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Cannabis businesses bring about 100 jobs to IM

Corey Formolo, cultivation operations manager, shows one of the growing rooms nearing completion at the Rize U.P. facility. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photos)

IRON MOUNTAIN — A curbside dispensary at Rize Cannabis is seeing a steady flow of customers as it enters its 10th month of operation.

Employing 46 workers on the retail side, Rize anticipates more hirings as it launches its Iron Mountain cultivation center, CEO Jon Davis said.

“It’s been great,” Davis said of the Rize U.P. drive-thru that opened in October, serving both medical and adult use buyers. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, “we’re slowly letting in medical patients or customers that need more assistance,” he said, adding, “People have been pleased with how quick the service is.”

In 2019, the Iron Mountain City Council awarded two marijuana retail licenses on a competitive basis, with Rize receiving one after promising a $5 million investment at 1580 N. Stephenson Ave.

The other license went to Lume Cannabis, which is wrapping up a renovation at 117 and 119 S. Stephenson Ave. in the downtown area at a reported cost of $2.1 million. Lume plans a growing and processing component on the west side of Hydraulic Falls Road between Stephenson Avenue and Breitung Cutoff Road. The company has said it may need about 30 workers for retail alone.

Tommy Miner, left, retail lead, and Delonna Reed, cannabis consultant, fill orders at the Rize U.P. dispensary at 1580 N. Stephenson Ave. in Iron Mountain.

At Rize U.P., Corey Formolo has been hired as cultivation operations manager, overseeing three growing rooms that soon will house 1,500 plants for medical use and another 2,000 for recreational. The facility includes drying and trimming rooms, office areas and a locker room and showers.

Also planned is a 12,000-square-foot addition for another 3,500 plants. A state-of-the-art processing unit is in Rize’s future as well, Formolo said. About 10 to 15 employees will be needed for the initial growing operation, and another 10 to 15 for the addition.

Formolo, who worked as head cultivator for Verts in Fort Collins, Colorado, returned to his hometown after Michigan’s 2018 vote to legalize recreational marijuana. He helped get Iron Mountain’s first cultivation center at Superior Selections off the ground before moving a few blocks north to Rize.

Superior Selections, which turned a vacant warehouse on East Smith Street into a viable cannabis business, employs 12 workers.

“We’re doing well,” said Dr. Dan Kreider of Breitung Township, president and part owner. Superior Selections received its grow license in June 2020 and now sends cannabis across the entire state but mainly to Upper Peninsula retailers.

Lume Cannabis continues to renovate structures at 117 and 119 S. Stephenson Ave. in Iron Mountain to house a marijuana dispensary. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

Licensed to grow both medical and adult use marijuana, Superior Selections houses 3,000 plants with plans to expand, Kreider said.

Given a marijuana timeline of eight months from “seed to sale,” the locally owned company stands to be Dickinson County’s only grower supplying product going into 2022.

Although Iron Mountain had initially determined it would allow only two growing and processing facilities, the city council in January 2020 expanded the limit to five. In addition to Superior Selections, Rize U.P., and Lume, operations are planned by The Source and Lifelong Natural Solutions.

Last fall, because of the pandemic, the city’s deadline to begin full operations for the two retail outlets was extended from Oct. 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021. After reviewing progress reports, the council in April allowed a further extension until Nov. 1.

At that time, Rize owner Julie Wentworth of Petoskey noted wholesale prices for marijuana in Michigan had plunged about 70% over the past year.

According to Formolo, the Michigan market is now stable enough to always provide Rize with product. More than a dozen suppliers are in the mix. The customer base, he added, ranges from those with specific tastes, to those more concerned about price.

Davis, the CEO, said an emphasis for Rize is helping educate customers on what’s available.

The marijuana market in Michigan is in its early stages, Formolo added.

“It may take three or four years to get a sense of where it’s going to be at,” he said.

Lume, based in Troy, has retail outlets across Michigan, including one that opened in January in Escanaba on tribal land owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

In December, Lume broke ground on a project at its downstate cultivation facility in the city of Evart’s industrial park, planning to expand from 50,000 square feet to 450,000 square feet over the next few years. The four-phased expansion is expected to create up to 500 additional jobs, according to the Big Rapids News Pioneer.

Michigan requires marijuana products to include warnings regarding risks to unborn children and children who are breastfeeding. The state also mandates that marijuana shops make pamphlets explaining underage use health risks available to all customers.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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