Thanks to IRRR Commissioner Ida Rukavina, Ely Clerk-Treasurer Harold Langowski, to our community outdoor clubs, EEDA consultant John Fedo, Ely School Superintendent Anne Oelke, and others for their vision and many hours of grant writing and advocacy.
Grants and state government aids such as LGA and taconite assistance are important to the city of Ely. They provide funding for numerous projects and are great financial additions to our budgets. They keep our taxes low and allow our city council to provide services to our community that otherwise would not be possible. All of us can and should express our thanks to the grant writers and leaders with vision to help make our community and city a more inviting place to live and enjoy.
Since 2020, Ely has received more than $11 million in grants, mostly through the IRRR. The Ely schools have received more than $18 million during that same period.
And when we review the city of Ely’s published budget, we see that the annual LGA and taconite aid combined have historically paid for over 70 percent of our city budget. Other funds have contributed millions of dollars for upgrades to public facilities located here in Ely, such as at the Minnesota North Vermilion campus.
Here is a list of funds received just since 2020:
IRRRB flow-through: $30 million
LGA and taconite aid: $18 million
Ely business COVID aid: $323,000
Ely schools COVID aid: $1.252 million
MN North Vermilion tech: $7.3 million
MN N. Verm. Classrooms: $3.6 million
Fed funds for trails building: $1.5 million
Workforce housing: $6.05 million
Ely water plant: $7.799 million
CDBG: $660,000
BER program: $887,000
Old train station cleanup: $300,000
Old community center: $200,000
Senior Housing repairs: $146,000
Ambulance grant: $296,036
St. Louis County-Harvey St.: $3.5 million
TOTAL: $81,983,035
John Esse
Ely