For a program like ALI to work, it needs to bring people and programs together. It’s not about replacing what already works. It’s about bringing together the programs and alliances that are already successful, and increasing their effectiveness by adding the components that are missing. In the end, it’s all about meeting the needs of our students and our workers so they have what they need to succeed in our ever-changing marketplace.

ALI is a partnership connecting northeastern Minnesota school districts, colleges of the Northeastern Higher Education District (NHED), Iron Range Resources (IRR), Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS), and Minnesota Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (MNCEME).

ALI is funded through a Minnesota legislative appropriation to NHED, funds from Iron Range Resources, and membership dues from partner institutions. In 2008, thanks to grants from the Blandin Foundation and Northland Foundation, ALI added a summer program, Summer Build, in which students worked with local trade unions to build a Habitat for Humanity house.