The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board was created in the 1940s to boost the economy of the Iron Range by investing mining tax money in long-term projects. It faced controversy from the start and was even used as a model for a short-lived national agency called the Area Redevelopment Administration in the late 1950s and 1960s. However, this federal program was quickly abandoned. The IRRRB has struggled to create new industries on the Iron Range and has faced criticism for failed projects.