Upon learning about the taconite mine closure, Steve Bratkovich and John Krantz of the US Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Program, began to discuss what they could do to help connect available USFS grant support to the impacted communities. Bratkovich and Krantz, among others, determined that they could make $30,000 available to displaced miners, with a maximum of $3,000 per individual, to develop individual forest-based industry businesses. They initiated this program in order to assist miners in finding employment opportunities without having to uproot and relocate families. To this date, beyond standard unemployment assistance, the Displaced Mine Employee Grant Program is the sole grant program targeting local residents impacted by the LTV taconite mine closure.
At the same time that the Forest Service was considering how to develop this grant program, Biwabik City Planner Scott Dane serendipitously called Krantz’s office to discuss grant possibilities. When Krantz realized that Dane lived and worked just 14 miles from the Hoyt Lakes area, he asked if the City of Biwabik would be interested in administering a Displaced Mine Employee Grant Program. The program was to be developed from scratch and the Forest Service wanted it to be administered within the local community rather than from the central office in St. Paul. Dane quickly agreed to run the program, stating that “friends and family had been affected by the closure, so it would be great for the City to be able to help out in some way.”
Dane began to write up the guidelines for the Displaced Mine Employee Grant Program based on a USFS/DNR grant program template. The program would directly provide grants to individuals for start-up or expansion costs associated with forest-related businesses. Eligibility was straightforward: applicants must be employees affected by mining plant cutbacks or shutdowns, and each project must be an enterprise using forest-based products in the manufacture or production of a marketable product or service. Examples of appropriate projects included woodworking, tourism, firewood, fish guiding services, and dock building. The program grantors emphasized that applicants with private funding or in-kind contributions would be looked upon favorably.
Dane created a two-page application for the local residents to fill out. “We wanted to keep it simple, not intimidating,” he commented. “Otherwise, people wouldn’t utilize the program. We were targeting people that don’t traditionally make applications to grant programs.” Once the eligibility guidelines and application process were accepted by the Forest Service, the City publicly announced the program.
The City of Biwabik, US Forest Service, and the Minnesota DNR promoted the pending grant opportunity by holding an informational seminar. The City sent out notices to newspapers and unemployment centers, and forty people attended the seminar. Twelve local presenters spoke about a range of non-traditional forest industries including value-added wood products and tourism. Dane recalled, “We opened up perspectives on what opportunities existed within the industry. New business ideas clicked for some people, who then asked, ‘Can I do this? Would this be eligible’?” At the end of the seminar, the City provided applications to take home. There were two requirements to complete the application: 1) identification of the project, the need for the project and how the need would be addressed; 2) a description of matching funds up to $3,000, which could be contributed in the form of in-kind support.
Further assistance was readily available to grant applicants. Quite a few miners attended a Northeast Entreprenurial Fund Program workshop, which was put together by several economic development agencies to teach people about business principles. Dane made himself available during the grant application process, telling participants, “Don’t worry about typing up the application or using a computer. Just handwrite the application and turn it in to me. I’ll transfer it and clean it up a bit before passing it on to the selection committee.” Dane also talked to individuals about how the grant would be leveraged. “We wanted to make sure that the applicants were putting something in too. The grant is intended to give people a boost, but it’s not possible to start up any business with only $3000 identified.”
The City of Biwabik delivered the grant applications to the USFS and Minnesota DNR. The selection was done by a multi-party panel that determined if the proposed projects met the forest-based industry participation standard. Establishing a multi-party selection process took a lot of pressure off of the local administrative staff, and the turnaround time on the grant selection process was outstanding. Applications were reviewed on February 20, 2001, and grant awards were announced a week later. The Forest Service provided the funds upfront to the City of Biwabik, allowing for a rapid dispersal of funds to eighteen successful applicants. Due to the overwhelming response rate, the USFS provided an additional $10,000 to the Displaced Miner Grant Program, with nine local communities matching dollar for dollar.
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