Iron Mountain is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Dickinson County, Michigan Dickinson County is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,947. The county seat is Iron Mounta ...

. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 census. Located in the state's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

, Iron Mountain was named for the valuable

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

found in the vicinity. Iron Mountain is the principal city of the Iron Mountain, MI–WI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Dickinson County, Michigan and Florence County in Wisconsin. Iron Mountain hosts a few points of interest such as the Millie Hill bat cave and the

Chapin Mine Steam Pump Engine The Chapin Mine Steam Pump Engine, also known as the Cornish Pump, is a steam-driven pump located at the corner of Kent Street and Kimberly Avenue in Iron Mountain, Michigan, United States. It is the largest reciprocating steam-driven engine ever ...

, and is located adjacent to the

Pine Mountain Jump The Pine Mountain Ski Jump is a ski jump located in Iron Mountain, Michigan, Dickinson County. It is part of the Kiwanis Ski Club and hosts annual FIS Ski Jumping Continental Cup competitions. Pine Mountain holds the U.S. records for the l ...

, one of the largest artificial ski jumps in the world. It shares Woodward Avenue with the neighboring town, Kingsford. In addition, Iron Mountain is known for its

pasties Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform ...

bocce ball (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anci ...

tournaments, and World Cup ski jumps. Iron Mountain was also named a "Michigan Main Street" community by Michigan governor

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...

in 2006. It is one of only thirteen such communities in the state of Michigan in 2008. It is also the hometown of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

men's basketball coach

Tom Izzo Thomas Michael Izzo (, ; born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has le ...

and former NFL head coach

Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers ( 1997– 2002) and the Detroit L ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,624 people, 3,362 households, and 2,025 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 3,784 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 0.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population. There were 3,362 households, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 42.4 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 29.3% were from 45 to 64; and 17.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 8,154 people, 3,458 households, and 2,147 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,819 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.20% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population. 20.6% were of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, 14.0%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 9.0% Swedish, 8.8% English, 8.8% French, 5.8% Finnish and 5.5% Irish ancestry. 97.2% spoke English and 1.4%

as their first language. There were 3,458 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,526, and the median income for a family was $43,687. Males had a median income of $38,309 versus $22,533 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,918. About 9.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Newspaper

The

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...

in Dickinson County is '' The Daily News''.

Television

Iron Mountain is included in the Marquette television market, NBC affiliate

WLUC WLUC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as an affiliate of NBC and Fox. Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on US 41/ M-28 ...

operates a local news bureau covering the city and neighboring areas. Due to distance from the transmitters and topography in the region terrestrial television signals are very limited in the area with the strongest signal coming from Wisconsin Public Television translator station W30DZ originating from

Fence, WI Fence is a town in Florence County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 231 at the 2000 census. The origin of the name "Fence" is obscure. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 90.0 sq ...

. Historically Iron Mountain was served by full power station WDHS which intermittently carried a religious format between long periods of silence, translators of various stations originating from Green Bay, and a handful of encrypted cable channels broadcast over the air.

Radio

Radio stations that are located within listening range of Iron Mountain include: * WNMU-FM 90.1 FM

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

Marquette,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

*WMVM-FM 90.7 FM Goodman, Wi - Iron Mountain, Mi, Gospel * WVCM 91.5 FM

VCY America VCY America, Inc. is a traditional, evangelical, conservative Christian ministry based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The VCY America Radio Network maintains a format of Christian talk and teaching, as well as traditional Christian music through its b ...

Iron Mountain, Religious *

WIMK WIMK (93.1 FM) is a radio station based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, licensed to Iron Mountain, Michigan. The station broadcasts an active rock format branded as 93.1 K-Rock. History WIMK began life in 1981 as a beautiful music station, ...

93.1 FM Iron Mountain, Classic Rock *

WZNL WZNL (94.3 FM, "The Breeze") is a radio station licensed to Norway, Michigan, United States, and serving the Norway, Iron Mountain, and Kingsford areas of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The station broadcasts a soft adult contemporary Adu ...

94.3 FM

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Adult Contemporary * WEUL 98.1 FM Gospel Opportunities Radio Network Kingsford, Religious * WIKB-FM 99.1 FM Iron River, Oldies * WOBE 100.7 FM Crystal Falls, Top 40/CHR * WJNR-FM 101.5 FM Iron Mountain, Frog Country * WGMV 106.3 FM Stephenson, Classic Country * WHTO 106.7 FM Iron Mountain, 80s Rock * WFER 1230 AM Iron River, Oldies *

WMIQ WMIQ (1450 AM, "Oldies 1450") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Iron Mountain, Michigan. WMIQ is the Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete ...

1450 AM Iron Mountain, Talk

Environmental importance

Iron Mountain's abandoned Millie Hill mine is home to one of the largest bat hibernacula in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Roughly 25,000–50,000 bats make their winter home there. However, due to disease of bats in the midwest most of the colony has died.

Menominee Range

Iron Mountain is located within the Menominee Iron-Bearing District, which covers southern Dickinson County and extends westward into Iron County. Iron ore was discovered in Dickinson County in 1849 and Iron County in 1851. Ore is produced from the middle

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

Vulcan Iron- Formation around Iron Mountain, and the Riverton Iron-Formation between

Iron River, Michigan Iron River is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,007. The city is situated at the southeast corner of Iron River Township, but is administratively autonomous. History A post ...

and

Crystal Falls, Michigan Crystal Falls is a city and the county seat of Iron County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,598. The city is located within Crystal Falls Township, but is a separate municipal entity. The area first dev ...

. Both formations belong to the Marquette Range Supergroup. The Vulcan is between 300 and 800 feet thick and consists of

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

and

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

with

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

, while the Riverton is 100–600 feet thick and consists of

siderite Siderite is a mineral composed of iron(II) carbonate (FeCO3). Its name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "iron". A valuable iron ore, it consists of 48% iron and lacks sulfur and phosphorus. Zinc, magnesium, and manganese commonly ...

and

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

Government

The current mayor is Dale Alessandrini. In 2023, the city, its police department, and several police officers were sued for sexual harassment.

Transportation

Bus service

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and

Ironwood, Michigan Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County, Michigan, Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on U.S. Route 2 in Michigan, US Highway 2 across the Montreal River (Wisconsin-Michig ...

Major highways

* runs east to

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The popu ...

and west to

Ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...

. * merges with US 2 just east of the city and heads northward toward Crystal Falls; southbound it continues on to Green Bay, Wisconsin. * connects with Kingsford just to the south and with M-69 east at Randville about north.

Airport

The Iron Mountain area is served by Ford Airport (airport code: KIMT). Commercial air travel is provided by

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner Mainline (air travel), mainline airlines. The comp ...

, providing jet service as

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

. Located three miles west of the city, the airport handles approximately 7,600 operations per year, with roughly 27% commercial service, 57% air taxi and 16% general aviation. The airport has a 6,501 foot asphalt primary runway with approved ILS, GPS and NDB approaches (Runway 1-19) and a 3,808 foot asphalt crosswind runway (Runway 13-31).

Train

Soon after this area was settled the news of mineral riches brought the railroads. First was

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

, then

Chicago & Northwestern The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

and Wisconsin and Michigan. The W&M Railroad, after its abandonment was approved ended all service in 1938. The thriving of automobile usage in the 1950s caused the rail passenger usage to wain, and the Milwaukee Road discontinued the Chippewa passenger train altogether on February 2, 1960. With few riders remaining, the ''

Copper Country Limited The ''Copper Country Limited'' was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) between Chicago, Illinois and Calumet, Michiga ...

'' made its last runs on March 7, 1968. The C&NW also discontinued its service to Iron Mountain in the early 1960s. Although there is currently no direct rail passenger service to Iron Mountain, Amtrak Thruway Bus Service connects to

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephe ...

Notable people

* James L. Adams, member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

Randy Awrey Randy Awrey (born April 27, 1956) is an American football coach, former player, and former track and field coach. He is the head football coach at Perquimans County High School in Hertford, North Carolina, a position he has held since 2018. Awr ...

, 1975 DII National Champion football player at

and current head football coach at

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois, United States. Formerly a college exclusively for educating teachers for parochial schools, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduat ...

* John Biolo, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* Neno DaPrato, college All-American and professional football player *

Robert J. Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

, filmmaker * Walter Samuel Goodland, 31st

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

* R. James Harvey, former congressman and federal judge *

John Hubley John Kirkham Hubley (May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American Animation, animated film director, art director, Film producer, producer, and Screenwriter, writer, known for his work with the United Productions of America, United Product ...

, four-time

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

director; graduated from Iron Mountain High School *

, men's basketball head coach for

since 1995 * Johnny Johnson, baseball player * Beau LaFave, member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

* Gordon Lund, baseball player *

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

analyst and former

head coach * Thomas Lawrence Noa, Roman Catholic bishop * Phillip Rahoi, member of the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

and mayor of Iron Mountain * Gene Ronzani, former NFL head coach of the

* Albert J. Wilke, member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

* Delaney Schnell, American Olympic diver.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Iron Mountain has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

In popular culture

Iron Mountain is mentioned in the 2000 film ''

Reindeer Games ''Reindeer Games'' (also released under the title ''Deception'') is a 2000 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer, in what would be his final feature before his death in 2002. The film stars Ben Affleck, Charlize Ther ...

''. At the start of the film the main character, Rudy Duncan, is shown serving time in a prison near the city.

References

External links

City of Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain and the Dickinson County Area
* {{Authority control Cities in Dickinson County, Michigan Cornish-American culture in Michigan County seats in Michigan Iron Mountain micropolitan area Populated places established in 1878 1878 establishments in Michigan