TOWER— The Lake Vermilion Cultural Center’s annual Midsummer Gala paid homage to the Iron Range’s immigrant history while raising several tens of thousands of dollars from from among the 100 guests who attended the event.
An anonymous surprise $25,000 matching grant was matched almost dollar for dollar, adding $50,000 to the renovation projects account. A combination of an online and in-person silent auction was quite successful, and the live auction, headed by the fast-talking entertainer Steve Solkela, had attendees bidding for vacation accommodations in Italy and France, as well as Vikings and Wild tickets.
The evening’s speaker was Ida Rukavina, the new commissioner of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, which starting under the leadership of the late Mark Phillips, has provided close to half a million dollars for the cultural center’s renovation and construction.
Rukavina acknowledged the sadness of a day when she woke up to find out a longtime, dear friend, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband had been assassinated overnight.
“We are here for our community,” she said. “On this heartbreaking day, we are reminded of our responsibilities to each other.”
“Today our democracy was attacked,” she said. “I want to thank law enforcement for helping to keep us safe. Don’t let this silence you.”
For the first time, there was a police presence at the Midsummer event, with two Breitung officers standing guard at the door. The security was ordered by Gov. Tim Walz, who was worried about high-ranking state and elected officials while the manhunt was still underway for the as-yet unidentified person who shot two Minnesota elected officials and their spouses, killing two of them.
Rukavina said she had rewritten some of her remarks due to the events, but still wanted to focus on the importance of culture in our community.
“Projects like the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center brings us together,” Rukavina said. “I feel honored to follow in the spirit of my father (the late state representative Tom Rukavina) to serve the IRRR.
Rukavina talked about the history of the Iron Range, which more than 80 years ago fought for a fair tax system to distribute mining company tax revenues, which led to the creation of the IRRR.
She talked about the importance of volunteerism.
“Our communities are run by people who are willing to shut off their televisions and show up.”
“This has created a high quality of life in our region,” she said.
She talked about how she is a product of the melting pot of the Iron Range.
“I’m half Finn, a quarter Italian, and a quarter Croatian,” she said. “And music is an element that ties all these cultures together.”
“I am lucky to grow up with a family that loved Iron Range culture,” she said. At the age of five, Rukavina began Suzuki violin lessons with teacher Helena Pakola, and was a member of the youth group called “Singing Strings” that performed locally as well as internationally. Rukavina opened her talk by playing two well-known ethnic tunes on her violin, but noted she hadn’t performed in public for many years.
“Our culture, music, and heritage matters,” she said. “You need to know how to say sauna (sow-na) the right way!”
After years of annual fundraisers and numerous grants, the work of completing the new cultural center continues, a point made by Vermilion Cultural Center President Mary Batinich, who recounted some of the history of the project.
When St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was built in 1889, it was a rushed job, Batinich related to the attendees. “They built these churches fast,” she said. “There was no foundation.”
Over the years, the congregation dwindled, and in 2012 the church was officially closed. “They gave us the church for a dollar,” Batinich said, “and now a million dollars later we are still asking for money.”
“The church is our version of Notre Dame,” she added, but noted that rebuilding that famous church was a billion-dollar project.
The old St. Mary’s Church was moved from its original location to a more prominent position on Tower’s Main Street, placed on a stable foundation, and incorporated into a larger building that, even though not totally finished, has begun serving as a meeting place and venue for music, drama, and lectures.
After the dinner, speaker, and live auction, all held at the Herb Lamppa Civic Center, attendees crossed the street to the cultural center for a concert featuring local singers, the Sectionals and the Choralaires, who featured music of all the immigrants that make up the culture of the Iron Range.