Groundbreaking ceremony held for Voyageurs National Park headquarters, Voyageurs Heritage Center
Bringing the Voyageurs National Park headquarters from idea to reality was like a relay race, said International Falls Mayor Shawn Mason Saturday.
Mason spoke during the groundbreaking of Phase I of the Voyageur Heritage Center, Voyageurs National Park headquarters, and Irvin N. Anderson Amphitheatre.
She explained that a lot of organizations and people were passed the proverbial baton during the project’s inception, and were asked to run with it to the next step.
“This project is the first phase of an overall project that will revitalize our community through waterfront revitalization,” Mason said. “It takes great leadership to bring a project to fruition and leadership comes in many shapes and forms.”
The project, she said, came from an idea voiced by the late Minnesota Rep. Irv Anderson, who wanted to see a voyageur heritage center in International Falls. With the input of the National Parks Service, city and county governments and staff, architects, and a multitude of other people and organizations, the idea soon had a location between Highway 11 East and the Rainy River along the waterfront. The heritage center idea was merged with plans for a new VNP headquarters, and a complete plan was developed.
“We pitched this idea not only to revitalize our community, to retain those 64 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs, and to create a vibrant waterfront; but to help evolve a relationship between this gateway community and Voyageurs National Park,” Mason explained.
Park officials agreed with Mason’s relay race analogy, and noted that relationships were built during this process.
“We get a lot out of this because of improved relationships with the city and county governments,” agreed David Given, the regional director for the Midwest Region of the National Park Service.
Given called Mason the coach of the relay race team and thanked her for her efforts, and those of the city.
VNP Superintendent Mike Ward said, “The team ... all believed in this idea and it didn’t take much to pass the baton on each time. Everybody really, really took a hold of it and kept running.”
He, along with the other speakers at Saturday’s groundbreaking, pointed to the waterfront development as a method to bring visitors into the community and help jump start the local economy.
The city of International Falls and the National Park Service reached a deal on the headquarters earlier this month, as was reported to the city council. There will be a 20-year lease on a 40,000-square-foot building, which the city will own and construct. On the same land, which was purchased by the city from Bill and Jim Rieser and Kathryn Volin, the city will also construct the heritage center and amphitheatre.
Mason told the crowd that the financing for the project came in the form of municipal revenue bonds, which would not cost taxpayers any money.
Phyllis Anderson, the widow of Rep. Irv Anderson, was visibly moved by seeing her late husband’s vision come so much closer to reality.
“This park project was my husband’s dream so many years ago,” she said. “I know his spirit is with you everyday.”
Anderson received a standing ovation from many in the crowd. An amphitheatre at the site will be named after her late husband.
Mason called Rep. Jim Oberstar the hero of the project, thanks to his leadership and ability to streamline the process through several hurdles.
“I don’t think it hurt to be chairman of the Committee on Transportation with jurisdiction over the General Services Administration,” Oberstar said. “I think there was some willingness for them to listen to us when we had to sit down.”
He, too, noted the vision of Rep. Anderson, and said that, “Irv Anderson was fully appreciated and we are here because of his dedication and determination.”
Oberstar also pointed to the voyageur tradition and their hard work as inspiration for continued progress.
“The people who live here in the northland, who didn’t abuse the land or water, who kept it in pristine condition, you are the inheritors of the voyageur tradition,” he said.
“There is a greater partnership with our friends to the north (Canadians), a greater debt we have to the land and the water that we treasure. And to borrow a phrase from the Anishinaabe people, ‘We don’t own this land, we only use it for a while and pass it on to the next generation.’ This will be our greatest gift — this voyageur, this park, this water, this gift.”
“We’ve got a lot of work left to do,” Ward noted, but added that he is now looking forward to celebrating the ribbon cutting on the new building
