This month Ely Climate Group will meet on MONDAY August 17th at 4pm at the Ely Community Center (27 S 1st Ave East, Ely MN). Our change of meeting day is because our usual meeting date is also MN’s primary election day and ECC is a busy voting site. We hope you will vote on Aug 11th, and that you will be able to join us on Aug 17th. Our topic this month is “Resilience Hubs”. As usual we will meet in person and by zoom, there is a zoom link below.
Last month we cancelled our meeting with Aaron Kania. Our timing was just at the peak of fire, smoke and evacuations. We were all getting our go-bags packed. Some of us left and some of us stayed. I read that 24 hours in an air quality index (AQI) of 1000 is about equal to smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day but you don’t think of that when you are worried that your home might burn down. We regret missing a conversation with Aaron and have invited him to come again.
In Ely a group rapidly assembled to help the evacuees. They called themselves the Ely Community Response Team (ECRT) and used facilities at the State Theater to coordinate offers of help with people in need. ECRT members put in a lot of well-planned time and effort coordinating services when they were most needed. They showed what a caring community we have in Ely. We are grateful for their work. Look for their updates on their Facebook page.
“The Ely Community Response Team is a grassroots volunteer group formed during northern Minnesota’s summer wildfires to connect residents with vital resources like N95 masks, air purifiers, and volunteer support. The team acted as a central hub to redirect donations, assist with pet evacuations, and raise funds for local fire departments.”
Members from ECRT will join us at our next meeting together with Bret Pence from Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light (MNIPL). Bret has been working on creating “Resilience Hubs” for community use in case of emergencies. You can read details of his work here: https://www.mnipl.org/movement-building/resilience-hubs/ . This topic was in the plans for a Climate Group meeting before our fires, but we have by fortunate or unfortunate chance hit the precise time when we are all paying attention. We hope to have an active discussion with ECRT, Bret and community members who have hands on experience.
Topic: Ely Climate Group meeting
Time: Aug 17, 2026 04:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89428333918?pwd=rQLmWBKP4f0bLoGpc0i2OUZ3Czy1Fj.1
Meeting ID: 894 2833 3918
Passcode: 337297
Finally a word about solar energy. The 30% federal rebate for nonprofits and businesses (but sadly not for homeowners) to install solar remains available until December of 2026. It may actually become a 40% or 50% rebate when state incentives are included. There are also some rebates for battery storage for both homeowners and businesses. If you are interested in a FREE evaluation of your business or home’s solar potential there are 2 excellent installers who work in this area and both are willing to visit your site and give you an estimate of costs and savings. They are:
Dane Larson at Wolf Track Energy, https://wolftrackenergy.com/ (dlarson@wolftrackenergy.com) and Rickey Sipila of Sisu Solar https://www.sisusolar.com/ (esipila@sisusolar.com).
Both Dane and Rickey know and approve of this message Ely Climate Group members to encourage more local solar installations. With electrical power rates expected to rise this is can be a good investment even without rebates. Contact Dane and/or Rickey directly if you are interested to set a date and time for a visit.
Thanks for all your help and interest, hoping to see you Monday August 17th
Barb
B2jonesmn@gmail.com
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