35181232990_6a74457a27_o

Friday was our last day in Duluth as a class until we meet again in November.  Our spouses/partners were able to join as well.  We all completed the Myers Briggs Assessment with the instruction of Extension Educator Catherine Rasmussen.

MBTI 3MBTI 135529391016_c3a83bdff8_oMBTI 2

It was very interesting to learn about both ourselves and our classmates, and the couples that were present definitely learned more about each other.  Following a wrap-up and reflection, MARL Class IX disbursed again, some to travel home and some to extend their experience in the north!

35529391156_f640a3246c_o

Submitted by Natasha Mortenson

We started our day with the sunrise in order to tour as much of the Iron Range as was possible. While traveling by bus,Kelsey Johnson, President of the Iron Mining Association, shared that iron ore mining began in Minnesota 130 years ago. The Iron Range, which is identified as a narrow strip of land rich in iron ore stretching from Grand Rapids to Babbitt, Minnesota is home to eleven mines, of which only six are actively operating today. The cities of the Iron Range were literally built next to the mines so workers could get from their homes to work. Iron mining played a primary role in the development of the city of Duluth which is now the busiest port on the five Great Lakes.

UTAC pit MARL tour June201735514568456_86ae0600d8_o

Even though you won’t see corn and soybean fields or hog farms in this part of the state, agriculture is very connected to the natural resources of northern Minnesota. The Duluth Port is not only the entry and exit point for iron ore and taconite but CHS, Cargill and Pillsbury all own elevators at the port in order to transport agricultural products across the world. Dairy farmers on the range partner with the mining industry to grow alfalfa for hay bails which are necessary for the tidal basin operation as mine pits are filled in. It is no surprise that mining is the primary economic driver for the Iron Range region but you may be surprised to learn that former mine pits are responsible for creating recreational opportunities in the region.

35514569366_e335c457a6_oFB_IMG_149819819910935553351235_a9044f7b0e_o

Johnson referred to  “mining for closure” as a philosophy used by the mining industry to turn the area around an nonoperational mine into lakes for swimming, fishing and boating. A theme shared by the Iron Mining Association and the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) was how deeply committed the mining industry is to keeping the Range communities strong, maintaining a high quality of life  in the region and continued focus on economic diversification.

Commissioner Mark Phillips greeted us at the IRRRB office with a brief overview of his vision for the agency.

35553348775_cb84109728_o20170622_115101

Following our mine tour and a stop at the IRRRB we were able to get up close and personal to another significant part of the economy in North Eastern MN, Forestry and the logging industry. Cheryl Adams, Forest  Resource Manager at the UPM Blandin Paper Company, guided our Coach bus smack into the forest where we watched logging in action. The Blandin Paper Company was built in 1902 to provide news print for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Blandin oversees forests on 188,000 acres of land in North Eastern Minnesota. Contrary to what many may believe about timber harvesting, Adams made a surprising distinction that timber harvesting is about growing trees by using techniques to create optimum conditions so trees grow better. Natural occurrences such as fire and weather events used to take care of this on a more regular basis than we see now. Blandin Paper Company plants 700,000 trees every spring and only harvests Aspen, Balsam and Spruce.

35514570926_4c42bc978c_o35553350685_9dc2c307a8_o20170622_13543235514570786_822801210a_o20170622_13564520170622_14131720170622_142927

We capped off day two with the announcement of the class IX International travel destination. Based on weekly clue sets from MARL program leaders, class IX completed investigative research in advance over their “What’s APP” communication tool on their mobile devices. After much anticipation, we learned we will visit Croatia in February of 2018. We learned Croatia is the birthplace of the Dalmatian dog, has three distinct regions and Minnesota is four times its size. The small geographical size is one of the draws to the country as it will allow the class to see its varied regions across the country. With the anticipation of the location behind us, we are all setting our sites on trip preparation and the excitement of spending twelve days together learning about the agricultural practices and culture of another country.

35168970300_8c5ab0a1bb_o35553350105_acb42b14b9_o20170623_15014234746877063_a75e7bb342_o20170623_14594120170622_201139

Submitted by Mary Kay Delvo

34710912344_057ca22c14_o   Cloquet 1

After a much needed break to get caught up on work at home, Class IX dug back in Wednesday June 21st, with our June Duluth session to learn about leadership in agriculture and resource management in the north woods.

35421810811_a121a21f2e_o35551936075_d82b8c0ab4_o

We started off the session with a picnic at the University of Minnesota, Cloquet Forestry Center. Here we were able to introduce our families to the rest of the cohort and join in on catching up on what we have been up to since the March session.

After a quick lunch, we learned about forestry management, land stewardship and natural resource conservation. The Cloquet Forestry Center was a great introduction to the northwoods timber industry and we learned about the research being done by the University of Minnesota to ensure the forestry industry will be viable for a long period of time.

35165228840_d430f48ba5_o35384453712_144e8266aa_o34710912544_bca1d4ca2c_o20170621_134358

Following our hike through the woods, we headed over to, Class VI alumnus, Doug Hoffbauer’s family farm.  35421813871_e7bec00592_o20170621_144901

There we learned what it looks like to grow fresh market produce in the north shore climate.  In addition to the farming operation we had 3 breakout sessions with local leaders regarding ag tourism (by Bruce Miller, MN Farmers Union), local market branding and marketing (Lucy Amundsen – Locally Laid), and agricultural predator management (Mark Liebaert).20170621_14555835551937225_80a2be79cc_o34711244664_5251152e87_o34743546063_2d0e1e7434_oCloquet 7

To wrap up the day, we closed back at the hotel with a session on framing issues. Here program leader, Eriks Dunens, shared with us the benefits of framing issues and how we can use framing to influence how an audience receives the messages we share with them.

35422132931_828e5cfd07_o35165553990_6f7514206b_o

Submitted Josh Betcher

35513256706_b0a751c70a_o