Gov. Walz cutting the ribbon of the new concentrator line NASHWAUK, Minn. — Governer Tim Walz visited Mesabi Metallics for a tour of the construction progress. The project will be the first mine and pellet plant in Minnesota in 50 years. The focus is on creating ‘Green Steel’, using environmentally friendly mining practices and de-carbonizing steel making. While on site,…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – “Disappointing blow.” Those are the words from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority about the shutdown of one of the Twin Ports oldest and largest grain shippers. Employees at the CHS Superior Terminal told FOX 21 they were notified Thursday that they will be out of a job on Sept. 8. The grain facility has been operating at…
NASHWAUK, Minn. — On Thursday night, Mesabi Metallic’s welcomed more than 3-hundred 70 people to tour the progress on their new state-of-the-art mine and pellet plant in Nashwauk. Both community members and state lawmakers were invite to Mesabi Metallic’s open house and town hall. The new facility is Minnesota’s newest mine in nearly 50 years and the company has visions…
HIBBING/VIRGINIA, Minn. — Iron Range Miner’s are one step closer to getting approved for up to a year of Unemployment Insurance. Cleveland-Cliffs, the leading steel producer in North America, announced in March that they are temporarily idling more than 600 steelworkers at Hibbing Taconite and Minorca Mine. Minnesota’s UI benefits are good for up to 6 months and are able…
HIBBING/VIRGINIA, Minn. — On Monday, members of the Minnesota House almost unanimously passed House File 3023, a piece of legislation co-authored by Rep. Pete Johnson (DFL-Duluth) to extend Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to impacted Iron Range miners. The bill looks to give the approximately 630+ Iron Range miners, who will be laid off by the end of May, with up…
ST. PAUL, Minn — A bill to extend unemployment benefits for laid off miners is one step closer to approval. Senator Hauschild’s Bill was successfully Amended to Jobs Bill during Senate Floor Debate. Iron Range Senators Hauschild and Farnsworth brought the bill forward. If passed over six hundred laid off steelworkers would be eligible for the extended benefits. “When our…
St. Paul, Minn.– It’s been less than two weeks since Cleveland-Cliffs announced the temporary closures of the Minorca Mine in Virginia and Hibbing Taconite. Following this, there’s an urgent plea to extend unemployment benefits for the nearly 600 miners who are laid off. The steelworker’s union and state lawmakers from the Iron Range calling for the passage of the “Minnesota…
HIBBING/VIRGINIA, Minn. — Cleveland-Cliffs, the leading steel producer in North America, is temporarily idling more than 600 steelworkers at Hibbing Taconite and Minorca mine. The layoffs will begin May 20th, or within the two-week period after that. In two letters received by the State Rapid Response Team (SRRT) from Cleveland Cliff Inc., Cliffs expects to lay off 25 salaried employees…
HIBBING, Minn. — Today, Senator Grant Hauschild released an official statement about Cleveland-Cliffs has plans to lay off approximately 600 steelworkers and have the Hibbing Taconite (Hibtac) and Micorca Mine sit temporarily idle. According to Hauschild, Cleveland-Cliffs plan on laying off 340 steelworkers at Minorca and 350 steelworkers at Hibtac. The company also informed Hauschild that these layoffs were necessary…
Photo courtesy of Northland Fire Wire. UPDATE: 4:25 p.m. 3/18/25 BIWABIK, Minn. — A spokesperson for Dyno Nobel released the following statement about Tuesday’s fire at the explosives plant: “At around 10 a.m. CT this morning, an employee noticed smoke and flames in a boiler room that is part of Dyno Nobel’s facility in Biwabik, Minnesota. The on-site team followed…
President-elect Donald Trump is underscoring his intention to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp., and he’s pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker. Trump said during the campaign that he would “instantaneously” block the deal, and he reiterated that sentiment in a Monday night statement. President Joe Biden…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Superior Fire Department is investigating an explosion at a plant on Connor’s Point in Superior Monday night. Doorbell video from a home on Duluth’s Park Point captured multiple bursts of flames around 6:15 p.m. Mayor Jim Paine told FOX 21 that fire crews responded to a grain explosion at the Viterra Grain Elevator at 400 Main…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – FOX 21 learned Monday that a decades-long manufacturing facility in Superior is shutting down. Barko Hydraulics is located on Banks Avenue. Employees found out Monday morning by mail that they are to not return to the office and are terminated Dec. 1. Barko President Justin Rupar said in the letter to employees that Superior’s operations are being…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Enbridge’s contentious plan to reroute an aging pipeline around a northern Wisconsin tribal reservation moved closer to reality Thursday after the company won its first permits from state regulators. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials announced they have issued construction permits for the Line 5 reroute around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation….
CHISHOLM, Minn.– Believe it or not, you can find shark teeth in the state of Minnesota. Kids are digging up those fossils, all while learning the ways of being a paleontologist. There are many outlets to learn more about the world around us, and the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm is no exception. At Paleo-Camp, kids like Izzy Danger, are…
FOX 21 has learned a 13-foot crack in the hull of the Michipicoten was found by divers in the port of Thunder Bay after the vessel took on significant water early Saturday near Isle Royale on Lake Superior. The U.S. Coast Guard also said it may not have hit anything under Lake Superior as the agency first reported. Instead, the…
The 689-foot Michipicoten safely arrived in the harbor of Thunder Bay Saturday afternoon after the ship starting taking on water 35 miles southwest of Isle Royale Saturday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard said the ship struck something underwater just before 7 a.m. Saturday near Isle Royale Pumps were used to displace “some water entering spaces,” according to the USCG. The…
KEEWATIN, Minn. — There’s a new $150-million pellet production plant In Keewatin. The new pellets contain less silica and more iron ore than traditional iron-ore pellets. Work began on the new U.S. Steel plant in 2022 and was completed last month on time and within budget. During its construction phase, 250 construction jobs were created. Now in its operational phase,…
DULUTH, Minn. — Mining in Minnesota is a four billion dollar industry. Recreation in the state is also a four billion dollar industry. Mining in Minnesota dates back nearly 140 years; It was recognized late in that the 1900’s that the old mine sites and piles of waste could be used for recreational purposes. This would help attract people to…
SUPERIOR, Wis. — Minnesota Power is “disappointed” with the city of Superior after the council voted down the opportunity for a public hearing on the proposed Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC). On Wednesday night, five of the nine city councilors voted to hold a public hearing. But the motion to approve needed six votes. This comes after the Superior Plan…
DULUTH, Minn. — This was the scene for much of the weekend: two ships, side by side at BNSF Railway Dock 5 in Superior. On the left, the Burns Harbor. It arrived a week ago. The ship was fueled up and loaded with iron ore pellets, but remained at the dock. It wasn’t until the ship on the right, the…
DULUTH, Minn. — A historic halt in seaway operations has sent a ripple effect throughout the system, including the Duluth-Superior Port. “Definitely a cascading series of effects throughout the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system. It’s a system that it prides itself on reliability. And right now that reliability is being impaired by this unfortunate issue,” said Jayson Hron, communications…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Department of Defense on Tuesday awarded $20.6 million to developers of the proposed Talon nickel mine in Minnesota under a program to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical minerals. The defense funds will support prospecting work in Michigan and Minnesota, and follow a $114 million grant by the Department of Energy last year to help build Talon Metals’…
Hundreds of workers at Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay have voted to ratify a first-ever three-year contract with their employer, Cleveland Cliffs. The workers recently joined the United Steelworkers Union. USW District 11 Director Emil Ramirez said the agreement “includes a lump sum bonus, annual wage increases, enhanced protections for job security and improvements in occupational health and…
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…
Courtesy: Teamsters GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – A worker strike continues at Blandin Paper Company in Grand Rapids. 170 members of Teamsters Local 346 will hold a strike rally Friday from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. along Highway 2. The union has concerns around staffing levels, management performing their work and wages they say are 10 dollars an hour behind inflation….
Hundreds of workers at Cleveland Cliffs’ Northshore Mining Company have joined the United Steelworkers Union. The union said in a statement Tuesday that Northshore Mining was the last remaining taconite mine on the Iron Range without a union. Roughly 400 workers mine taconite in Babbitt and make iron ore pellets in Silver Bay. “We chose to unionize so that we…
DULUTH, MINN. — When the 148th Fighter Wing’s base began in 1948, the planes were the latest, for the time, p51s. Now as the Duluth base marks 75 years, there’s no better way to tell everyone than to create a Heritage jet, a jet with non-standard markings that represent the unit. The idea of creating a Heritage jet was the…
A key permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes, known as the NorthMet Project, has been revoked by the Army Corps of Engineers. The announcement was made Tuesday in a 27-page report. The Army Corps said the proposed mine “does not ensure compliance with water quality requirements of the Fond du Lac band of Lake Superior Chippewa.” NewRange…
HOYT LAKES, Minn. — Another step toward more solar energy took place on the Iron Range Friday. Minnesota Power unveiled and showed-off the second of its three new solar projects. This one is near Hoyt Lakes and is known as the Laskin Solar Project. It will generate enough energy to power 1,100 homes a year. There was a lot of…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators have concluded that state rules governing where copper-nickel mines can be built are insufficient to protect the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from noise and light pollution, creating another potential obstacle to the proposed Twin Metals mine in northeastern Minnesota. But the Department of Natural Resources declined as part of that decision Wednesday to…
The Mark W. Barker, the first U.S. ship built last year on the Great Lakes since 1983, ran soft aground early Wednesday in the Detroit River after the freighter lost propulsion. The 639-foot vessel, which was built to navigate tight ends, suffered an “electronics malfunction” near Belle Isle around 8 a.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Nobody was injured….
The Duluth Parks and Recreation Department said some of its trails will be opening on Saturday at noon. Thirteen of the local trails will be opening, but another eight remain closed. The Lake Superior Hiking Trail is also officially opening in some areas. A big concern is over muddy areas that could damage trails if used too soon. The department…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Federal authorities have proposed new regulations that would force the Minnesota and Michigan iron mining industry to slash its mercury emissions. The rule announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week follows two decades of litigation and other pressure by tribes and environmental groups who have long urged the agency to adopt mercury limits. The six iron…
The mineral deposits in Northeastern Minnesota brought congressional lawmakers to the area Tuesday. Representative Pete Stauber brought members of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources to Mountain Iron for a hearing. Stauber said it was a chance for members to hear directly from the community. Congressman Rob Wittman of the state of Virginia said the entire country had an…
Duluth, Minn — It’s been just a month and a half since Ida Rukavina was appointed commissioner of the IRRRB. For most of that time, she has been in St. Paul talking with legislators and committees about the IRRRB and its needs. Rukavina is a name most people in the area will recognize…Ida Rukavina is the new commissioner of the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – PolyMet Mining and Teck Resources finalized a joint venture Wednesday to complete the copper-nickel mine that PolyMet has been developing in northeastern Minnesota, and the partnership hopes to eventually build a separate mine next door in an even larger ore body that Teck controls. The long-planned PolyMet mine near Babbitt will now be known as NewRange Copper…
DULUTH, Minn. – “Frustrated, disappointed and angry.” Those were the words from Cohasset Mayor Andy MacDonell Thursday after learning plans for a $440 million timber plant have fallen through. Huber Engineered Wood said in a statement the company can’t handle any more delays in getting approved for the new Oriented Strand Board facility. “Due to delays that jeopardize our ability…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Representative Pete Stauber (MN-08) said on Thursday that the Biden administration’s decision to section off 350-square miles of the Superior National Forest from mining projects for 20 years means that the U.S. could rely on child labor overseas. The decision was made due to environmental concerns of potential mining near the Rainy River Watershed close to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz signed his second bill of the young 2023 legislative session Wednesday, extending unemployment benefits for six months for more than 400 laid-off workers at Northshore Mining. Northshore Mining shut down May 1, and about 450 workers out of around 580 workers there and at an associated contractor have been laid off. Unemployment…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A bill to extend unemployment benefits for laid-off workers at Northshore Mining is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. The Minnesota House voted 127-7 on Monday to approve the bill, which passed the Senate 56-10 two weeks ago. Northshore Mining has been idle since May 1, and about 410 out of around 580…
Gov. Tim Walz announced the appointment of Ida Rukavina as the next Commissioner of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. “I am excited to announce that Ida Rukavina will serve as the next Commissioner of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation,” Walz said. “With extensive experience serving schools, townships, and cities on the Iron Range, she is dedicated to ensuring that…
VIRGINIA, Minn. – Union workers at U.S. Steel have been busy trying to get the word out that they are in what they call a “bitter contract war” since their most recent contract ended back on September 1st. On Saturday they and others from across the iron range held a rally in hopes to pressure the company into reaching a new…
KEEWATIN, Minn. — There was excitement on the Iron Range Wednesday over the prospects of another large investment in mining. U.S. Steel officials gathered at the Keetac Plant in Keewatin to talk about their plans for a state-of-the-art facility. “I am more than just a little bit pumped up about this. Just, I heard all the thanks, I’ve just got…
KEEWATIN, Minn. — Keetac workers with the United Steelworkers union took Wednesday’s celebration of plans for a $150 million investment at Keetac as an opportunity to protest what they call a “bitter contract war” with U.S. Steel. Dozens of miners were holding a picket near Keetac hoping to make a statement to U.S. Steel’s CEO as he drove in to…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Pete Stauber (R-08) is unveiling a bill in Congress aimed at reducing the red tape and lawsuits around mining permits. It’s called the Permitting For Mining Needs (PERMIT-MN) Act. If it was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden, the bill would set limits on how long it takes federal agencies like…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Federal regulators are recommending that the Army Corps of Engineers decline to reissue a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. The Environmental Protection Agency says the project could raise levels of mercury and other pollutants downstream from the site in northeastern Minnesota. It’s just a recommendation, but Minnesota Public Radio reports it could…
DULUTH, Minn. – The true sound of spring in Duluth was heard Sunday morning as the first blast of the horns went off for that first big ship of the season leaving the Duluth-Superior Port. The 1,000-foot Burns Harbor left through chunks of ice under the Lift Bridge during the 7 o’clock hour. The 1,000-foot Edwin H. Gott departed and…
DULUTH, Minn. – Environmental concerns are growing involving that partially sunken retired tugboat in the Duluth Harbor. This comes as at least a gallon of oil has leaked out into the slip’s water, according to the Duluth Coast Guard. “We do now have some sheening from the vessel. And that’s where we have the contractor putting sorbent material in the…
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota regulators have told the company behind the stalled copper-nickel mine project near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that it’s stopping work on the state’s environmental review. The Department of Natural Resources says it will “redirect staff resources to other high priority projects.” The agency has concerns about the location for the large amount of semi-dry processing…
