Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability

Thank you for your donation. Sustainability means leaving the Iron Range better for our children and for future generations.  

Somewhere over the rainbow--the Iron Range is unique!

From the mines to the pines, the fields and the forest, we all want the Range to thrive.  We boast of our pristine waters and the star gazing night sky. We build community because we love this place.

We all want a sustainable Minnesota Iron Range, for ourselves and our children.

Our mission is to facilitate partnerships and collaborations towards a sustainable and thriving Iron Range and Arrowhead Region.

We strive for a balance between the three elements of sustainability: community, economy, and environment.

Will you help us build and grow these projects and relationships in our communities for a sustainable future?

There are many ways you can help make a difference!

* Make a donation

* Consider becoming a Sustaining Partner with a monthly donation (you can do that right here at GiveMN)

* Join our ViP 'Volunteer in Partnership' for Sustainability list (go to irpsmn.org) to sign up for volunteer opportunities! 

Check out what we can do when we build partnerships: 

We can harvest valuable minerals from e-waste and propel ourselves into the energy tranistion. IRPS, Recycling Electronics for Climate Action (RECA), and Macalester College published a study on this possibility in March 2023. You can read all about it at www.irpsmn.org/ewaste-recycling

We can feed ourselves, right here on the Iron Range, but we need to invest and grow our local farms and food infrastructure. Click link to check out our study: "Local Food as an Economic Driver".

It concludes that, if we eat local, we can drive jobs and keep food dollars in our area.  Look below--a projection based on buying 20% of our food locally vs. 100%.

Our fundraising efforts are focused on a Range-wide campaign to encourage eating local and healthy.

Let's get to that 100% and $256 million dollars kept local! 

Every year we join together with our community partners to host the Iron Range Earth Fest - Earth Fest is a "Celebration of Sustainability". Learn, network, and explore ideas. The Community Sustainability Initiative is a contest held at Earth Fest which challenges schools, families, clubs, organizations, businesses and churches to create, build, and implement hands-on sustainable community projects. YOU and your team can win $500 to implement your project. Visit www.irpsmn.org/csi to see the winning projects.  

IRPS launched the first Iron Range Pasty Festival to celebrate a local food tradition and our mining history.  We honor the pasty with all locally sourced ingredients grown/raised on the Iron Range. This Range food-favorite is a fundraiser event for Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability. We invite supporters to become Sustaining Partners to help us fund our efforts with a monthly donation through this platform, GiveMN. Consider making your gift a monthly donation! 

The Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability hosts the Virginia Market Square Farmers Market. We also act as a fiscal agent for other regional farmers markets, and we administer the Growing Together - Virginia Community Gardens program. You can check out our regular column "Grown on the Range" in the Hometown Focus every two weeks--profiling the Range's potential to feed ourselves! If it's about sustainability, it's Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability!  JOIN US!