We were bitterly disappointed to read of the closing of the Minnesota Discovery Center, better known as Ironworld, in Chisholm, Minn. (Nov. 21). What a pity!
During all the years we lived in nearby Virginia, we visited the interpretive center again and again with our daughters and house guests to learn and be reminded of the incredible story of the immigrants who mined the iron ore that made our country great. It is not a widely known story around the country or even here in Minnesota. Although we grew up in Minnesota it wasn't until we moved "up north" and visited Ironworld for the first time that we got any glimmer of mining's gritty early years and the role it has played in worldwide economies. There is no speaker, book or video program that tells the story of those early years as effectively as Ironworld can, and it's a lesson Minnesotans and visitors alike need to learn.
We hope the Minnesota Legislature and the Iron Range Resources Board will conclude the Iron Range destination is one we can't afford not to operate and find a way to revitalize and reopen Ironworld.
WALT AND Kathy Dunlap, Fergus Falls, Minn.
