Blandin Foundation Invests More Than $10 Million to Strengthen the Itasca Area

More than 40 area organizations receive grants to build community wealth and resilience

Key Points:

• Blandin Foundation awarded $10.2 million to 48 organizations across Itasca County and rural northern Minnesota.
• Strategic Community Alignment: The grants, ranging from $20,000 to $2.8 million, align with the Foundation’s priorities of community wealth building, rural placemaking and capacity building.
• Advances Founder Intent: The funding brings to life Foundation founder Charles Blandin’s original vision of rural resilience and long-term community vitality.

Grand Rapids, Minn. – June 30, 2025

The Blandin Foundation recently awarded $10.2 million in grants, backing local initiatives across Itasca County and rural northern Minnesota that align with the foundation’s strategic priorities of community wealth building, rural placemaking and building up small communities.

The funding demonstrates Foundation founder Charles Blandin’s original vision of rural resilience and long-term community vitality.

“In a time when so much attention is focused on what divides us, these grants are about what brings us together,” said Tuleah Palmer, President and CEO of Blandin Foundation. “Every one of these investments — from downtown revitalization to small-town journalism — reflects the strength, creativity, and persistence of people in our region who are working together to move forward and solve real problems. This isn’t about waiting for change to come from somewhere else — it’s about taking action right here, in our own communities, to build the future we need. These grants align directly with our strategies to support rural placemaking, grow community wealth, and strengthen the organizations and leaders who keep our communities resilient and thriving.”

A full grants list is available on the Foundation’s website.

This round of grants included:

$2.8 million to Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority (GREDA) to support community development initiatives over the next three years. Funds will help create one of the first revolving site-acquisition funds in Minnesota, for commercial and industrial sites. Among other activities, the fund will assist a single-family affordable housing development in partnership with the Itasca County Housing and Redevelopment Authority’s Community Land Trust. Building on previous downtown development, another portion will be used to enhance community gathering spaces and signage to build a positive community brand.

“Access to capital is a long-standing barrier for rural communities, even larger regional hubs like Grand Rapids,” said Kyle Erickson, Blandin Foundation grants director. “Despite historic challenges the city has built real momentum downtown. GREDA’s approach goes beyond economic development, reimagining public spaces, strengthening community connections, and improving infrastructure.”

$1.5 million to KOOTASCA Community Action to strengthen the organization as it transitions to better support families experiencing poverty. KOOTASCA, as a Community Action Program (CAP) agency, focuses on how best to serve local families while operating in a complex funding environment and preparing for a new executive director. This three-year grant provides funding to strengthen internal systems, improve program integration and expand development opportunities for internal teams.

“Capacity building work is often equated to growing external programming and impact, but attention to internal development is equally important,” said Erickson. “Strong infrastructure makes organizations sustainable and resilient so they can respond to evolving community needs.”

$1 million to Early Edge to stabilize early childhood education and childcare access as public and private systems transition toward sustainable models. The two-year grant will help Early Edge shift to a service model supported by reliable, ongoing revenue. This adjustment helps stabilize early childhood education options for working parents, a key consideration when nearly 80 percent of Minnesota children under age 6 have all parents working. It also provides child care workers with living-wage jobs.

“Child care is work that supports all other work,” said Erickson. “When parents can’t work because they don’t have child care, it impacts families and businesses alike. We know our community continues to grapple with this system as it moves toward community-rooted, sustainable solutions.”

$500,000 to Scenic Rivers Health Services (SRHS) for implementing a modern, industry-standard electronic health record system across rural northeastern Minnesota clinics, improving patient care and long-term operational sustainability. SRHS is a community-based healthcare organization that provides medical and dental care to rural and isolated communities with limited healthcare options. The upgrade will give SRHS medical staff the ability to see hundreds more patients each year and improves care coordination with other facilities in the region.

“We’re thrilled to share that Scenic Rivers Health Services has received $500,000 to implement a modern electronic health record (EHR) system across our rural clinics in northeastern Minnesota,” said Keith Harvey, chief executive officer at SRHS. “This transformative upgrade will improve care coordination, reduce administrative burdens, and allow us to serve hundreds more patients each year. We are incredibly grateful for this support as we continue our long-standing mission to provide accessible, high-quality healthcare to the communities we proudly live and work in.”

“SRHS clinics serve some of the most isolated communities in our region,” said Mary Magnuson, Blandin Foundation grants program officer. “SRHS has a good plan and team in place to implement a technology overhaul of this magnitude. The end result will be improved patient experience, financial performance and ability to recruit and retain staff, giving these communities a boost on many fronts.”

$500,000 to KAXE – Northern Community Radio to invest in rural journalism, community storytellers and civic information infrastructure. With the three-year grant, KAXE will create a network of local residents to help area communities feel more informed and engaged. The station will continue to build on its strong foundation of creative, strategic partnerships to strengthen financial sustainability. In just two years, KAXE’s digital audience has grown from fewer than 8,000 unique monthly visitors to more than 50,000, while news coverage and programming has been recognized with statewide and regional awards.

“More than 12 percent of all local news outlets in Minnesota have closed since 2018, a pace of more than 11 per year,” said LuAnn Robinson, Blandin Foundation grants officer.

“KAXE is focused on rebuilding what has been lost in rural journalism and doing it in a way that’s creative, community-centered, and built to last.”

Dozens of area organizations receive grants

The Foundation awarded grants to 43 additional Itasca-area organizations, Native communities and townships seeking to build pride in community, strengthen social connections, and help keep financial and other resources close to home. Nearly three-quarters of grant recipients are from small, rural communities in Itasca County, many with fewer than 200 residents.

About one-quarter of the grants were made to organizations that had never received Blandin Foundation funds before.
Grantees include:

Bearville Township – $175,000 for a multipurpose community facility that includes a fire hall, gardens and community gathering space.

Feeley Township – a first-time grant of $22,000 to renovate and update equipment at the town hall.

Fire in the Village – $150,000 first-time grant to explore new ways for people in Itasca County to come together and build community through arts and culture.

Inger Local Indian Council – $150,000 to upgrade a community park and build an outdoor cultural space.

Sam’s Place – $130,000 for a safe housing facility.

“These grants are rural innovation in action, and these communities’ local leadership inspires us,” said Erickson. “Our role is to listen, learn and respond to the needs and help amplify the strategies that build resilience in our home community.”

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Blandin Foundation is a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. One of a handful of rural-based, rural-serving foundations in the country, Blandin Foundation serves rural Minnesota, focusing resources in north-central Minnesota. Our grants, opportunities that connect rural leaders, and policy work build up financial and human capital, so rural Minnesota places can welcome diversity, address injustice, and embrace change to create a sustainable and equitable future.