HIBBING â The coronavirus has ripped through the pockets of Minnesota business owners and employees working in bars and restaurants. It has cut casino revenues and tourism sales in St. Louis County and left miners on the Iron Range to periodically rely on federal or state benefits to afford a year without promised work. The crisis has squeezed many municipalities in the region. But cities like Hibbing, which relied heavily on stable property taxes, taconite funding and implementing saving strategies, have managed to stay in a strong position â for now.
The Hibbing City Council on Wednesday night adopted an estimated $22 million budget for 2021, up about 2 percent from 2020, according to City Clerk-Treasurer Mary Ann Kepler. Councilors approved general-fund expenditures at about $19.4 million, an increase of 2.7 percent percent from last year.