It’s looking more and more like the Ely Chamber of Commerce will make the new trailhead facility its new home.
Negotiators for both the Chamber and city of Ely made progress Tuesday toward a lease agreement that would result in the Chamber moving west to the soon-to-open Ely Regional Trailhead Facility.
While both the Chamber board and Ely council still need to act on a final agreement, negotiators inched forward Tuesday.
Terms include the Chamber paying a $400 per month lease at the cityowned facility, with the organization agreeing to staff the facility during business hours, and perhaps limited weekend hours.
The city is also seeking an option to revisit the arrangement after a year.
Should talks proceed toward a formal deal, it would mark a major victory for project supporters who yearned to have the new building staffed.
“As the building was designed, the thought was that this was going to be a trailhead, a visitor center for people to get information,” said Harold Langowski, the city’s clerk-treasurer and operations director. “When people come to town it’s going to be the first place they see. They have the ability to park, use restrooms and get information pertaining to the community.”
Langowski added that the building also serves as a “stepping off point,” to various trails including the Mesabi Trail, Prospectors Loop ATV Trail and the Taconite and Tomahawk snowmobile trails.
Nearly a decade in the making, the trailhead project is coming to fruition with the completion of the new $4.5 million facility.
season. Chapman points to the winter of 2023-2024, when little snow fell, as the cause of their first well’s demise.
Considering the way things are changing with weather and precipitation patterns, Tedrow said dug wells are not a good idea. He knows others who have faced similar problems, including one former student.
“Their well went dry here about three years ago, and it was a dug well,” said Tedrow, “And just like what (Beth) had heard from the former owner of the house, they heard the same thing, that well has never gone dry. Well, that sucker dried up, so they had to drill.”
However, deep wells — especially those that break through rock — present a greater risk for arsenic contamination.
“Surface waters don’t tend to have arsenic in as high a concentration as groundwater. Arsenic exists in geologic formations, and groundwater is in more intimate contact with those geologic formations, especially if we crack them open,” Tedrow said.
High arsenic levels in well water are not unheard of in St. Louis County. According to data from the Minnesota Department of Health, arsenic was detected in at least 39% of new wells tested between 2008 and 2021 in the county, with an additional 4.3% containing values greater than the EPA’s 10 ppb standard.
Over time, arsenic consumption can lead to health impacts ranging from diabetes to cancer and respiratory disease.
“Luckily the options are there to remove arsenic,” said Tedrow.
The Minnesota Department of Health outlines possibilities such as reverse osmosis, distillation, filtration and more.
According to state regulations, the only wells that are required to be tested (for arsenic) are new wells, but any concerned homeowner can order a test kit to be mailed to their residence.
The AW Research Laboratories website — the organization that assessed Chapman and Tedrow’s water — lists an arsenic test as just $35 with a $7 shipping fee. If a well owner chooses to receive results that measure nitrate and other contaminants alongside arsenic, the price can increase to just under $200.
“It’s not terribly expensive, in contrast to the long term effects,” Tedrow said.
