City in Michigan, United States
Iron Mountain
is a city in and the
county seat
of
Dickinson County, Michigan
. The population was 7,518 at the
2020 census
, down from 7,624 at the
2010 census
.
[4]
In the state's
Upper Peninsula
, Iron Mountain was named for the valuable
iron ore
found in the vicinity.
[5]
Iron Mountain is the principal city of the
Iron Mountain, MI?WI Micropolitan Statistical Area
, which includes all of Dickinson County, Michigan and
Florence County
in Wisconsin.
Iron Mountain hosts a few points of interest such as the
Millie Hill bat cave
[6]
and
the Cornish Pump
, and is located adjacent to the
Pine Mountain Jump
, one of the largest artificial ski jumps in the world.
[7]
It shares Woodward Avenue with the neighboring town,
Kingsford
. In addition, Iron Mountain is known for its
pasties
,
[8]
bocce ball
tournaments, and
World Cup ski jumps
. Iron Mountain was also named a "Michigan Main Street" community by Michigan governor
Jennifer Granholm
in 2006. It is one of only thirteen such communities in the state of Michigan in 2008. It is also the hometown of
Michigan State University
men's basketball coach
Tom Izzo
and former NFL head coach
Steve Mariucci
.
Geography
[
edit
]
Dickinson County Courthouse and Jail
, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 8.04 square miles (20.82 km
2
), of which, 7.37 square miles (19.09 km
2
) of it is land and 0.67 square miles (1.74 km
2
) is water.
[9]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1890
| 8,599
| | ?
|
---|
1900
| 9,242
| | 7.5%
|
---|
1910
| 9,216
| | ?0.3%
|
---|
1920
| 8,251
| | ?10.5%
|
---|
1930
| 11,652
| | 41.2%
|
---|
1940
| 11,080
| | ?4.9%
|
---|
1950
| 9,679
| | ?12.6%
|
---|
1960
| 9,299
| | ?3.9%
|
---|
1970
| 8,702
| | ?6.4%
|
---|
1980
| 8,341
| | ?4.1%
|
---|
1990
| 8,525
| | 2.2%
|
---|
2000
| 8,154
| | ?4.4%
|
---|
2010
| 7,624
| | ?6.5%
|
---|
2020
| 7,518
| | ?1.4%
|
---|
2010 census
[
edit
]
As of the
2010 census
,
[12]
there were 7,624 people, 3,362 households, and 2,025 families residing in the city. The
population density
was 1,034.5 inhabitants per square mile (399.4/km
2
). There were 3,784 housing units at an average density of 513.4 per square mile (198.2/km
2
). 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% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 3,362 households, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were
married
couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.83.
The median age in the city was 42.4 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 29.3% were from 45 to 64; and 17.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.
2000 census
[
edit
]
As of the
2000 census
,
[2]
there were 8,154 people, 3,458 households, and 2,147 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,132.6 inhabitants per square mile (437.3/km
2
). There were 3,819 housing units at an average density of 530.5 per square mile (204.8/km
2
). The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.20% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population. 20.6% were of
Italian
, 14.0%
German
, 9.0%
Swedish
, 8.8%
English
, 8.8%
French
, 5.8%
Finnish
and 5.5%
Irish
ancestry. 97.2% spoke
English
and 1.4%
Italian
as their first language.
There were 3,458 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,526, and the median income for a family was $43,687. Males had a median income of $38,309 versus $22,533 for females. The
per capita income
for the city was $19,918. About 9.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Media
[
edit
]
Newspaper
[
edit
]
The
newspaper of record
in Dickinson County is
The Daily News
.
[13]
Television
[
edit
]
Iron Mountain is included in the
Marquette
television market, NBC affiliate
WLUC
operates a local news bureau covering the city and neighboring areas. Due to distance from the transmitters and topography in the region terrestrial television signals are very limited in the area with the strongest signal coming from
Wisconsin Public Television
translator station W30DZ originating from
Fence, WI
.
Historically Iron Mountain was served by full power station
WDHS
which intermittently carried a religious format between long periods of silence, translators of various stations originating from Green Bay, and a handful of encrypted cable channels broadcast over the air.
Radio
[
edit
]
Carnegie library
Radio stations that are located within listening range of Iron Mountain include:
- WNMU-FM
90.1 FM
Northern Michigan University
Marquette
,
National Public Radio
- WMVM-FM 90.7 FM Goodman, Wi - Iron Mountain, Mi, Gospel
[14]
- WVCM
91.5 FM
VCY America
Iron Mountain, Religious
- WIMK
93.1 FM Iron Mountain, Classic Rock
- WZNL
94.3 FM
Norway
, Adult Contemporary
- WEUL
98.1 FM
Gospel Opportunities Radio Network
Kingsford
, Religious
- WIKB-FM
99.1 FM
Iron River
, Oldies
- WOBE
100.7 FM
Crystal Falls
, Top 40/CHR
- WJNR-FM
101.5 FM Iron Mountain, Frog Country
[15]
- WGMV
106.3 FM
Stephenson
, Classic Country
- WHTO
106.7 FM Iron Mountain, 80s Rock
- WFER
1230 AM Iron River, Oldies
- WMIQ
1450 AM Iron Mountain, Talk
[16]
Environmental importance
[
edit
]
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. However, due to disease of bats in the midwest most of the colony has died.
Menominee Range
[
edit
]
Geologic map of the Iron Mountain area
Iron Mountain is located within the Menominee Iron-Bearing District, which covers southern Dickinson County and extends westward into Iron County. Iron ore was discovered in Dickinson County in 1849 and Iron County in 1851. 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
, while the Riverton is 100?600 feet thick and consists of
siderite
and
chert
.
[17]
Government
[
edit
]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
March 2023
)
|
The current mayor is Dale Alessandrini.
[18]
In 2023, the city, its police department, and several police officers were sued for sexual harassment.
[19]
Transportation
[
edit
]
Bus service
[
edit
]
Indian Trails
provides daily intercity bus service between
St. Ignace
and
Ironwood, Michigan
.
[20]
Major highways
[
edit
]
Airport
[
edit
]
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
. Located three miles west of the city, the airport handles approximately 7,600 operations per year, with roughly 27% commercial service, 57% air taxi and 16% general aviation. 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).
[21]
Train
[
edit
]
Soon after this area was settled the news of mineral riches brought the railroads. First was
Milwaukee Road
, then
Chicago & Northwestern
and
Wisconsin and Michigan
. The W&M Railroad, after its abandonment was approved ended all service in 1938.
[22]
The thriving of automobile usage in the 1950s caused the rail passenger usage to wain, and the Milwaukee Road discontinued the
Chippewa
passenger train altogether on February 2, 1960.
[23]
[24]
[25]
With few riders remaining, the
Copper Country Limited
made its last runs on March 7, 1968.
[26]
The C&NW also discontinued its service to Iron Mountain in the early 1960s.
Although there is currently no direct rail passenger service to Iron Mountain, Amtrak Thruway Bus Service connects to
Marinette, Wisconsin
.
[27]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- James L. Adams
, member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives
- Randy Awrey
, 1975 DII National Champion football player at
Northern Michigan University
and current head football coach at
Concordia University Chicago
- John Biolo
, former
NFL
player for the
Green Bay Packers
- Neno DaPrato
, college All-American and professional football player
- Robert J. Flaherty
, filmmaker
- Walter Samuel Goodland
, 31st
governor of Wisconsin
- R. James Harvey
, former congressman and federal judge
- John Hubley
, four-time
Academy Award
-winning
animated film
director; graduated from
Iron Mountain High School
- Tom Izzo
, men's basketball head coach for
Michigan State University
since 1995
- Johnny Johnson
, baseball player
- Beau LaFave
, member of the
Michigan House of Representatives
- Gordon Lund
, baseball player
- Steve Mariucci
,
NFL Network
analyst and former
NFL
head coach
- Thomas Lawrence Noa
, Roman Catholic bishop
- Phillip Rahoi
, member of the
Michigan Legislature
and mayor of Iron Mountain
[28]
- Gene Ronzani
, former NFL head coach of the
Green Bay Packers
- Albert J. Wilke
, member of the
Michigan Senate
- Delaney Schnell
, American Olympic diver.
Climate
[
edit
]
This
climatic
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
Koppen Climate Classification
system, Iron Mountain has a
humid continental climate
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.
[29]
Climate data for Iron Mountain WWTP, Michigan (1991?2020 normals, extremes 1899?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °F (°C)
|
57
(14)
|
62
(17)
|
82
(28)
|
94
(34)
|
100
(38)
|
100
(38)
|
104
(40)
|
101
(38)
|
98
(37)
|
88
(31)
|
77
(25)
|
64
(18)
|
104
(40)
|
Mean maximum °F (°C)
|
41.4
(5.2)
|
48.0
(8.9)
|
61.5
(16.4)
|
74.8
(23.8)
|
85.3
(29.6)
|
90.8
(32.7)
|
91.3
(32.9)
|
89.7
(32.1)
|
85.3
(29.6)
|
77.2
(25.1)
|
59.4
(15.2)
|
46.1
(7.8)
|
93.7
(34.3)
|
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)
|
24.0
(?4.4)
|
28.3
(?2.1)
|
39.2
(4.0)
|
51.9
(11.1)
|
66.4
(19.1)
|
76.0
(24.4)
|
80.4
(26.9)
|
78.3
(25.7)
|
70.1
(21.2)
|
55.7
(13.2)
|
40.8
(4.9)
|
29.0
(?1.7)
|
53.3
(11.8)
|
Daily mean °F (°C)
|
14.2
(?9.9)
|
17.2
(?8.2)
|
28.0
(?2.2)
|
40.5
(4.7)
|
54.1
(12.3)
|
64.0
(17.8)
|
68.5
(20.3)
|
66.7
(19.3)
|
58.6
(14.8)
|
45.3
(7.4)
|
32.5
(0.3)
|
20.9
(?6.2)
|
42.5
(5.8)
|
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)
|
4.4
(?15.3)
|
6.1
(?14.4)
|
16.9
(?8.4)
|
29.0
(?1.7)
|
41.7
(5.4)
|
52.0
(11.1)
|
56.6
(13.7)
|
55.1
(12.8)
|
47.0
(8.3)
|
34.9
(1.6)
|
24.2
(?4.3)
|
12.8
(?10.7)
|
31.7
(?0.2)
|
Mean minimum °F (°C)
|
?16.9
(?27.2)
|
?16.1
(?26.7)
|
?6.9
(?21.6)
|
14.1
(?9.9)
|
27.0
(?2.8)
|
37.0
(2.8)
|
44.5
(6.9)
|
42.4
(5.8)
|
32.0
(0.0)
|
22.1
(?5.5)
|
8.0
(?13.3)
|
?8.4
(?22.4)
|
?20.8
(?29.3)
|
Record low °F (°C)
|
?35
(?37)
|
?39
(?39)
|
?27
(?33)
|
?6
(?21)
|
16
(?9)
|
24
(?4)
|
35
(2)
|
30
(?1)
|
19
(?7)
|
8
(?13)
|
?10
(?23)
|
?26
(?32)
|
?39
(?39)
|
Average
precipitation
inches (mm)
|
1.36
(35)
|
1.15
(29)
|
1.68
(43)
|
2.79
(71)
|
3.48
(88)
|
3.71
(94)
|
3.41
(87)
|
3.38
(86)
|
3.60
(91)
|
3.27
(83)
|
1.90
(48)
|
1.76
(45)
|
31.49
(800)
|
Average snowfall inches (cm)
|
14.7
(37)
|
11.2
(28)
|
8.9
(23)
|
7.1
(18)
|
0.2
(0.51)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.4
(1.0)
|
5.5
(14)
|
13.0
(33)
|
61.0
(155)
|
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm)
|
14.8
(38)
|
17.9
(45)
|
15.1
(38)
|
6.1
(15)
|
0.1
(0.25)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.0
(0.0)
|
0.5
(1.3)
|
3.3
(8.4)
|
9.2
(23)
|
19.8
(50)
|
Average precipitation days
(≥ 0.01 in)
|
10.1
|
6.9
|
7.7
|
10.1
|
12.0
|
11.5
|
11.6
|
10.6
|
11.3
|
11.7
|
8.9
|
9.6
|
122.0
|
Average snowy days
(≥ 0.1 in)
|
9.8
|
6.3
|
4.9
|
2.8
|
0.2
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.5
|
3.8
|
8.0
|
36.3
|
Source:
NOAA
[30]
[31]
|
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Iron Mountain is mentioned in the 2000 film
Reindeer Games
. At the start of the film the main character, Rudy Duncan, is shown serving time in a prison near the city.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
May 21,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
2008-01-31
.
- ^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Iron Mountain, Michigan
- ^
"Find a County"
. National Association of Counties. Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-31
. Retrieved
2011-06-07
.
- ^
Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States
. Govt. Print. Off. pp.
166
.
- ^
"#23 ? Channel Your Inner Batman at the Millie Hill Bat Cave | Things to do in the U.P"
.
- ^
"Pine Mountain Ski Jump"
.
exploringthenorth.com
.
- ^
https://books.google.com/books?id=V7hvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131&dq=iron+mountain+pasties&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtqcCb7tWFAxVLIUQIHXh6BoQQ6AF6BAgKEAM
- ^
"US Gazetteer files 2010"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-07-02
. Retrieved
2012-11-25
.
- ^
"Census of Population and Housing"
. Census.gov
. Retrieved
June 4,
2015
.
- ^
"United States Census Bureau QuickFacts"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
February 26,
2022
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
2012-11-25
.
- ^
"IronMountainDailyNews.com - news, sports, business, jobs - The Daily News"
.
ironmountaindailynews.com
.
- ^
"STATIONS"
.
WRVM, Inc
. Retrieved
27 April
2024
.
- ^
"WJNR 101.5 FM, "Frog Country"
"
. Retrieved
May 9,
2012
.
- ^
On the radio.net.
- ^
Carl e. Dutton; Paul W. Zimmer (1968). "Iron Ore deposits of the Menominee District, Michigan". In Ridge, J.D. (ed.).
Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933?1967
. Vol. 1. New York: American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. pp. 539?542.
OCLC
333389
.
- ^
"City Council | Iron Mountain, MI - Official Website"
.
www.cityofironmountain.com
. Retrieved
19 October
2023
.
- ^
Baldas, Tresa (March 19, 2023).
"Woman who was U.P. cop sues brotherhood: They bet on who would sleep with me first"
.
Detroit Free Press
. Retrieved
2023-03-21
.
- ^
"ST. IGNACE-SAULT STE. MARIE-IRONWOOD"
(PDF)
.
Indian Trails
. January 15, 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 4, 2014
. Retrieved
2013-02-28
.
- ^
"AirNav: Airport Information"
.
- ^
"[ICC] Approve Wisconsin and Michigan Ry. Line Abandonment"
.
The Daily Tribune
. Wisconsin Rapids, Wi. Associated Press. January 20, 1938. p. 5
. Retrieved
25 July
2021
.
- ^
Scribbins 1970
, p. 200
- ^
"Milwaukee Road Drops Channing Chippewa Train"
.
The Escanaba Daily Press
. Escanaba, MI. Associated Press. January 23, 1960. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Milwaukee Road Moves Up Date To Curtail Service"
.
The Escanaba Daily Press
. Escanaba, MI. February 2, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Burns, Adam (December 16, 2021).
"The
Copper Country Limited
"
.
American-Rails.com
. Retrieved
February 4,
2022
.
- ^
"2022 Wisconsin Amtrak Service"
(PDF)
. Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 2022.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2015-07-30
. Retrieved
April 3,
2022
.
- ^
"Index to Politicians"
.
Political Graveyard
.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2012
.
- ^
"Iron Mountain, Michigan Koppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)"
.
Weatherbase
.
- ^
"NowData ? NOAA Online Weather Data"
. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
. Retrieved
September 2,
2021
.
- ^
"Station: Iron MTN-Kingsford WWTP, MI"
.
U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991?2020)
. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
. Retrieved
September 2,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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