A Just Transition; Community Investment
for the Future Sustainable Energy Shift

SPARKING CHANGE: DIVERSIFYING OUR REGIONAL ECONOMY REPORT

Throughout 2024, the Itasca Economic Development Corporation convened a task force to participate in the Sparking Change: Diversifying Our Regional Economy process. This process sought to identify community impacts, aspirations, and pathways forward for economic diversification and resilience.

The steering committee, task force, businesses, and community members from across northern Minnesota gathered to develop high-level strategies and specific actions that will advance the Sparking Change vision: A thriving community invested in our future sustainable energy shift.

This work culminated in a full report and action plan designed to

1. Communicate the story of greater northern Minnesota to community members, decision-makers, and funders at the local, state, and federal level
2. Serve as a platform to take advantage of new funding opportunities for economic diversification work
3. Guide ongoing action and partnerships

Check out the full report for more information on each strategy, including potential partners, next steps and actions to build momentum, and community case studies that detail how communities around the country approached and solved similar economic challenges. The report also details local, state, and federal funding opportunities to support the work required to transform our regional economy. For a summary of the full report, download the piece below.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The task force hosted a special 2-day event in Grand Rapids on February 5 and 6, 2025, to engage the community around Sparking Change. The event included facilitated sessions with a wide variety of topics and subject matter experts. Please see below to view and download all presentation materials from the event.

Day 1 Presentations

Ida Rukavina
Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation

Carson Gorecki
Regional Labor Market Analyst for Northeast Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Mike Bull
Deputy Executive Secretary, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

Tamara Lowney
President & CEO, IEDC

Brett Skyles
County Administrator, Itasca County

Mathew Mendisco
Town Manager, City of Hayden, Colorado

Bruno Zagar
Environmental Specialist, Fond du Lac Reservation

Day 2 Presentations

Ben Winchester
Evaluation and Rural Sociology, Extension Department of Community Development, University of Minnesota

Peter Hille
CEO, The Mountain Association

Catalina Valencia
Executive Director of Business Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Ryan Malich
Executive Director of Development, Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation

Just Transition Grant Fund

$150,000 was awarded to convene a year-long just transition process for Itasca County, and for the greater northern Minnesota region. The Just Transition Grant Fund supports work to develop an action plan to ensure a thriving economy, supported by an informed community, as we work through our energy transition. The action plan will include a community-driven just transition vision and series of recommended pathways or actions that will allow the region to collaboratively identify and pursue federal funding and other resources in alignment with its vision.

Resources

Reports & Research

• BRECC Notes
• Community Economic Development Focus on Energy Communities DOHHS
• Community Energy Transition Final Report and Recommendations
• Energy Transition Advisory Committee (ETAC) Plan
• Minnesota's Power Plant Communities: An Uncertain Future
• Pennsylvania Playbook: Decommissioning and Redevelopment Playbook for the Sunbury Plant
• Public Utilities Commission 2024-2028 One-Pager Strategic Plan
• Public Utilities Commission 2024-2028 Full Strategic Plan
• McKinsey & Co., Rural Rising Economic Development Strategies for America's Heartland
• Meeting Notes

Minnesota’s Energy Transition

The Energy Transition Office was established by the 2021 legislature to advise Governor Walz, Lt. Governor Flanagan, DEED’s Commissioner, and the legislature on energy transition issues and to establish transition programs, economic initiatives, and transition policy. For communities and workers impacted by fossil fuel-based power plant closures in Minnesota, the office aims to help them successfully transition to alternatives that minimize the negative consequences of closures while maximizing opportunities for future economic growth and community well-being.