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Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation outlines regional investments, housing initiative and workforce training
Summary
Commissioner Ida Rukavina told a legislative committee the Iron Range agency received about $62.7 million from the taconite production tax in 2024 and reported more than $40.9 million in loans and grants for business development and $29.1 million in community grants; the agency also launched a $6.5 million housing program.
Ida Rukavina, commissioner of the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRRB), told a Minnesota legislative committee the regional economic‑development agency continued to invest taconite production tax funds across northeastern Minnesota in fiscal 2024.
Rukavina said the agency received approximately $62,700,000 in 2024 for reinvestment through business, community and educational development programs. She described the agency's service area as the taconite assistance area defined in Minnesota Statute 273.1341, which covers about 13,000 square miles and includes 53 cities, 134 townships, 15 school districts and portions of four tribal nations.
The commissioner said six operating taconite mines within the service area support more than 39,100 direct jobs and roughly 48,100 indirect jobs. In fiscal 2024 the agency reported providing 16 business loans totaling $27,000,000 and 126 business grants totaling $13,200,000; combined agency loans and grants totaled $40,900,000 while the total project investment those public dollars leveraged was about $186,000,000.
On community development, Rukavina said the IRRRB provided 161 grants totaling $29,100,000 in fiscal 2024, supporting projects such as regional trailheads, water infrastructure and downtown revitalization. She described an Ely regional trailhead grant of $280,000 and a $2,000,000 community infrastructure grant to the city of Aurora for a regional water system project, noting both projects also relied on state, federal and local funding.
The commissioner gave an update on a housing initiative the agency launched last year. She said the $6,500,000 housing program funded 15 projects that, if fully developed, will create 304 new housing units, rehabilitate 84 units and add 67 buildable lots for future development. Rukavina said the agency partners with Minnesota Housing, local chambers and private developers to close financing gaps and maximize leverage.
Rukavina also discussed workforce interventions, including partnerships with Minnesota North College and support for programs such as Minnesota Forestry Works, welding lab upgrades at Minnesota North College, nursing simulation labs and initiatives to connect women with nontraditional careers. She said the agency's business development work includes loans and grants to manufacturers and small, long‑running local businesses.
The commissioner closed by saying the IRRRB remains focused on economic diversification, job creation and improving quality of life across the Iron Range and invited further collaboration with businesses and communities. Committee members thanked the commissioner; there were no committee votes recorded during the presentation.
