Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain was named for the valuable iron ore found in the vicinity. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula. The city is known for its pasties, Bocce Ball Tournaments, World Cup Ski Jumps, and Italian cuisine. The Iron Mountain area is served by Ford Airport (airport code: KIMT) Commercial air travel is provided by SkyWest Airlines, providing jet service as Delta Connection. There is no direct rail passenger service to Iron Mountain, but Amtrak Thruway Bus Service connects to Marinette, Wisconsin. The airport has a 6,501 foot asphalt runway with approved ILS, GPS and NDB approaches (Runway 1-19) and a 3,808 foot asphalt crosswind runway (runway 13-31) The city has a total area of 8.04 square miles (20.82 km²), of which, 7.37 square miles. (19.09 km²) of it is land and 0.67square miles (1.74km²) is water. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 census. It was named a "Michigan Main Street" community by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006, one of only thirteen such communities in the State of Michigan in 2008. It's also the hometown of Michigan State University men's basketball coach Tom Izzo and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci. It has a few points of interest such as the Millie Hill bat cave and The Cornish Pump.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.04 square miles (20.82 km²) of which, 7.37square miles (19.09km²) is land. 0.67square miles of the city's land is water. The city is located on the Mississippi River, which runs through the center of the town. It is the only city in the state to have a population of over 1,000,000. The population of the state was 1,071,000 at the 2010 census. The state's population at the time of the 2010 Census was 2,072, with the majority of that population living in the city of Poughkeepsie, the state's largest city. It has a population density of 1,084.4 square miles per square mile. The town has an area of 7.04square miles, or 7.09 square miles, more than half of which is land, and 0.74square miles is water, or 1.74 square miles. It was the site of the nation's first nuclear power plant, which was built in the early 1900s. In the early 20th century, the town was known as "The City of the Stars" because of its location on the river. It became known as the "City of Stars" for its resemblance to the town of St. Louis, Missouri. It also was the location of the first post office in the United States, opening in 1913.

Transportation

The Iron Mountain area is served by Ford Airport (airport code: KIMT) Commercial air travel is provided by SkyWest Airlines, providing jet service as Delta Connection. There is no direct rail passenger service to Iron Mountain, but Amtrak Thruway Bus Service connects to Marinette, Wisconsin. US 2 runs east to Escanaba and west to Ironwood. US 141 merges with US 2 just east of the city and heads northward toward Crystal Falls. M-95 connects with Kingsford just to the south and with M-69 east at Randville about 14 miles (23 km) north. The W&M Railroad, after its approval in 1938, ended all service to the area in the early 1960s. The Chippewa River Railroad, which ran from Wisconsin to Illinois, also ended its service in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There are no direct flights to the Iron Mountain region, but there is a direct flight from Chicago to Chicago and back again. The Iron Mountain Airport has a 6,501 foot asphalt runway with approved ILS, GPS and NLS approaches (Runway 1-19) and a 3,808 foot asphalt crosswind runway (runway 13-31) The airport is located on the banks of the Wisconsin River, which runs through the town of Iron Mountain. It is located near the junction of US 2 and US 2, which is just south of the town's main highway, the U.S. Highway 2.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,624 people, 3,362 households, and 2,025 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 0.5% African American, 0.,6% Native American,0.7% Asian, 0,3% from other races, and 1.7%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population. The median income for a household in theCity was $32,526, and the median income. for a family was $43,687. According to Census 2000, 97.2% of residents spoke English as their first language, with 1.4% Italian as their second. The average household size was 2.29, with the average family size being 2.94. The city has a population of 8,154, with 3,819 people living in 3,784 housing units. The population of theCity has a median age of 42.4 years, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.1%. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.6 males. The per capita income for the city is $19.19,918. About 9.4%. of families and 10.5%. of those under 18 were below the poverty line, including 13.5. of those age 65 or over. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population will rise to 7,715 by the end of the year.

Environmental importance

Iron Mountain's abandoned Millie Hill mine is home to one of the largest bat hibernacula in the Midwest. Roughly 25,000-50,000 bats make their winter home there. The mine is also home to the world's largest concentration of bats in the U.S. It was abandoned in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now a nature reserve. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, about 30 miles from the town of Iron Mountain, Illinois. It has a population of about 50,000, and has been home to bats for more than 100 years. It also has a number of other wildlife sanctuaries, such as the Redwood National Park, which is on the opposite side of the river from the mine. The abandoned mine is used by bats to hibernate in the winter, and to store food for the spring and summer. It's also a place of refuge for bats that are threatened by humans, including humans, in the United States and Canada. The area is also known as the "Bat Belt" because of the number of bats that live in the area, and because of its proximity to the Red River and the nearby Mississippi River. The Red River is a major source of drinking water for the region, as well as a source of food for many other wildlife, including bats and other bats.

Menominee Range

Iron Mountain is located within the Menominee Iron-Bearing District, which covers southern Dickinson County and extends westward into Iron County. Ore is produced from the middle Precambrian Vulcan Iron-Formation around Iron Mountain, and the Riverton Iron- formation between Iron River, Michigan and Crystal Falls, Michigan. Both formations belong to the Marquette Range Supergroup. The Vulcan is between 300 and 800 feet thick and consists of hematite and magnetite with quartz. The Riverton is 100600 feet thick. The iron ore was discovered in Dickinson County in 1849 and Iron County in1851. Iron Mountain is one of the most productive iron ore deposits in the United States. It is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, near the towns of Iron River and Iron Falls. The Iron Mountain Formation is between 200 and 300 feet thick, with quartz and siderite as its main constituents. The riverton is between 100 and 200 feet thick with chert and quartz as its major constituents. It belongs to the Upper Marquette Supergroup, which also includes the Iron River Iron- Formation and the Siderite-Chalcedony Formation. It was first discovered in 1851 and is located near Iron River in Michigan. It has been mined for iron ore since the early 19th century. The ore is used in the construction of roads and bridges in the area. It also provides a source of power for the town of Iron Mountain and its surrounding communities. The area is rich in iron ore.

Historical importance

Iron Mountain is home of the largest steam-driven pumping engine in the United States. Chapin Mine Steam Pump Engine (Cornish Pump) was patterned after the ones used in Cornwall in the deep tin mines. The engine's high-pressure cylinder has a 50-inch (1,300 mm) bore. The flywheel is 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, weighs 160 tons, and had an average speed of only 10 revolutions per minute. The pumping equipment utilized a reciprocating motion to a line of steel rods extending 1,500 feet (460 m) down into the mine, with eight pumps attached at intervals of 170 to 192 feet (59 m) along the rods. Each of the pumps forced the water to the next higher pump and finally out to the surface of the mine. More than a million tons of the best grade ore found in the entire mine was discovered directly below the pump, so it was essential that it be moved for excavation. In 1898 the pump was dismantled and stored away until 1907 when it was reassembled on the "C" shaft of the Chapin mine. In 1934 the pumping engine was offered to the County of Dickinson as a relic for sightseers to visit. The pump remained exposed to the elements for nearly 50 years, and in 1982 a building was constructed around the pump by the Menominee Range Historical Foundation. Today the Cornish Pumping Engine & Mining Museum exists on the site. It has been featured in the History Channel's Modern Marvels Series on the World's Biggest Machines.

Climate

Iron Mountain has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Iron Mountain has an "Ffb" climate. The area has a high level of mountain biking, particularly in the north and west. The town of Iron Mountain is home to the Iron Mountain Ski Club. It is also known as the "Iron Mountain Ski Area" for its location in the northern part of the region. The city has a population of around 2,000. It has a long history of skiing, especially in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was the first ski resort in the U.S. to be built in the region, in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the only one in the United States to have a ski resort. It also had a ski club, which opened in the 1970s and 1980s. The ski resort has a history of hosting international ski competitions, including in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as a ski jump centre. The Iron Mountain ski club was founded in the 1990s by a group of former ski jumpers from the nearby town of Wiesbaden. It now has a membership of around 1,000 people, and has a ski base of about 1,200 people.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, Michigan = 95.4. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 70. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 50. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Iron Mountain = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 7,518 individuals with a median age of 42.7 age the population dropped by -5.35% in Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, Michigan population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 996.82 residents per square mile of area (384.88/km²). There are average 2.22 people per household in the 3,365 households with an average household income of $37,446 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.60% of the available work force and has dropped -5.32% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 17.76%. The number of physicians in Iron Mountain per 100,000 population = 284.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Iron Mountain = 29.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 61.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 121. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 185. 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 62, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, Michigan which are owned by the occupant = 65.16%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 65 years with median home cost = $67,020 and home appreciation of -6.16%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.21 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,767 per student. There are 17.3 students for each teacher in the school, 1250 students for each Librarian and 1375 students for each Counselor. 7.08% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.35% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.08% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).