Shipping Industry Applauds Stauber

Minnesota's 8th district congressman touted for his support for navigation on the Great Lakes

Shipping on the Great Lakes is crucial to the regional economy and how the U.S. gets many of the things it needs.

Friday, a coalition of those relying on and advocating for the navigation system, thanked Minnesota Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber for his efforts.

Stauber was named Legislator of the Year by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force. Eighty percent of the iron ore used in American steel mills is shipped from Duluth, Two Harbors and Silver Bay, and the congressman was touted for his efforts.

“He has been a stalwart supporter of modernizing the Sault locks, beating the drum constantly about the importance of these locks and making sure the funding for the Poe Lock has continued,” said Deb DeLuca, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “He has also been vigilant in his support of expanding Great Lakes ice-breaking assets and updating performance metrics to help improve and expand Great Lakes ice-breaking, which is key to keeping us open,” DeLuca said.

Stauber is a former commissioner of the Seaway Port Authority and was described as playing an important role in educating others in Congress. Stauber said he saw the locks first-hand as a young man.

“I went to Lake Superior State University in Sault St. Maire, Michigan, and from my dorm room the last two years, I could see the Sault locks,” Stauber said. “In the spring, I could see that ice. And when the ice broke up, you see the lakers coming in through the locks. I knew they were coming from the Iron Range. I knew they were leaving the Port of Duluth with the blood, sweat and tears of the men and women on the Iron Range who mined those minerals,” said Stauber.

Construction of a new lock at Sault St. Marie began in 2019, and is expected to take ten years to complete, at a cost of about one billion dollars.