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The Quad Cities in the U.S. state of Minnesota are Virginia, Eveleth, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron in the Arrowhead Region, overlapping the Iron Range region, Duluth MN-WI MSA, and Saint Louis County. [1]
U.S. Highway 53, U.S. Highway 169, State Highway 37 (MN 37), and State Highway 135 (MN 135) are four of the main routes in the Quad Cities.
The Quad Cities were founded in the 1890s and early 1900s, during the boom of the mining industry. Many of the mines shut down during the Great Depression and didn't resume work until World War II.
According to the 2000 census, the Quad Cities had a population of 17,868, with 9,157 in Virginia, 3,865 in Eveleth, 2,999 in Mountain Iron, and 1,847 in Gilbert. As of 2020, the Quad Cities' population had declined to 16,479. 92.1% of the population is non-Hispanic white, 97.2% primarily speak English, and 18.4% have a Bachelor's degree or more. [2]
The mining industry is declining in the area. There is a new focus on tourism and healthcare. [1]
Outdoor activities, shopping, and a local historical attraction celebrating hockey are among the most common pastimes available in Virginia and the surrounding area. Swimming and boating are available at many lakes and pits around the Range. The Range has several hiking, biking, and four-wheeling paths. Snowmobile paths with easy access and ice rinks are also available in the region. [3] The Thunderbird Mall in Virginia, downtown shops in each community, and shopping in Mountain Iron serve as activity options. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame, a museum celebrating prominent hockey players with history displays and a model rink, is in Eveleth. [4]
St. Louis County is a county located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,231. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota by land area, and the largest in the United States by total area east of the Mississippi River. St. Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN–Superior, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Biwabik is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 961 at the 2020 census.
Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2020 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location in the middle of the Mesabi Iron Range.
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,493 at the 2020 census.
Gilbert is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,687 at the 2020 census. State Highway 37 and State Highway 135 are two of the main routes in Gilbert. Gilbert is part of the Quad Cities, with Virginia, Eveleth, and Mountain Iron. The city is named for either Giles Gilbert, who led the exploration of the McKinley mine property in the 1890s, or E. A. Gilbert, a Duluth businessman.
McKinley is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States; located within the Iron Range region of Minnesota. The population was 103 at the 2020 census.
Mountain Iron is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States, in the heart of the Mesabi Range. The population was 2,878 at the 2020 census.
Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mesabi Iron Range. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Range's commercial center. The population was 8,423 people at the 2020 census. Virginia is a part of the Duluth metropolitan area, and U.S. Highway 53 runs through town.
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. First described in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It has been extensively worked since 1892, and has seen a transition from high-grade direct shipping ores through gravity concentrates to the current industry exclusively producing iron ore (taconite) pellets. Production has been dominantly controlled by vertically integrated steelmakers since 1901, and therefore is dictated largely by US ironmaking capacity and demand.
The Iron Range is collectively or individually a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants Range batholith. These cherty iron ore deposits are Precambrian in the Vermilion Range and middle Precambrian in the Mesabi and Cuyuna ranges, all in Minnesota. The Gogebic Range in Wisconsin and the Marquette Iron Range and Menominee Range in Michigan have similar characteristics and are of similar age. Natural ores and concentrates were produced from 1848 until the mid-1950s, when taconites and jaspers were concentrated and pelletized, and started to become the major source of iron production.
The Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Area, commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States. The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the North Shore, the Apostle Islands, and the Superior National Forest.
Virginia High School, home of the Blue Devils, educates students grades 7–12 in Virginia, Minnesota, United States. It is a public high school with open enrollment located across from the Saint Louis County District Courthouse on scenic 5th Avenue. Virginia High School has a strong music department known for the Marching Blues, the school's marching band. The A Capella choir is directed by Matthew Krage. The high school also participates in Minnesota State High School League sports such as hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis, football, track & field, cross country, baseball, swimming, golf, soccer and wrestling. Despite budget problems in the past decade due to declining enrollment, Virginia Secondary has had success in standardized state testing, graduation rates, and school pride. Enrollment has been at a slow decline for the last few decades but enrollment has been increasing in the lower grade levels, and open enrollment from neighboring districts has brought new students to the school. Students are unofficially divided into grades 7 & 8 and 9-12. The school day consists of 7 periods ranging from 51 to 52 minutes with 3 to 5 minutes passing time allowed. Other Wednesday, students get out of school an hour early to allow for faculty professional development meetings. Junior high students have a closed lunch period between 3rd and 4th hours while grades 9–12 enjoy an open lunch after 4th hour.
The Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRRB) is an economic development agency of the State of Minnesota, designed to advance growth on Minnesota's Iron Range. Founded in 1941, the board is tasked with using proceeds from taconite mining to spur broader development in the region. Mining companies pay taxes on production of taconite to local governments units including cities, school districts, and the IRRRB instead of paying property taxes. The board was created with the goal to help the Iron Range weather the boom and bust cycle of mining in the region.
Elcor is a ghost town, or more properly, an extinct town, in the U.S. state of Minnesota that was inhabited between 1897 and 1956. It was built on the Mesabi Iron Range near the city of Gilbert in St. Louis County. Elcor was its own unincorporated community before it was abandoned and was never a neighborhood proper of the city of Gilbert. Not rating a figure in the national census, the people of Elcor were only generally considered to be citizens of Gilbert. The area where Elcor was located was annexed by Gilbert when its existing city boundaries were expanded after 1969.
The Rouchleau Mine is an abandoned open-pit mine within the Mesabi Iron Range at Virginia, Minnesota, United States. The mine, located on the east side of the city, is roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) long and .5 miles (0.80 km) wide; its deepest point is 450 feet (140 m) below its surface, making it one of the deepest mines in the range. Named for Louis Rouchleau, who explored the area for its mining potential, the mine was initially created as a shaft mine. It was converted to a pit mine by the 1930s due to improvements in open-pit mining technology and increasingly unstable terrain which made shaft mining unsafe.
The Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway (DM&N) was a railroad company in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was one of the earliest iron ore hauling railroads of the area, said to have built the largest iron ore docks in the world, and later was one of the constituent railroads in the merger that formed the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway.
The Eveleth Recreation Building, later the Arrow Shirt Factory, is a historic building in Eveleth, Minnesota, United States. It was constructed in 1918 as a municipal gymnasium, with a curling rink on the ground floor and an ice hockey rink on the second floor. At that time the city of Eveleth was flush with tax revenue from the Mesabi Range mining boom, and the population was heavily male from the influx of mine workers. As the gender balance evened out in the 1930s, the building was converted into a garment factory, answering a need for employment opportunities for women and diversifying the local economy.
Rock Ridge Public Schools is a school district based in Virginia, Minnesota and Eveleth, Minnesota. It is assigned the designation of Independent School District (ISD) 2909 by the State of Minnesota.
The Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge carries U.S. 53 over the Rouchleau Mine pit connecting Virginia, Minnesota with other cities to the south. U.S. 53 continues through Virginia to International Falls and Canada; International Falls is about 100 miles (160 km) north of Virginia. The bridge, opened in 2017, was named after Tom Rukavina in 2021 following his death in 2019. Rukavina was a state legislator from the Iron Range. At 204 feet (62 m) tall, it is the tallest bridge in Minnesota. This bridge carries a traffic volume of about 22,200 cars per day, making it one of the most-traveled highway segments on the Iron Range. The bridge also features a bike lane and pedestrian walkway that leads to trails connecting Gilbert and Virginia. The Mesabi Trail crosses the bridge.
Iron Trail Motors Event Center is an ice arena and Event Center located in the city of Virginia, Minnesota. It was completed in September 2021. The two-story building has a 120,000 square-foot total area and includes two ice rinks, fitness facilities and a 6,400-square-foot ballroom for weddings. It can also be used as a venue center for concerts. The arena offers skating lessons, open skating and open hockey. The arena is the home rink for the Rock Ridge Wolverines Hockey. The Rock Ridge Hockey Association coordinates the youth hockey program.
Source: LaurentianChamber.org -- accessed Nov. 25, 2007
47°31′24″N92°32′12″W / 47.52333°N 92.53667°W
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