Iron River Beautification Committee kicks off spring cleanup

IRON RIVER, Mich. (WLUC) - Half a dozen volunteers cleaned up more than 20 bags of trash across Iron River trails and roads Friday. They are a part of the Iron River Beautification Committee that was formed last year.

“Just like your home, it is good to spring clean your city,” said Rick Kinsey, Iron River Beautification Committee founder. “You have the grass all knocked down; the runoff has caused a lot of different areas that have trash. It is good to clean it up this time of year.”

The committee has completed projects like berm clean-ups, hanging baskets and trash pick-ups. In its second summer, Kinsey said he wants the beautification committee to complete additional projects.

“We are going to have an ‘adopt a berm’ program where local businesses and organizations can adopt a chunk of berms, where they can put as many flowers or as little as they want,” Kinsey said. “We are also going to be re-doing some of the corners where there is a lot of grass right now. We are going to get those back to wood chips.”

During last year’s spring trash cleanup, volunteers picked up 1,200 pounds of trash. Kinsey said he wants to top it this weekend. The goal of the beautification committee is to keep Iron River a visually attractive city.

“It’s nice to look at,” said Leeann Kirkpatrick, volunteer. “It is good for the environment and we don’t want to leave this garbage around for years to come.”

In its first year, the committee has about a dozen community members that will attend meetings and help.

“As a volunteer organization, you learn a lot every year and every year, you got to hope to grow,” Kinsey said.

Kinsey said the organization will meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month at the library. Anyone is welcome.