July 24 – 28, 2024

Tour by bus from the DECC to the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, MN, and the Kaleva Hall in Virginia, MN. Special presentation for tour participants by a Discovery Center staff member on the history of mining on the Mesabi Iron Range. A Finnish lunch will be served at the Kaleva Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. A presentation on the history of the Kaleva Hall and the Knights of Kaleva will then follow. Participants will have time to examine the historical exhibits in the hall. Detailed information on the sites to be visited will be provided to tour participants at no charge.

Charlie Ek is the grandson of Finnish immigrants from Jalasjärvi, Finland. His grandfather quit working in the Vermilion Iron Range mines (east of the Mesabi) and became a logger and farmer in Embarrass, because he didn’t like people telling him what to do.