Carnegie Library, Ironwood Theatre earn 'community centers' grants

By MEGAN HUGHES

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Three community hubs in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties were recipients of Michigan Community Centers grant funds announced last week by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and are now planning for the future in which they can use these funds.

Local recipients included the Ironwood Carnegie Library, the Historic Ironwood Theatre, and the Lake Gogebic Senior Citizens Club in Bergland.

The Michigan Community Centers grant funds of $64 million, were spread across 43 Michigan counties, including 69 nonprofit agencies, 22 local government agencies, and nine schools and universities.

According to an MDLEO press release, there were more than 1,000 applications for the grant funds, requesting more than $1 billion. Residents in an estimated 80 counties will benefit from the funded projects, as many of the organizations receiving funds serve multiple counties.

"It was a very competitive process, and we received many great applications that went through a thorough review procedure," said Michigan Community Service Commission Executive Director Ginna Holmes in the release. "The investment in Michigan neighborhoods will continue to improve the lives of residents across the state, ensuring more Michiganders have an equal opportunity to prosperity."

Ironwood Carnegie Library

Library executive director Lynne Wiercinski said the library is receiving $750,000 which will help them to plan for the future, and how they can best serve the community with the funds.

The library board was set to meet Wednesday to talk about options and to begin planning their course of action for the funding. These planning meetings will continue throughout the spring, she said. "We also want input from everyone, and welcome visits, phone calls, emails with ideas and suggestions," said Wiercinski in an email.

Wiercinski said the grant opportunity was brought to the library's attention last July.

"Grants were originally due at the end of August (later, they moved it to Sept. 7) so we didn't have a lot of time. We knew it would be competitive, and in all honesty, I didn't have high hopes. It was a grueling month for all of us. The staff stepped up like rock stars so time could be carved out to get it done," she said.

The library applied for a $2.5 million grant, which would be used to expand the library, improve the early childhood literacy programs, senior programs and resources, and workforce and economic development programs. The original expansion concept would include a main-level children's area, programming rooms, and caregiver niche.

Of that original amount applied for the library received $750,000.

"It's a significant amount but one that requires us to rethink our goals and determine how we can best use the dollars to make the biggest impact for the library and the community we serve. That community includes everyone from babies to senior citizens, people of all income levels and abilities. We need to be creative and imaginative when we determine how to move ahead. It's an exciting process," said Wiercinski.

Wiercinski said many grants require a significant cash-match, something that libraries have a hard time doing, but this grant was an exception to that, allowing for them to apply for a larger amount of funds.

"Libraries are really the true definition of a community center, providing a wide variety of activities and resources on a daily basis," she said.

The library continues to look for additional funding sources, and is in the process of applying for grants as well as applying for congressionally directed spending. One such grant from the American Library Association has allowed them to build a main-level accessible restroom, which is being installed.

"I attended the initial meeting with the LEO grant team and they are going to work closely with us to help us modify our goals and our budget. While we are not yet certain what that will look like exactly, we do know that it will mean the Carnegie can continue to offer unique and relevant programs and resources that can help users to do just what our motto states: Dream, discover, do," she said.

For more information about the library, call 906-932-0203.

Historic Ironwood

Theatre

The Historic Ironwood Theatre received $250,000, according to theatre manager Bruce Greenhill, who said that the funds would be going toward modernizing the stage's rigging system.

"We've had the upgrade on our capital works plan for a few years now, so our grant team has been actively seeking an appropriate funding source," he said in a release on Friday. "Replacing our nearly 100-year-old hemp rope and sandbag system with an easier to operate and much safer counterweight system will allow more members of the community to get involved in the production side of things."

In the release, HIT president Zona Wick praised the work of the volunteer grant writing group that made the project possible. "The team meets twice a month throughout the year and the fact we were awarded $250,000 through this state program, speaks volumes about the quality of the team's work."

The current rigging system is original to the theater, and is in need of updating to meet safety requirements, said Greenhill, adding the project is expected to start in early 2025, and the theatre will be closed during the construction project.

For more information about the theatre, visit ironwoodtheatre.net.

Lake Gogebic Senior Citizens Club

The Lake Gogebic Senior Citizens Club of Bergland has received $300,000 and, according to a press release by director Joan Harris, the funds will be used to support the Lake Gogebic Senior Center's renovations project.

The senior center houses two areas providing services to the seniors of Ontonagon County, including the offices of the Lake Gogebic Senior Citizens Club and the Ontonagon County Commission on Aging offices, as well as a gathering site for senior citizens of the community, acting as an activity center and meeting facility for various groups, according to the release.

A spring 2023 inspection revealed the building was in disrepair and required many updates to meet safety codes.

"We look forward to bringing the building up to code. The $300,000 Capital Project Grant will allow us to better serve senior citizens of Ontonagon County through necessary and vital upgrades," said Harris in the release.

For more information about the senior center, visit lakegogebicseniorcenter.com.