As local leaders rally for legislative support following the announcement that Cleveland-Cliffs would lay off 600 miners on the Iron Range, small businesses and neighbors are already stepping up to soften the impact. Also on North Star Stories, Free Park Day at Minnesota State Parks, and Amazon expands to Duluth with a new distribution center
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR Chantel SinGs: Today, Minnesota’s state parks welcome the start of spring with open arms. Next, the Iron Range community comes together as jobs disappear from the region. And the nation’s largest online retailer expands in Northern Minnesota. I’m Chantel SinGs.
Spring is here and Minnesota is making it easier to get into state parks. Saturday April 26th is Free Park Day. That means you can get into any state park for free. April 26th is the second of four free park days this year. The state has one day for each season. There will also be a free park day in June and November. While admission to the parks is free, there are still charges for services like camping, rentals, and special tours. Minnesota state parks are open year-round, and there’s a state park within 30 miles of most Minnesotans.
Next, mass layoffs of miners on the Iron Range have rocked Northern Minnesota. But when jobs disappear, the community comes together. Reporter Xan Holston has more.
Xan Holston: When Cleveland-Cliffs, Minnesota’s largest iron ore mining operation, announced it was laying off some 600 employees, there was shock, anger, fear, and a sense that the people of the Iron Range had seen this all before.
But that didn’t make it any less painful.
Pete Hyduke: So even though this is cyclical in its business like many, whether it’s forestry or whatever it might be…) We’ve just come through one of our longest time periods of just consistent mining.
Xan Holston: Pete Hyduke is the Mayor of Hibbing. He’s served the city for nearly three decades, and he’s seen the ebb and flow of mining jobs. Which means he’s seen suffering and support.
Pete Hyduke: Anytime there’s adversity in the mining industry, the community seems to come together to support those that are having issues.
Xan Holston: Cliffs operates the Minorca Mine in Virginia and the Hibbing Taconite Company — or Hibtac — in Hibbing.
In a letter announcing the decision, Cliffs said it anticipates the layoffs will be temporary, but that they could last longer than six months.
Some relief is expected to come in the form of extended unemployment benefits. Hyduke said securing the funding is a top priority.
Pete Hyduke: We’ve been meeting with the legislators and working closely with them to put legislation together that can help us get through this downturn again.
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Xan Holston: But while the unemployment relief bill works its way through the legislature, there’s smaller needs to be met in town.
EMILY LAW: When a mine closes it affects everybody, it just trickles down and affects the whole town.
Xan Holston: Emily Law runs Flom Designs and Photography in Hibbing. When she heard the news of the layoffs, she was quick to offer what help she could in the form of free senior photos for members of families who are being laid off.
EMILY LAW: They’re families that we know and are friends of ours, and I’ve taken pictures of the kids when they were little in sports and stuff, so it really, it really hits close to home.
Xan Holston: That kind of long-standing familiarity is something Amanda Campbell has come to recognize in her own way.
Amanda Campbell: You come to know and love these people, and you watch the kids grow up and you watch grandma and grandpa age as they're coming, you know? So it’s hard not to connect with people on a personal level.
Xan Holston: Campbell owns The Bach Yen Garden Restaurant in Hibbing. She said a viral story on Facebook caught her eye.
Amanda Campbell: A picture of people of receipts that people had paid for at a restaurant for meals for people who may not be able to afford it or whatever and might be hungry.
Xan Holston: She ran with the concept: she opened a gift card, put some cash on it, and started letting people know they could make a donation and pay a meal forward.
Amanda Campbell: If people need a meal because of the layoff, they can come and get that, and it’s paid for by your community members — people in your community who can spare a couple dollars to help or whatever.
Xan Holston: She says that while the full impact of the layoffs hasn’t been felt yet, she’s confident that more businesses will step up and find ways to contribute.
Amanda Campbell: I know that we won't be the only because our community is pretty awesome and I’ve seen them come together over and over again.
Xan Holston: For North Star Stories, I’m Xan Holston.
ANCHOR Chantel SinGs: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Residents in Duluth can expect to start getting deliveries from Amazon a little faster. The nation’s largest online retailer recently opened a distribution warehouse in the former US Steel Building. City officials say it will employ about one hundred people. The distribution center is a first for Northern Minnesota. Amazon currently has distribution facilities in St. Cloud and several in the Twin Cities. The online retail giant is also building a warehouse in Baxter, which is west of Brainerd. That facility is expected to open later this year.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.