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Discover the Range director highlights tourism gains and projects for Hibbing area
Summary
Beth Pierce, director of Discover the Range, told the Hibbing City Council the regional DMO’s 2025 budget is about $550,000, reported large digital reach (about 8 million paid impressions, 50,000 paid clicks year‑to‑date) and outlined programs — Hello Range, Arrowhead Coalition of Trails and a trails‑focused marketing push — intended to grow overnight visitation and local spending.
Beth Pierce, director of Discover the Range, told the Hibbing City Council on July 1 that the destination marketing organization’s 2025 budget is about $550,000 and that its paid digital advertising has generated roughly 8,000,000 impressions and 50,000 clicks year‑to‑date.
Pierce said Discover the Range serves an area from Hibbing to White Lakes and that lodging tax collections are remitted to Eveleth as the current tax administrator. She said the DMO’s work is aimed at bringing visitors who spend money in local businesses and noted the organization also pursues sponsorships, advertising revenue and grants to stretch those dollars.
The presentation outlined several ongoing programs: Hello Range, a resident recruitment and retention initiative; a Spirit of Hospitality training program for local businesses and staff; and the Arrowhead Coalition of Trails, a regional collaboration to bring trail users into downtowns and coordinate shared signage. Pierce said about half of the DMO’s budget goes to advertising and that approximately 35% of payroll is reflected in those marketing expenses because staff manage social and digital content.
Pierce also provided usage and engagement metrics: about 95,000 website events (downloads, signups and similar actions) and a recent doubling of information requests for June compared with the prior period. She estimated roughly 300,000 annual visitors across the service area who generate about $70 million in overnight visitor spending, and an additional roughly $20 million from visitors staying with friends and family. Pierce cautioned those figures are estimates derived from geolocation vendors and said the numbers are not 100% reliable.
Councilors praised Cesar Ortega’s social media work and asked Pierce to return for further conversations or a workshop. Pierce invited council members to participate as board members or certified tourism ambassadors and encouraged local officials to help improve lodging‑tax compliance among short‑term rental operators.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation; Pierce said Discover the Range would provide materials and that staff are available for follow‑up.
