The Dickinson County Area Chamber of Commerce recently had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Step Ahead Boots & Clothing at its new location at 1415 S. Stephenson Ave. in Iron Mountain. From left are Suzanne Larson, chamber executive director; chamber ambassadors Sally Blom, Debbie Peterson, Lori Staedt and Trisha Peterson; Steve Winters, Step Ahead accountant; Kirsha Motto, Step Ahead salesperson; Laura Murawski, Step Ahead general manager; Bill and Samantha Neuens, Step Ahead owners; ambassador Larry Lambert; Dawn Lassila, Step Ahead salesperson; ambassador Mark Sertich; Kari Gora, Step Ahead manager/buyer; and ambassadors Ray King, Shanna Thompson and Sharon Miland.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Step Ahead Boots & Clothing has moved to a new custom-built store at 1415 S. Stephenson Ave in Iron Mountain.

Step Ahead Boots & Clothing owners Bill and Samantha Neuens, store manager Kari Goral, employees, family, friends and customers gathered for a ribbon-cutting Aug. 28 for the grand opening of the new store.

Over the years, the business since being created in 2004 has undergone an expansion 2015 that doubled its size and now a new 5,000-square-foot store in 2020.

Bill Neuens purchased the new store property, which then had a four-unit apartment complex, in 2017. He demolished and removed the aging structure the following summer. As he was cleaning up the site, he realized it would be a perfect location for the new store he planned to build.

“Once again Bill Neuens took a blighted property and replaced it with a one-of-a-kind building that adds to the beauty of our Iron Mountain hometown,” said Suzanne Larson, executive director of the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce.

The new Step Ahead store features a unique industrial and rustic decor with more than 220 styles of boots, casual lines of Merrill and Keen, flame-resistant garments, Quick Duck, Storm Defender, Rain Defender, Carhartt Force, Carhartt Force Extremes, socks, gloves, wallets, safety glasses, suspenders, belts, totes, purses, cross bodies and more.

For women, Step Ahead stocks safety toe work boots/shoes, casual lines of Merrill shoes and boots, Carhartt handbags, totes and cross bodies, hoodies, jackets, T-shirts and more.

For items that aren’t in stock, special orders go out every week with no shipping charges. Step Ahead offers discounts to corporations, law enforcement and often has discounted items on its clearance rack or through its popular trailer sales.