Northern
Itasca Joint Powers Board
Serving Northern Minnesota's Edge of the Wilderness
The Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board consists of: Bigfork, Town of Bigfork, Town of Marcell, Effie and the Town of Stokes.
Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board Background
The Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board is comprised of five units of government in northeast Minnesota within Itasca County. The communities associated with the board lie 225 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul and 135 miles west of the seaport of Lake Superior, Duluth. The population of the area, commonly referred to as the "Edge of the Wilderness", is relatively sparse, with approximately 2,000 people residing in total. The population increases during the summer months with an influx of seasonal residents drawn to the numerous lakes for which the area is noted.Several years of tourist and residential expansion within these rural communities combined to produce an increased demand for goods and services for local citizens and visitors alike. These issues lead the five units of local government with responsibilities and ties to the Edge of the Wilderness to combine their efforts toward a consolidated governing body, the Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board. By combining efforts and pooling resources in an organized manner, a stronger sense of cohesiveness exists, which translates to a more powerful voice for the rural communities within a largely urban-influenced state government.
The principle mission of the Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board it to "retain the natural beauty of the area while progressing to provide our diverse population with opportunity, economic viability and a quality of life that will carry on into future generations".
Current Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board Members:
Amy Tendrup, Chair - City of Bigfork
Sharon Miller, Vice Chair - Stokes Township
Kim Mann - Bigfork Township
Jeff Kilian - Marcell Township
Bill Hastings - City of Effie
Made possible by a partnership with the Iron Range Resources
© Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board 1997
