Downtown Ironwood is seeing a big landscape change beginning to take shape. As seen in the picture, two former parking lots are being redeveloped into a central city plaza which will feature a music shell, picnic tables, a splash pad, trailhead kiosk, food-truck plug-ins, and other amenities all focused on creating a central gathering place for visitors and local residents. Grant funded through Michigan’s MEDC, this substantial project offers great potential for hosting events and also for re-visioning downtown as an inviting central place. All of this takes place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, where group gatherings are not at present the thing to have. Change thus comes to us in both positive (new plaza) and negative (we can’t gather there yet) manifestations. Change also comes to us in mystery–with social & economic uncertainty ruling each day, it is hard to adapt to change when conditions can alter daily or weekly. Yet we must try to envision future ways of community life and work now to help bring them about. This new Ironwood Chamber of Commerce website is yet another change. Brought about so that our businesses and organizations can have better outreach to those who live beyond the U.P., and also to demonstrate to those “far away” folks that Ironwood and the U.P. has a great deal to offer for living and working right now. Much of this is new platform technology for the Chamber Office Guy as well, but he recognizes the importance of it as a way of showcasing our membership community in a more lively, efficient, and informative way. Follow the Chamber on FB!! And stop back by here as well–there are more developments coming!
