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It was the late 1990s and then, just as it does now, the Ely area had an array of local government entities and no shortage of requests when it came to state lawmakers.
But the walls surrounding the respective fiefdoms were sometimes high and one could forgive the late State Sen. Doug Johnson and his counterpart in the State House - Tom Bakk - if they needed a scorecard to keep track of all of the requests and projects originating from the 55731 zip code.
At the time, Bill Henning had the unenviable job of serving as the spokesperson for one group that combined many of those entities - the Ely Area Development Association.
While the EADA had taken some positive strides to bring the local governments and groups together, there remained much work to do when it came to coordinating exactly what Ely was looking for each year from St. Paul.
Henning came up with what, at the time, seemed a novel idea: Get local government officials and state legislators together in a room prior to the start of each legislative session in an attempt to speak with a stronger and more unified voice when it came to Ely initiatives.
From that idea came what is now known simply as “The Legislative Meeting” in local circles.
Through the late 1990s, the 2000s, 2010s and now well into the 2020s, state legislators have come to Ely, usually over lunch on a December Monday, to share their perspective and hear what Ely leaders have to say - and what they are looking for from St. Paul.
The concept expanded beyond what was once a small sit-down and now includes aides to our representatives in Congress, both the House and Senate, while county commissioners, lobbyists and both the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools have a seat at the table.
The EADA has slipped away, but the Community Economic Development Joint Powers Board still exists, and continues to put on the Legislative Meeting each year.
This year’s event is set for Monday at the Grand Ely Lodge, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see 30, 35 or even 40 people or more in the room talking about Ely projects and initiatives.
The efforts have paid off. Legislators have said they appreciated the effort to coordinate projects and requests, and the meeting has often provided a dose of reality when it comes to tampering down expectations from St. Paul or Washington.
We’re not aware of many, really any communities our size that bring in such a diverse group of elected local, regional, state and federal officials.
The debate at times can be lively, but there are clear benefits to getting so many parties in one room where the focus is on Ely, its projects, its funding requests and its vision.
The various fiefdoms remain and it’s natural that each will try to protect their turf and look out for their own best interests.
But there seems to be more cooperation and collaboration today than there was when the Legislative Meeting was merely an idea three decades ago.
And that’s good for all of us in the Ely area.
