between sessions.

Both sessions will provide information on IRRR resources that support a variety of development projects and initiatives. A virtual attendance option also will be available through Microsoft Teams. Participants who register for the online option will receive a meeting link before the event.

Anyone interested in attending is asked to RSVP by Tuesday, July 7. Space for the in-person sessions is limited.

Access the registration form.

Bois Forte Health and Human Services hosted an open house on June 15 to celebrate their new facility in downtown Virginia that will serve Band Members residing in the cities of Eveleth, Gilbert, Mountain Iron and Virginia. Bois Forte Band of Chippewa purchased two adjoining vacant buildings on Chestnut Street and redeveloped them into a clinic that will provide healthcare outreach services related to dentistry, behavioral health, pharmaceutical needs and supportive services such as housing.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) supported the project with a $145,000 Commercial Redevelopment grant to the city of Virginia which helped support selective internal demolition. Total project investment was $1,789,300.

Band members living in the Quad Cities area face challenges accessing services available at the Nett Lake and Vermilion locations on the Bois Forte Reservation. Many lack the transportation or financial resources needed to travel those distances. To address this need, the Band is committed to bringing services closer to community members.

Janelle Rost, Bois Forte Health and Human Services director, explained that the long-term plan is to potentially allow access to the greater community once volumes and capacity at the new clinic are determined.

The buildings were originally constructed in the early 1900s and have housed several businesses throughout the years, including a clothing store, chiropractor's office, florist and community foundation. The IRRR grant helped repurpose the buildings and bring them back into use providing essential services to area residents.

IRRR Tribal Liaison Billie Isham-Gillen and IRRR Community Development Representative Chris Ismil attended the event.

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa is a sovereign, federally recognized Tribe whose people have lived in northeastern Minnesota for centuries. The Tribe shares geography with the IRRR service area.

Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010 for Commercial Redevelopment grant information.

Photos courtesy of Bois Forte News. 

The Ely Arts and Heritage Center (EAHC) hosted a memorial dedication ceremony at the Pioneer Mine Historical Site on Sunday, June 14. EAHC worked on the project for more than 20 years to create two granite panels listing 218 names memorializing the working men who died in Ely underground mines between 1889 and 1966. Care was taken to extensively research the deaths and determine which names should be listed.

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) supported the granite memorial with a $14,804 Culture & Tourism grant. Total project investment was $29,609. The city of Ely and many private donations also helped fund the initiative.

IRRR Legal Counsel Stacey Scholz spoke at the ceremony. Scholz’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather are among the miners listed on the memorial panels. Both lost their lives in Ely mining accidents in the early 1900s. Rep. Roger Skraba, an IRRR Board member, also spoke, as did other elected officials and community leaders.

Iron ore mining began in Ely in 1883. The city’s five original major underground mines - Chandler, Pioneer, Savoy, Sibley and Zenith - were located within a 1.5-mile radius. Iron mining ended there in 1967 after producing millions of tons of ore.

The Ely Pioneer Mine Historical Site is owned by the city and managed by the nonprofit EAHC. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and has three areas:

• The Mine Museum and Head Frame is a 16,000-square-foot interpretive center where the shaft house would transport miners to the depths of up to 1,700 feet below the earth's surface. It is open to the public on select days, and tours are led by local experts who discuss the genesis of Ely, the evolution of its five mines around Miner’s Lake and its rich mining history.
• The Miner's Dry functions as a 6,700-square-foot event venue for up to 300 people and is often rented for weddings, dances, art classes, shows and Heritage Fest. Proceeds from the event rental go to operating the Pioneer Mine Museum. The Miner’s Dry was originally used by the miners for bathing and changing into work clothes.
• The Captain's Dry has not yet been restored; fundraising efforts are underway.

IRRR has supported development of the complex with a $11,150 Mineland Reclamation grant and $50,000 in legislatively approved revenue bond proceeds*. The former mining site is being transformed into a destination for residents and visitors while honoring Ely’s history and its vital role in supplying the iron ore that helped fuel America’s industrial growth.

Learn more about Ely Historic Pioneer Mine Site.

Email Danae Beaudette or call her at 218-735-3022 for Community Development grant information.

*In the 2024 Minnesota legislative session, the Mineral Article Legislation/2024 Tax Omnibus Bill was enacted, requiring IRRR to issue revenue bonds to finance up to 81 identified projects across the Taconite Assistance Area.

Note: Top two photos courtesy of Nick Wognum. 

Triple Crown Properties (TCP) owners Tara Halling and Trina and Tobie Stanley utilized a Loan Guaranty from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) for a line of credit to renovate local homes. TCP is based in Bovey and is a building and construction company that purchases distressed or undervalued properties, renovates them to increase their market appeal and then lists them for sale on the open market.

They have renovated numerous homes across the Taconite Assistance Area and are focused in Itasca County and surrounding communities. Their company is helping to update older housing stock, revitalize neighborhoods, increase property values, eliminate blight and attract new homeowners.

The Loan Guaranty program allows IRRR to guaranty a bank loan for eligible businesses. The guaranty can be up to 75% of the total loan or up to a $150,000 maximum. The loan may be term debt, revolving credit or a single-payment note. The maximum term of the guaranty is five years. The guaranty is structured as a shortfall guaranty.

Learn more about IRRR Loan Guaranty Program.

Email Scott Sundvall or call him at 218-735-3015 for loan guaranty and business assistance information.

The Eveleth Trail Hawks Snowmobile Club was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Northern St. Louis County Trails Task Force to complete a three-mile connector trail between the communities of Virginia and Eveleth.

The club began work on the project in 2016 after Highway 53 was rerouted and the Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge was built, leading to the abandonment of an old trail. After years of work and with the help of the Trails Task Force grant that funded the final segment, a scenic replacement route was completed and will reopen to snowmobilers this winter. The grant also helped the club leverage an additional $75,000 in related investments.

The Eveleth Trail Hawks Snowmobile Club is 100% volunteer-driven and maintains and grooms 40 miles of snowmobile trails in central St. Louis County. To complete the connector trail, their organization partnered with Discover the Range, the city of Eveleth, Mesabi Bituminous, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Rock Ridge School District and St. Louis County.

The Northern St. Louis County Trails Task Force grant program was funded at $50,000 by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) in fiscal year 2025 and is administered by the task force and Iron Range Tourism Bureau (IRTB). They utilize the funding to award grants of $10,000 and less to projects that foster the development of recreational trails and facilities in Northern St. Louis County.

Email Danae Beaudette or call her at 218-735-3022 for Regional Trails grant information.

Email Beth Pierce or call her at 218-749-8161 for Trails Task Force information.

Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness (VEMA) will host the sixth annual Iron Range Juneteenth celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 19 in the 500 block of Chestnut Street in Virginia. The free, family-friendly event will feature music, vendors, family activities and free food until noon. 

Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The holiday, also known as Freedom Day or African American Emancipation Day, celebrates Black American culture, achievements and contributions while recognizing the lasting impact of slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow laws.

Minnesota officially recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday in 2023 under legislation signed by Gov. Tim Walz. State offices and buildings close annually in observance of the holiday.

The Iron Range celebration aims to bring community members together to honor the significance of Juneteenth through education, culture and fellowship. Sponsors include Boreal Waters Community Foundation, Cultures, Humanities & Arts on the Iron Range, the Virginia Human Rights Commission, Revive Virginia! and Iron Range Today.

View the Facebook event for VEMA's Juneteenth celebration.