The press release from the Ironworld Development Corporation, regarding the situation at the Minnesota Discovery Center:
Minnesota Discovery Center announces layoffs
CHISHOLM – The Ironworld Development Corporation Board of Directors today announced that Minnesota Discovery Center (formerly Ironworld), a 660-acre museum, entertainment venue, research library and park in Chisholm, MN, will temporarily be closed to the public, effective Friday, November 20, 2009, at 5 p.m.
“We would like to thank our employees for their patience and understanding as we determine what the future holds for this institution,” said Minnesota Discovery Center CEO, Mike Andrews.
Iron Range Resources created the nonprofit organization and negotiated a Management Agreement in 2007 for its operations. They supported the nonprofit through an endowment of $10 million and a transitional subsidy that is to be phased out over a five-year period. With the world recession, the endowment declined to $5.9 million this spring, resulting in substantially lowered funding levels.
The new name, Minnesota Discovery Center, provided a broader platform in the effort to re-invigorate the facility and give it national importance. This strategy worked. Revitalized programming within budget yielded a 15% increase in attendance figures despite cold weather, five months of highway construction, and an economy where tourism spending in northeastern Minnesota saw double digit declines.
“The financing model developed two years ago, combined with the world economic situation, just doesn’t work”, states CEO Mike Andrews. “Our overhead costs, not fundable by grants or sponsorships, are considerably higher than our declining subsidy and endowment interest. Although we experienced an increase in visitor attendance, it is not enough to make that up difference in a limited market.”
The temporary layoffs affect 47 dedicated employees who have been passionate about the success of the facility.
“The board is currently reviewing all options for continuing operations,” said Rich Puhek, IDC Board Chair. “We owe it to our dedicated staff and to the public that has been so supportive of the Minnesota Discovery Center to continue to make every effort to succeed.”
The IDC Board remains optimistic about the future of the facility.
Minnesota Discovery Center opened in 1977 as the Iron Range Interpretive Center with 34 exhibits and a nominal admission charge. In 1979, the Hall of Geology was added, followed by the 1980 opening of the Research Center library and archives. In 1986, after an 18-month shutdown, the facility re-opened as with a railroad, amphitheater, new admissions building and “Festival Park.”
What a loss to our area and to our state/nation!! This saddens me! The Discovery Center has been a vibrant link to our past and a guide to our future. Great archives and records and histories are housed there. So many (47)passionate and dedicated people are losing their jobs. This is meant to be “TEMPORARY”. I’m confident that funding can be worked out.
My husband & I heard a rumor that it might close so we went this past summer & we are glad that we did!!
What a loss!!!
M in St. Cloud
It is a horrible tragedy for the region and the state. Condolences to all of the staff who put their heart and soul into the work there. I have many fond memories of the place growing up and have grown to appreciate it more as an adult. The collections contained in the Research Center are absolutely priceless and need to be preserved.
Thanks to the DFL control in the Minnesota legislature and in DC, capitalism is dead. Without state or federal money this place will go under. With a Marxist leading the Democrat party, I am not surprised. Though I hate to see anyone lose their job, if the company cannot sustain financial stability , they like many small businesses in this country will fail. Funny though, everyone is upset at Wall Street bailouts, but would love to take state dollars to finance the same institution that has faced financial ruins for decades.
While there’s a legitimate political argument to make about the management of this facility, it’s important to note that ultimately it’s a museum (and cultural center) and not a company. It’s not going to make a profit, the way libraries and highway historical markers never make profits either. It’s a question of the public good, something that does exist independent of capitalism. Worthy of debate, indeed, but not over its profitability.
As for the Marxism claim, take that over to the screamer blogs. The president is no more a follower of Marx than any president in the last 50 years. He’s perhaps more liberal than you would prefer. Let’s keep things in perspective.
I agree that we should use public money to support museums, librarys, etc to preserve our local culture and history. But I have to wonder how much of Ironworld is a museum and how much of it is an entertainment center.
When was the last time the amphitheater was used for a culturally relavent event. In the last couple of years the new management has increased attendance numbers, but many of the new programs had nothing to do with the IronRange.
Ironworld (or whatever it’s called now) needs focus. Is it a museum, or is it an entertainment center/tourist trap with an Iron Range themed mini golf course? Ever since the big expansion in 1986 they have been operating at a huge financial loss and wondering with out direction.
Somebody needs to decide if this facility is an entertainment center/theme park, or a museum, research library. One deserves public money and one does not.
C.O.
Agreed, C.O.
Having some experience with an arts event (Dylan Days) I’d say we learned the hard way the difficulty of making entertainment events into a profitable, or even break-even enterprise. The problem with Ironworld has always been that they would go several years as a local museum attraction and then someone would get it in their heads that a midlevel rock or country act would somehow “save” the Iron Range and the mission would change. THey’d lose money and whammo, start over.
I think we get one more “whammo” and then that’s it. I am seeing a move by local historians to simply reorganize the thing back into its original intention and leave it at that. That’s the best case scenario at this point.
Only today did I find out about this. I’m speechless. The center is an important resource not only for Minnesota for for our country’s history. What can be done? I want to help…