ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Republican lawmakers have approved an amendment that would let Enbridge Energy bypass the Public Utilities Commission and build a replacement for its aging Line 3 oil pipeline. It passed largely along party lines Thursday by a vote of 75-57. Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington amended his jobs and energy bill to allow Enbridge to…
DULUTH, Minn. – President Donald Trump met with the president of China today to talk about a number of issues including illegal steel entering the U.S. market from China. FOX 21 spoke with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar today about the issue and she believes a number of factors are in play when controlling steel that’s imported. One such policy is having higher…
NASHWAUK, Minn.-Mesabi Metallics partially built plant in Nashwauk got some new life yesterday as a Delaware judge ordered that they can use up to $5 million, that had been locked up in a bankruptcy case. According to court documents, the company may lose some environmental permits if they do continue construction by June 1. The company was formally known as…
VIRGINIA, Minn. – The new bridge on U.S. Route 53 is ahead of schedule. The new bridge, which will be the tallest in the state, should open sometime in August, not November as originally planned. Virginia’s Mayor, Larry Cuffe, Jr. says the new bridge benefits the Iron Range as a whole. “It’s a large bridge that really connects the economic…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), the Center for Biological Diversity, and the W.J. McCabe Chapter of the Izaak Walton League filed suit in federal court on Monday, March 27, to overturn the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to approve a land exchange with PolyMet Mining. According to the suit filed, the Forest Service instructed its…
(Photo: Courtesy of Hi-Crush Partners)MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources has given a timber company subsidiary preliminary approval for a sand plant in western Wisconsin that would destroy more than 16 acres of wetlands. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the DNR notified Meteor Timber of the approval on Wednesday. The agency has set an April 18…
DULUTH, Minn. – Cliffs Natural Resources celebrated its 170th anniversary, as well as a pretty important award. Cliffs has been named business of the year by the Laurentian Chamber of Commerce. The company said their moving forward and making decisions to be around for another one hundred years. The award was given by the chamber that represents several iron range…
ST. PAUL (AP) – A federal judge has approved an environmental group’s request to intervene in a lawsuit over mineral rights leases for the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel min near Ely in northeastern Minnesota. Judge Susan Richard Nelson said in a ruling, Tuesday, that Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness meets the legal requirements for becoming a defendant in the lawsuit. Twin…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)-A federal judge has approved an environmental group’s request to intervene in a lawsuit over mineral rights leases for the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near Ely. Judge Susan Richard Nelson said in a ruling Tuesday that Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness meets the legal requirements for becoming a defendant in the lawsuit. Twin Metals Minnesota filed the…
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Governor Burgum’s concerns for cleaning up at the main pipeline protest camp rise along with the temperatures. He issued an evacuation order on Wednesday. He says what protesters have left behind could end up polluting the rivers. Protesters left their mark on the site of the Dakota Access pipeline. That area of land floods almost every spring….
DULUTH, Minn.-The St. Louis County Board today approved a resolution in support of copper mining in Superior National Forest and funding to fight aquatic invasive species. The copper mining resolution calls on Trump’s administration to reverse President Obama’s decision to block mining in 234,000 acres of the forest. Last week, commissioners heard arguments on both sides of the issues, and…
Duluth, Minn The St. Louis River Alliance held a gala tonight to celebrate 21 years of work on the river after it was deemed an area of concern after years of dumping uncontrolled pollution in 1987. The alliance was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1996 to oversee the activities and practices that are helping to restore the St. Louis…
BWCA Tourism
DULUTH, Minn.-Final financial reports released today for Cliffs Natural Resources revealed a huge fourth quarter for them. Revenues were up to $754 million this quarter for the ore pellet manufacturer, which is an increase of 58 percent compared to last year. Overall revenues were up five percent for the company in 2016 topping out at $2.1 billion. The C-E-O of…
ST. PAUL – PolyMet Mining, Inc. has submitted their updated water appropriation permit application to the Department of Natural Resources. This updated permit application includes a request for an appropriation from Colby Lake. Technical experts from state, local, and tribal governments associated with the DNR will review the updated application, and it will be considered with the previously received applications…
DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County commissioners are one step closer to approving a resolution in favor of copper mining in the Superior National Forest. Commissioners heard arguments both for and against the resolution, which calls on the Trump administration to reverse President Obama’s decision to block copper mining in more than 234,000 acres of the forest. Some, came from…
DULUTH, Minn. – Community leaders held a round table discussion on the issues surrounding poverty in the Northland and throughout the world. The discussion was centered around the ways economic inequality can be addressed and how new economic initiatives might help in the fight to end poverty. The discussion was put on by Basic Income Guaranteed Minnesota, an organization that…
DULUTH, Minn. – A group of protesters gathered in front of U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan’s downtown Duluth office Thursday. Earlier in the week, Rep. Nolan coming out in favor of reversing the Obama Administration decision which blocked mining in more than 234,000 acres of the Superior National Forest. These acres are close to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, which has…
According to the Minnesota DNR, a popular Northland tourist attaction is need of an upgrade so it can last for future generations. Minnesota’s oldest mine, the Soudan Underground mine, is hoping to get money from Governor Dayton’s bonding proposal. Visitors can tour the mine and see firsthand how mining formed the backbone for the region’s economy. The hoist tells a…
Soudan Mine Hoping to Get $3 Million
VIRGINIA, Minn. – Last fall, work began on the Highway 53 relocation project near Virginia. Plans call for the new roadway to be open to traffic this November. But so far, the work is moving along. The colossal new Highway 53 bridge towers above Rouchleau Pit near Virginia. “You’re looking at the completed span of the bridge now. We got…
DULUTH, Minn. – Today, January 13, 2017, the U.S. Forest Service published a notice of intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to study the proposed 20-year withdrawal of federal minerals on the Superior National Forest within the Rainy River Watershed. An EIS is a document that is required by the National Environmental Policy…
NASHWAUK, Minn.-Essar Steel of Minnesota has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Essar Global, the company that owns it. Essar of Minnesota is claiming they paid their parent company about $1.1 billion to complete a mine and processing plant in Nashwauk. The Minnesota-based group said not all the money went toward the plant, leaving them with a half-finished plant. Some…
