Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Ironwood installs banners in downtown branding effort

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood - Those visiting Ironwood may notice new banners decorating some of the light poles throughout the downtown.

The banners, which depict the city's new logo and a variety of pictures of people enjoying the area's recreational opportunities and other images that could be seen as capturing the city's slogan of "Find Your North," are part of the city's ongoing effort to enhance its downtown area.

"It's actually something we've talked about for many years, trying to get some banners in town," City Manager Scott Erickson said. "We've put a lot of investment in the downtown area over the years; with downtown streetscaping, taking down some old buildings, doing some park improvements with the Pocket Park and the Art Park - there's been a lot of downtown redevelopment going on. One small part of that is the banners."

The banners were first installed on Aurora Street last Thursday, Erickson said, and they are expected to be placed on the rest of decorative light poles around the downtown and U.S. 2 Business Route by the middle of next week.

Erickson said the banners tie in well with some of the other efforts the city is making, such as its First Friday events.

"It's just one more thing to enhance your downtown experience as you come through and see the downtown corridor with the new trees that were planted, the ornamental lighting, the benches, the flags, the flower baskets, the banners - it's something our Downtown Development Authority has been looking to get done," he said.

Erickson credited the hard work of Tom Bergman and Tim Erickson in the city's Community Development Department for initiatives such as the First Fridays and the banners.

The First Fridays, which feature music downtown and businesses extending their hours, are designed to attract people to the downtown.

Erickson said the events have been a success so far, initially starting as three weeks but have since been extended further.

"I think the public and the business owners, they want to see more of it," he said. "It's been a great response."

Along with providing a "splash of interest," Erickson said there are plans to switch out the banners with special ones to during city events.

"As we have other events and festivals, hopefully we'll have some other banners that we will interchange down there," Erickson said. "So there will always be a few fresh banners going up."

He used Sisu and Festival Ironwood as examples for potential event-specific banners.

 
 
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