The Stewart Trail Fire in Two Harbors. Photo by Tryg Solberg for Boreal Community Media

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - May 27, 2026

May 27, 12:00 p.m. update:

At the May 27 IRRR Board Meeting earlier today, the $350,000 wildlife relief funding was approved. 

Original post: 

A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers who represent NE Minnesota announced $350,000 in state funding to support communities and businesses recovering from recent wildfires. According to a press release from the Minnesota Senate, State Senator Grant Hauschild, Representative Roger Skraba, and Representative Natalie Zeleznikar advocated for relief funds through the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). The funds will be put to a vote at the May 27 IRRR Board meeting, of which Skraba and Hauschild are members. 

If approved, $250,000 of the funds will go towards the Brimson Wildfire Economic Relief Program, administered by the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA), and $100,000 will be put towards the North Shore Stewart Trail Wildfire Economic Relief Program, managed through the Lake County HRA/EDA. The dollar amounts were based on the approximate number of residential properties impacted by the Stewart Trail Fire in Two Harbors earlier this month, and the trio of fires in the Brimson region that burned in 2025. 

If approved, the state funding will aim to address the economic toll of the wildfires on local families, businesses, tourism, and more. 

Representative Zeleznikar said in a press release that, "These fires put enormous pressure on local communities, emergency responders, small businesses, and families throughout the region," with Skraba saying, "This funding will provide much-needed economic relief for impacted communities while helping local residents recover.”