Annual MS TRAM could kick off in Falls

The Falls EDA Monday heard a presentation from Aaron Briner, special events manager of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upper Midwest Chapter.

Briner told members of the EDA that the tour, scheduled to kick off July 14 at International Falls, is expected to generate about $50,000 in each community it visits. 

It will pump money into the community as it draws about 800 bicyclists and a couple hundred volunteers who will need lodging, food, and gas and will get a taste of Borderland. He said the tour would need 125 to 150 hotel rooms and would be supported by 14 coach buses that will transport the group and its equipment from Duluth to the Falls. From 250 to 300 tents would be set up for the night at Smokey Bear Park, he added.

“This is an opportunity,” he told the EDA members. “You have a captive audience to showcase the community to.”

Many cyclists return to host cities at different times of the year to vacation, he said.

Bike MS: TRAM raises fund for the Multiple Sclerosis Society when cyclists pay a registration fee and secure a minimum of $300 in pledges.

The TRAM will leave arrive in International Falls at about noon July 14 and depart the morning of July 15 when it will head to four other communities, where details are still being finalized.

Shawn Mason, city economic and community development director, told the EDA that Briner had given a presentation to the area Convention and Visitor Bureau, which is expected to be a key organizer, along with the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I know what a great economic impact this has on the host communities and it’s an opportunity to showcase the community for future visits,” she said.

The EDA also referred to the Falls City Council a proposal to create a “pocket park” by Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Mike Ward and Boise Inc. Public Affairs Manager Lori Lyman.

The pair met with the EDA Monday to discuss the idea of creating a small park on vacant county property on Third Street.

The EDA recommended the city council seek a conditional use land conveyance from the county for the tax forfeited property for the project.

The property is adjacent to Island View Reality where a mural has been painted.

Ward and Lyman told EDA members that they have been considering a project that VNP and Boise could do together.

The project, they said, is symbolic of the values VNP and Boise share — to maintain and improve the beauty of the community.

Ward and Lyman said they would consider ways to raise money for the project and use staff to do the labor.

The EDA agreed to send a letter to Katie Clark, newly appointed commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, inviting her to visit the community to see its opportunities for job creation.

A letter will also be sent to Mark Phillips, former DEED commissioner, thanking him for his efforts in the community, including helping to secure a $657,000 DEED grant to provide infrastructure for a multimodal warehouse district along County Highway 155.