TOWER— About 50 community members, including business owners and their families, gathered at the Herb Lamppa Civic Center on March 31 for a “Resource Meeting for Tower Area Businesses.”
The event was organized by members of the Tower Economic Development Authority (TEDA) who are hoping a Northland Foundation grant application could spark as much as $6 million in new investment into the local business economy.
The grant program is being funded by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and would be overseen by the Northland Foundation’s Main Street Revitalization Program if their proposal is ultimately approved. The program would include a 30-percent grant for projects on Tower’s business corridors that could be used for business growth, new business creation, housing development, addressing blight, and improving energy efficiency. Businesses can work with the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund (NEF) to find loan programs to fund the remaining 70 percent of project costs. The NEF has a wide range of free business planning and training services available, a small grant program to help fund training for recipients of their microloan programs, as well as access to a wide variety of loan programs provided by other organizations.
“There is a lot of momentum here,” said Victoria Carlson, TEDA member and owner of Ubetcha Antiques.
TEDA member Miranda Kishel, who works for the Entrepreneur Fund and recently opened a business on Main Street, said their committee had asked Tower business owners for ideas for projects.
“Now we need to put details to those plans,” she said.
Kishel asked interested business members to get details for their plans in place by June 30, including detailed cost estimates, to be ready when the actual grant applications are available.
Consultants from Iron Range Resources, Minnesota Power, Arrowhead Economic Development Authority, and local lenders were also on hand to discuss other grant and loan opportunities, available to a wider range of businesses and projects.
“We need to be ready to go forward if the grant is awarded to the Northland Foundation,” said Kishel.
The Northland Foundation is waiting to hear exactly when and how much grant funding they might be overseeing, but TEDA committee organizers were optimistic that the funding would become available. The Northland Foundation has yet to release a detailed application for the program. Grant funding is projected to become available in late summer or early fall.
Organizers saw the event as a chance for business owners to network, both with each other, and with a wide range of business development services available in the area. Additional planning sessions will be held in April and May.
For more information on the grant program, along with resources available for area businesses, contact Miranda Kishel at mirandak@entrepreneurfund.org.