Six child care projects receive $185,000 in grants
Northland Foundation, with State of Minnesota funding, has awarded $1.43 million in similar grants since 2017
Six child care businesses across our region received a total of $185,000 in grants during the last two quarters of 2025. Funding for these grants, which support start-up and expansion of child care programs, was provided by the State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) thanks to legislation passed during the last biennium.
The most recent family and center-based child care grantees are:
- Becky VanRiper – Mrs. V’s Daycare, Duluth: $5,000
- Queen of Peace Preschool, Cloquet: $10,000
- Apple Tree Learning Center, Eveleth: $70,000
- Divine Konnections – Heather’s Happy Days Daycare, Duluth: $40,000
- Hibbing Parents Nursery School and Daycare, Inc., Hibbing: $40,000
- Parkside Play & Learn, Two Harbors $5,000
The Northland Foundation distributed another $400,000 in similar child care grants during 2024 and earlier in 2025, for a total of $585,000 in DEED-funded grants distributed over the past two calendar years in our region. Recipients were:
- Melissa Grooms – Melissa’s Little Gems Family Childcare, Eveleth: $5,000
- Emily Luksik – Northern Lights Nest, Grand Rapids: $5,000
- Amber Dubey – Amber’s Daycare, International Falls: $5,000
- Aaron Rudolph, McGregor: $5,000
- Moose Lake Schools – ISD 097, Moose Lake: $25,000
- Live and Learn with Lora, Cook: $20,000
- Montessori School of Duluth, Duluth: $20,000
- Erika Menzel, Cohasset: $5,000
- Shania Lind, Duluth: $5,000
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Ganawendaawasowin Child Care Center, Cloquet: $75,000
- Tamarack Learning Center Child Care, Tamarack: $50,000
- Young Minds Learning Center, Duluth: $20,000
- Lakeside Early Learning, Duluth: $20,000
- Danielle Jarvala – Nurture Home Daycare, Hoyt Lakes: $5,000
- Rainy River Rugrats, International Falls: $50,000
- Roots and Wings Early Learning Center, Grand Rapids: $100,000
Since 2017 the Minnesota legislature has committed funding to increase access to child care in Minnesota. Over that time, Northland has received seven of these DEED economic development grants for a total of $1.43 million. This critical funding has allowed us to extend support to 64 child care start-up, expansion, and retention projects (41 centers and 23 family programs) reaching 24 distinct communities across the seven county-region. Those 64 projects have added or helped retain 2,100 child care slots in northeastern Minnesota. Recipients were able to leverage nearly $18 million more from other sources, amounting to $16 of funding for every $1 from DEED.
According to June 2025 data from the First Children’s Finance Rural Child Care Innovation Program, there is a a shortage of 4,500 slots in northeastern Minnesota. That the shortfall is slightly less than three years ago is due, in part, to this long-term investment of public dollars and the myriad of people and partners working on the child care crisis from every angle (see our Summer Notes issue).
“Public support has made a marked difference,” said Northland Foundation President, Tony Sertich. “We know the gap between available child care slots versus demand would be far wider if not for this funding.”
“The Northland Foundation can’t fix all the issues facing providers and families, and our rural communities are continuing to face serious child care shortages especially with a declining number of family child care businesses,” stated Sertich, “but alongside other committed partners like IRRR and First Children’s Finance, and with the DEED funds, we have made inroads.”
“Minnesota communities, employers, and families rely on available, affordable care. We must continue to prioritize child care solutions,” Sertich concluded.