August 2009
Summer is in full glory here in Minnesota's Vacation Paradise, and visitors and residents relish the long days and warm temperatures to fish, golf, camp, pontoon, and explore the many waterways here. Summer in the northland is also a time for the many festivals, fairs, and events that celebrate our traditions and culture.
Yet, in spite of all of the good karma that summer brings, the economic downturn has affected every corner of the country. The good news for International Falls and Koochiching County is that several projects continue to move forward - despite the difficult economy. In this newsletter, we'll introduce you to two women who took a hobby from the kitchen to retail stores, a local artist who works in many forms, including glass work, and the re-birth of the Northome city offices and municipal liquor store.
Project Update - Northland Distributing and Manufacturing (ND&M), a local, family-owned distributor of outdoor boilers, stoves, fireplaces, and hot tubs will begin erecting the steel for their new 30,000 square foot expansion. The expansion will allow ND&M to warehouse product and inventory and eventually begin assembling boilers in their own facility. ND& M has seen tremendous growth across their product line in the past few years, including the Ecoteck line of stoves and fireplaces from Italy, and this expansion is in response to their growth. The expansion will result in creating 6 additional jobs. For more information on ND&M check out their website -
www.northlanddistrib.com.
The General Services Administration recently announced that West 2nd Street Associates was chosen to construct a new facility for the Border Patrol in International Falls. Construction for the new facility, located just east of downtown on the Rainy River, will begin this fall. The facility marks the beginning of the waterfront development on 60 acres of property. The City of International Falls is also working with the GSA and the National Park Service to site a new NPS headquarters on the east end of the property. The plan for the property, privately owned, between the two facilities is for a hospitality facility with day-marina and a river walk. Infrastructure work will begin this month.
Another significant project in the area continues to move forward… the merger between Duluth Clinic - Int'l. Falls & Falls Memorial Hospital has been completed and the new entity is the Rainy Lake Medical Center with a hospital campus and the clinic campus. Planning continues on integrating the two campuses into one which will provide additional resources and services for the area.
In the community of Big Falls, the city was instrumental in the re-opening of Café 671. The café, aside from serving as the community's only restaurant, also provided meals on wheels to seniors. After closure of the café and several private efforts failed to re-open, the city stepped forward to create a municipal café. The Café 671 is now opened and serving a full menu daily.
