Grassroots effort is sprucing up Chisholm

The small lot sat empty on Chisholm's main street for decades, a wooden fence hiding the 25-by-100-foot space between the taller brick walls of downtown buildings.

Now, that space on W. Lake Street is a well-appointed urban "pocket park," with a stamped and stained concrete floor, cagelike baskets of taconite mining rock holding up a series of benches, an artsy bike rack, art panels, garden plantings, a small stage for music and free Wi-Fi.

It was created after a group of local residents got together and brainstormed about how they could improve the city upon learning that competitive grant money from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board would be available for downtowns and business corridors.

The pocket park is not the only improvement being made with IRRRB grant money and other funds that the grass-roots group has secured. Downtown Chisholm either has or is getting:

• Signs for a historic walking tour with plans for an audio component with recorded oral histories.

• Refreshed storefronts, including freshly painted facades and the installation of historic photos or other displays in store windows.

• Three new bike racks.

The group that spearheaded the improvements came from all walks of Chisholm life, members said.

"We were able to attract people from all different segments … city, arts community, local business owners," said Julie Marinucci. "It just pulled together this really eclectic group of people spanning multiple generations."

The group was required to add matching money to a $50,000 grant from the IRRRB. All told, it ended up with $106,000 in grants, and volunteers put in more than 2,000 hours. A metal sculpture by a local artist was scheduled to be installed in the pocket park on Saturday, listing the names of partners.

The IRRRB grant is designed to help draw more business and investment to downtowns by "promoting safe and attractive environments for residents, shoppers, workers and visitors," according to the board's website. It seeks proposals that are "highly visible and creative projects to create excitement, encourage citizen engagement and generate visible improvements."

Alida Casey, a pharmacist at family-owned Casey Drug across the street from the pocket park, said she has seen those results.

Casey, who was on the committee to get the grant, said she was most heartened when a local woman in her 80s told her the park reminded her of downtown Chisholm years ago, with people walking around, places to sit and things to do.

"It's kind of feeling like that again," Casey said. "I just loved hearing that. That's kind of what we wanted."

Marinucci said she hopes the success of the group so far will translate to more civic involvement in the area.

"It spurred an energy that I think will carry beyond this project and help other volunteer organizations look for external grant funding," Marinucci said.

@pamlouwagie • 612-673-7102