Donald G. Gardner became a summer resident at Ojibway Lake outside of Ely, Minnesota in 1941. In 1944 Gardner donated a painting by Frederick C. Frieseke titled Breakfast in the Garden to the City of Ely. The painting was hung in the Ely Public Library in 1945 where it was admired for over 40 years. In 1989, the painting was sold for $510,000.00 to a New York gallery and the City of Ely established the Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust to enrich the community through arts grants and scholarships. To date the Trust has awarded more than $625,000 back to the community artists and art organizations to enrich life in Ely.

The Spiritwood “Forget Me Not” Foundation is Fighting Alzheimer’s Disease Through The Arts as a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) In 2004 I lost my dad to Alzheimer’s following a very ‘long goodbye.’ We formed the Spiritwood Foundation to help others on a similar journey. Our mission is to raise not only awareness regarding Alzheimer’s Disease, but also critical funds that support community organizations, programs, and facilities working with victims and families dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The Foundation has many different fund-raising tools. One of them is a musical ‘happening’ we wrote called Remember When – The Songs Of the 60s and 70s. We perform this show in communities around the country involving local performers and musicians. Our Foundation then gifts the profits to the community for its specific Alzheimer’s needs. P.O. Box 179 Ely, MN 55731

Find Jobs…Find Employees The Ely Area Development Association is a job placement services program for Northeastern Minnesota

Frandsen Bank & Trust was recently named one of America’s Best Banks in Minnesota by Forbes magazine. Of the nearly 5,400 banks in the United States, only 149 made the 2019 list, and only three banks from Minnesota were recognized. Frandsen Financial Corporation CEO Chuck Mausbach states, “We were thrilled to learn that the rankings are driven entirely off of customer survey responses. What a huge compliment from our customers.” The list is a result of Forbes and a market research firm surveying over 25,000 United States customers for their opinions about current and former banking relationships. Banks were scored on satisfaction and recommendations, as well as

More than 85 years ago, the National Automotive Parts Association (“NAPA”) was created to meet America’s growing need for an effective auto parts distribution system. Today, 91% of do-it-yourself customers recognize the NAPA brand name.