NASHWAUK—The Nashwauk City Council denied a change of zoning for a 98-year-old vacant church, ending plans for a lodging property at the site.
At its Wednesday, Aug. 5, meeting, the Council decided unanimously that Mesaba State Rooms — a proposed transient housing project with a 21-person occupancy — did not align with community goals.
The City Council originally planned to hear about the project at its July 14 meeting but moved discussion to a special meeting after some residents gathered to voice their opposition. About 20 residents attended the special meeting Wednesday, where they also provided a petition with more than 50 signatures from neighbors condemning the prospective business. The project was slated for 230 Third St. in a renovated version of the Nashwauk United Methodist Church.
Steve Chouinard of Nashwauk proposed the project as a solution to Nashwauk’s housing shortage. He outlined his plans in a long proposal included in the meeting packet, from which he read at length during the meeting.
The proposal — prepared using Perplexity Computer, an artificial intelligence tool — included suggestions for how to deliver the content. “Slow, calm, direct eye contact with the Mayor and each councilor in turn,” it stated. “This tone says: I am a serious businessman, not a petitioner begging for a favor.”
Chouinard said he believed the project would save the church from falling into disrepair amid closures in the town.
“Two blocks in blight are the sign of a sinking ship,” he said. “The question before this Council tonight is whether Nashwauk is going to deploy a lifeboat or stand on the dock and debate the color of it."
But Nashwauk Mayor Greg Heyblom pushed back against Chouinard’s characterization.
“This Council is going to stand on the dock and debate it, because that's what we're elected to do,” Heyblom said. “We're elected to debate it amongst ourselves, whether we disagree or whether we agree. That's why people, these people in the community, have voted us into these positions.”
The City Council also pushed back against Chouinard’s claim that Mesaba State Rooms would address the town’s housing issues. Mesabi Metallics, the first new iron mine in the area in 50 years, has brought an influx of new workers to Nashwauk. But Heyblom said Chouinard’s project doesn’t fix the city’s need for more single-family housing.
“The housing shortage is not a lodging shortage right now. It's single-family homes,” he said. “People try and buy a home in Nashwauk. You can't find one. And it's been that way for a while.”
Chouinard described the lodging as a “hostel” and said residents could stay there for “quite a while.”
Six residents spoke at the meeting to voice concerns about project logistics, like parking and snow removal, along with security measures.
Marcia Brohman lives near the vacant church.
“I felt safe, and I still feel safe,” she said. “But I won’t feel safe if this goes through. I just won’t.”
At the meeting, the Council consulted five criteria while considering the zoning change: community need, compatibility with city plans, city planning consistency, infrastructure capabilities and economic planning in the community. It concluded that though Nashwauk’s infrastructure could handle a project like Mesaba State Rooms, the project did not meet any other criteria.
Though Chouinard expressed frustration with the decision, he acknowledged the community's dissent.
"I tried to do my best," he said, "but I guess it's just not what the people want here in Nashwauk."
No other plans for the church, built in 1928, were discussed at the meeting.
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