Being a Workforce Strategy Consultant is all about making connections and developing solutions to help employers find the employees they need to grow and thrive in Minnesota. One of the most exciting projects that I have been working on is Hello Iron Range! a talent attraction website designed to promote the Iron Range and help businesses recruit and retain talent to the region. My partner in this project has been Beth Pierce, Executive Director from Iron Range Tourism.

The project was funded with support from the Blandin Broadband Initiative and the Iron Range Tourism Bureau. The purpose of the site is to be a resource to those considering a move to the Iron Range, showcasing our key employers, quality of life, low cost of housing and more. We also feature blogs from community leaders discussing education, what it’s like to relocate here, broadband access, and a variety of other topics of concern to those thinking of living or working here.

Hello Iron Range! has been in development for around a year and a half now. We convened several focus groups of local employers, local Chambers of Commerce and community leaders to discuss what should be included on a website promoting the area to a potential workforce. Beth and I also worked to recruit local leaders to blog about the Iron Range, and we plan on rolling those blogs out over time.

Why a talent attraction site for the range is so important

One of the big challenges facing Northeast Minnesota is a lack of people moving from other parts of the country and the world to the region. Unlike some other parts of the state, we are not seeing an influx of new people up here. The little international immigration we get is the only helping to mitigate population decline (see Table 1), which would have huge economic and political effects for the region.

Along with a lack of people moving to the area, our population in Northeast Minnesota is aging rapidly and the death rate has outpaced the birth rate over the past decade. According to Carson Gorecki, Labor Market Analyst for DEED in Northeast Minnesota, “The median age in NE MN is 48.4, compared to 38.3 in MN. In fact, by far the fastest growing population group in Northeastern Minnesota over the next 20 years is regional residents 85 and older, which is slated to grow 108.9%.” We need new people to come into the area to replace the older population moving out of the workforce, and also to provide goods and services to that retired population. And the aging trend for Northeast Minnesota will continue on for years (see Table 2).

The value of a site like Hello Iron Range!

One of the reasons we wanted to build a site like Hello Iron Range! Is to help us have a platform to tell the true story of the Iron Range. Some people still think of the Iron Range like it was in the 1980s. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard that the Iron Range has no jobs, when in reality before the pandemic we had more jobs than we had people to fill them. I also hear time and time again that the Iron Range is unwelcoming or unfriendly, where the opposite is usually true. People here generally will bend over backward to help you if you need it. Part of the goal of Hello Iron Range! is to show that side of the Range.

For businesses, the value of Hello Iron Range! Is to help internal and external recruiting. We’ve had several businesses in our focus group comment that they would send the link to this site to those who might be interested in applying from outside the region or transferring to the region to give them a better feel for the area and what’s available. It’s reassuring to those considering a move to the area that we have Target, Caribou Coffee, good restaurants and great schools. Many people find our low cost of living and easy commutes enticing. Up here, driving 20 miles takes 20 minutes.

 I hope you can take a few minutes to visit the Hello Iron Range! Website now: https://www.helloironrange.com/

Shawn Herhusky, Northeast Minnesota Workforce Strategy Consultant, DEED