innesota Gov. Mark Dayton has brought back ideas from a Michigan mine tour for building community confidence if a proposed copper-nickel operation is approved for northeastern Minnesota.
A measure that has won initial backing of Minnesota House and Senate lawmakers would ensure that Iron Range taconite workers are eligible for unemployment benefits when several plants are idled in coming months.
St. Cloud business leaders got an update today (Tuesday) on a proposed copper-nickel mine on the Iron Range. PolyMet Mining Corp. spokesman Bruce Richardson says this would be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine.
Democrats who represent Minnesota's Iron Range in the Legislature are ripping Republican plans to shift money out of an economic development trust fund fueled by a production tax on mining companies. A House GOP jobs and economic development budget bill would shift $60 million from the Douglas J. Johnson Trust Fund. A Senate proposal proposes a $45 million shift.