Koochiching County and International Falls officials attended the event and described the economic impact to the local economy of the facility.
Commissioner Wade Pavleck said the impact will be huge. “A lot of local people have been involved already and the materials needed just to keep this facility running will come from our community,” he said.
“And then looking at the wider implications of the science to the nation, it’s astounding,” said Pavleck. “A lot of the people here today are talking a different language so there is huge international impact and to get here, many will come through our community.”
Bob Anderson, of the International Falls Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the International Falls-Koochiching County Airport Commission, said he sees great value to the region.
“We’re very excited about it because it will add another dimension to our community,” he said. “We’re going to have folks flying from all over into our community and using our airport to gain access to this lab here to understand more about how the earth was formed. There will be a great deal of economic development from this.”
Ward said he thinks the idea of a national park next to a scientific facility is “fantastic. I think it’s a great symbol to other people that you can have a facility like this this close to the park.”
He said discussions early on in development of the lab showed the sensitivity of having the facility next to the park. “They didn’t put lighting on one side of the building so visitors to the park wouldn’t be affected,” he said. “These guys are doing what they’re doing and are a great neighbor.”
He said it’s likely that visitors to the park and the laboratory may also be drawn to the other nearby attraction. “I don’t see the visitors as being mutually exclusive, so we should probably work together to see what we can do. Anything to boost the economic benefit for the community is fantastic and this is a really cool place.”
Falls Councilor Cynthia Jaksa said the facility adds to the education resources of the area. She noted that Sue Collins, president of the Northeast Higher Education District, of which Rainy River Community College is a member, had discussed with staff at the facility how RRCC could benefit.
Lucy Nevanen, RRCC math and science recruiter, attended the event with several students. “This was an awesome experience for the students,” she said later.
In addition to Marshak, more than 45 staff and nearly 250 undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota’s Crookston, Duluth and Twin Cities campuses are involved in the project. William Miller is the supervisor for the university’s laboratory at Ash River.
Jaksa said it was good to hear the success of the Recovery Act funding in the project.
Paul Nevanen, director of the Koochiching Development Authority, said “wow” of the science involved at the laboratory.
“It will provide jobs from some local people and beyond that, we’ve got people from Harvard and Cal Poly here coming to our airport, staying in our region, and a source of cycling people from around the world here, which puts it in global perspective. By virtue of having it here, it will bring dollars here. It will be interesting.”
Falls Mayor Shawn Mason took the opportunity to invite Kalar and Marshak to the city’s annual International Tug of War along Rainy River and presented Kalar with a city pin.
Mason said the facility represents huge opportunity and she credited the collaboration between the DOE and the university “a powerhouse of great knowledge and expertise and bringing people with an extraordinary amount of skill sets — it’s good for northern Minnesota,” she said.
Now, she noted the lab employs 17 people and plans to eventually employ 44 people. “Some of those folks are commuting from International Falls and the people of Ash River have always looked to International Falls as one of the premier communities to do business with. So it’s very important to have these jobs of this caliber here, in our region.”
Mason said she’s fascinated by the science. “I think we’re just scratching the surface; it is so beyond the Jetson’s (cartoon)... This is all so incredibly beyond the comprehension of the average person. It’s exciting to know there are people that are so talented in the science industry that they can make this happen. We get the economic impact, the world gets the benefit of the knowledge.”
Mason also said she’s appreciative of the partnership between the park and the laboratory.
“Voyageurs National Park deserves credit in helping the project to come to fruition and this is an example of how you can find a balance as long as you work toward the common good and find the common ground. This is a great day for northern Minnesota. This is a great day for the world.”
