Mountain Iron celebrated its Iron Mining heritage with the annual Merritt Days celebration, with highlights of the event filling downtown Mountain Iron with activity Saturday.
Merritt Days is named after explorer and prospector Leonidas Merritt, who was one of the famous “Seven Iron Men” who first discovered major deposits of iron ore on the Mesabi Range in 1890, leading to the founding of Mountain Iron and triggering the more than century-old mining industry.
The four-day annual celebration was held this year from August 4th and wrapped up Saturday night, August 8th. The celebration started with National Night Out and continued with a kids’ concert and ice cream social. A pickleball tournament, food trucks, and local vendors, along with a beer garden, were held on Friday.
The festivities continued Friday with the Fill-Our-Table community dinners, a competitive bean bag tournament, and line dancing with the Taconite Twisters. Friday wrapped up with live music by Ditty Wish and Willy and the Rangers.
The fun continued into Saturday’s main event with the 18th Annual Larry Nanti 5K walk/run and the 10K run.
The classic car show took over downtown Mountain Iron along with the Kids Corner Bounce Houses, petting zoo, and Mountain Iron Fire Department displays in Locomotive Park.
People looking for a bit more adventure could try out the Tiki Island Survival and Jail Cell escape rooms. And the highlight of the day, like always, is the downtown Merritt Days parade, which packed plenty of fun along with enough free candy to buy a new flotilla of bass boats for the region’s dentists.
The 2026 event wrapped up with street dancing and live music from Morning Bird, Tyler Herwig Music, and the hugely popular headliner The Northwoods Band.
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