Steve Sugranis looks out the window at the Iron Man statue in Chisholm on the way to his appointment at the Veterans Affairs clinic in Hibbing.
Steve Vigoren leans over the driver’s seat of a van barreling down the road toward Hibbing and asks Steve Sugranis in the backseat, “Hey, Sig, am I still going the right way?” as they pass the Iron Man statue in Chisholm.
“Yeah, I think so, Vig,” Sugranis replies.
Steve Vigoren drives down U.S. Highway 53 toward the Hibbing Veterans Affairs Clinic on Nov. 18.
“Sig” and “Vig,” as they call each other, are heading toward the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Hibbing as a part of the local veterans transportation program.
The program, run by Koochiching County and supported by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2948, provides local veterans with transportation to Veterans Affairs, or VA, clinics for their medical appointments.
Steve Sugranis rides in the van on the way back to International Falls.
“Sig” and “Vig”
Vigoren has only been taking Sugranis to his medical appointments in an official capacity since July of this year, but had been driving him to VA clinics in his personal vehicle for a few years.
Steve Vigoren glances out the window while driving down U.S. Highway 53 toward Hibbing on Nov. 18.
The two met each other many years before Vigoren started driving Sugranis to his appointments, and have known each other “40 to 45 years, Sig? We can remember stuff from a long time ago but can’t remember what we had for breakfast,” Vigoren said.
A view of U.S. Highway 53 from the veterans transport van.
Though neither of them could pinpoint an exact time or location, they know it was during the 1970s on the Mississippi River while working on barges.
The pair have more than just their first names in common – both are veterans, both grew up in International Falls, both were newspaper delivery boys, both moved away from Minnesota, both worked with barges on the Mississippi, and now both have returned to the Falls area.
Sugranis joined the army at 18 years old and served as a tank driver from 1962 to 1965.
Vigoren served as an army medic in South Korea in the demilitarized zone until 1972.
A view out of the transport van as it enters Hibbing.
“Vig” spent a decade in Alaska before coming back to the Falls four years ago and how “Sig” made it back to the area, “is a long story,” he said.
After driving from International Falls to Orr to Chisholm to Hibbing, the two arrive at the VA clinic.
Steve Sugranis walks into the VA clinic in Hibbing.
Sugranis went in for his annual physical and some x-rays, and Vigoren decided he would get a flu shot from the clinic while there, and joked with the receptionist that he would, “take a big rusty needle if needed,” since he didn’t have an appointment.
The two have a consistent routine down now. They almost always stop at the Mexican restaurant in the same strip mall as the VA clinic after checking in for Sugranis’s appointment.
Steve Vigoren waits for Sugranis in the waiting room of the clinic.
Today, however, they saw the restaurant was closed, and the two had to agree on a new restaurant, later settling instead on Snickers Pizza and Pub in Chisholm.
Snickers Pizza and Pub in Chisolm, where “Sig” and “Vig” stopped for lunch after the appointment.
While in the waiting room of the VA clinic, Vigoren strikes up a conversation with other veterans waiting there. They talked about the weather, farmland, road conditions, and how times are changing.
When later asked if he knew any of them personally, he said, “I’ve never seen any of them before in my life,” laughing.
“Veterans, we all have a common thread in our stories – no matter how diverse we are, we can relate to each other," he said.
Steve Sugranis gets into the van outside of the VA clinic in Hibbing after his appointment.
The program
The local veterans transportation program began at the VFW Post 2948 many years ago. Five years ago, the local VFW approached the county Veterans Service Office to ask if it would take over the program.
The veterans transportation van waits outside of the VA clinic in Hibbing.
Koochiching County then partnered with the VFW and purchased a new van, recruited drivers and set up a schedule.
Rides are offered to clinics in Hibbing, Bemidji and Twin Ports as well as the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis.
The side of the veterans transportation van.
Twelve trips are scheduled per month – five to Minneapolis, three to Hibbing, two to Bemidji and two to Twin Ports. Not every scheduled trip goes, and some trips have multiple riders, so on average, there are about 30 riders per month.
Currently, the program has seven drivers.
Steve Vigoren drives back to International Falls from Hibbing.
Mark Lessard, county Veterans Service officer, said the program is vital to the community because, “we have our veteran population, the majority of it is aging, and a lot of folks have a lot of trouble either, A). driving themselves or B). finding someone to drive them, and this service is pretty well used by those folks in that category.”
Family members and primary caregivers are also more than welcome to ride in the van with their veteran to appointments, Lessard said.
Costs and funding
Lessard describes the funding for the program as, “a little bit of a balancing act."
“Right now, we’re behind. Not terribly, where the van program is in crisis, but we haven’t received the levels of revenue that we had anticipated,” he said.
Steve Vigoren gets out of the van to check the headlights while driving back to International Falls.
Funding comes from two primary sources: ridership fees and donations. Regular program costs include gas, vehicle maintenance, lodging in Minneapolis as well as driver stipends.
Currently, the van used by the program is almost six years old and has nearly 200,000 miles on it. While the need for a new van isn’t yet urgent, the program hopes to try to raise the funds to replace it in case the need arises.
Another potential future issue: the van is not currently wheelchair accessible.
“We haven’t had the demand for it, nor do we have the capability to support wheelchair-bound veterans," Lessard said. "Of course, if that need starts to present itself in the future, of course, we need to address that.”
Drivers are paid a stipend per trip. At the November Koochiching County Board meeting, a stipend raise for drivers was approved as well as a slight rise in ridership fees.
Ridership fees fall into two categories to meet affordability requirements for veterans. The first is a minimal fee for those veterans that do not receive Veterans Affairs travel reimbursement, and the second is a fee scale based on the travel reimbursement that qualified veterans receive from Veterans Affairs.
The local VFW Post 2948 is the main donor for the program, and its contributions are generated via the monthly fundraising event, "Dance Party Bingo." The county Veterans Service Office receives the proceeds on a quarterly basis. Other donors include private individuals and businesses/non-profit organizations including the Viking Bar, Sammy’s Pizza and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 3.
“I highly encourage our community to support the veterans transportation program by going to the VFW’s Dance Party Bingo the first Saturday every month at 9 p.m. It’s fun, supports a great cause and lucky folks will come away cash prizes,” Lessard said.
The next event will be held on Dec. 7.
Steve Sugranis exits the van outside of the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Hibbing.
