Lt. governor visits Iron Industry Museum

Michigan’s lieutenant governor continued his visit to the Upper Peninsula at a museum in Negaunee Township this afternoon.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley visited the Michigan Iron Industry Museum.

The state helped create the museum in the 1980s.

Calley says the museum shares a story with the public about what the U.P. has to offer, and he says that story isn’t told often enough, “connecting the heritage of this area along with the tourism and recreational opportunities. Over the course of the coming years, as we develop our trail systems even better, I think that this is the type of facility that could really benefit from that,” he said.

A two-mile trail system opened at the museum in 2011.

Until 2009, the museum closed each winter, but it’s now open year-round, and a new access road connecting it to US-41 also opened that year.

“This is telling the story, the history of that (the iron industry), but even to this day, about a fifth of the iron ore that is used across our nation comes from Michigan,” Calley said.

Calley is visiting the Upper Peninsula through Thursday.

His trip includes several FinnFest events in Hancock and Houghton on Wednesday.