This collection follows on recent reporting by MPR on a possible PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes Minnesota as well as years of Iron Range mining coverage.
November 25, 2002 - Minnesota's high-paying manufacturing sector created nearly 50 thousand jobs during the 1990's, but now most of them are gone. From 1991 to 2000, the number of manufacturing jobs in Minnesota grew 12 percent, and helped fuel a big jump in the state's prosperity. Nationally, manufacturing was virtually stagnant over the same period. But the recession and its aftermath have wiped 80 percent of the jobs Minnesota gained. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.
December 30, 2002 -
March 31, 2003 - Researchers from around the world are gathering in St. Paul this week to talk about the possible dangers in fibers in taconite ore. Those microscopic fibers are a lot like asbestos, and asbestos causes cancer. Some studies show the fibers in taconite cause cancer too. Organizers of this week's conference will try to determine once and for all whether taconite fibers pose a health risk. The answer could have a big impact on future mining projects, and the economy of northeastern Minnesota.
October 29, 2003 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill looks back at fight to stop the pollution of Lake Superior, an early chapter in the history of the environmental movement. It established the principle that the government can force industry to clean up its pollution.
February 23, 2005 - Retired federal judge Miles Lord is asking Governor Pawlenty and the legislature to put a moratorium on new taconite projects on the Iron Range, until questions are answered about health concerns. Lord issued the landmark ruling in 1974, that forced Reserve Mining Company to stop dumping its waste rock into Lake Superior. Scientists had found asbestos-like fibers in the rock. Now Lord says the state hasn't done enough to find out whether those fibers are making miners sick. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
February 23, 2005 - Retired federal judge Miles Lord says Minnesota should do more to protect the health of taconite miners -- before the going ahead with several new taconite projects on the Iron Range. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
February 24, 2005 - Retired federal judge Miles Lord is calling on Governor Pawlenty and the legislature to do more to protect the health of taconite miners -- before they go ahead with several new taconite projects on the Iron Range. Lord issued the landmark ruling that forced Reserve Mining Company to stop dumping its waste rock into Lake Superior, because scientists had found asbestos-like fibers in the rock. Now he says those fibers could be making a lot of miners sick.
December 22, 2006 - A group opposing a proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota is going to court to prevent logging on a wetland associated with the project. Polymet Mining will destroy some wetlands to build the mine. State law requires they be replaced. The company says it will build new wetlands near Floodwood. But Len Anderson, with the Wetlands Action Group, says that land is already wetland.
February 8, 2007 - About one hundred supporters and critics of a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota got together in Duluth last night to talk about the project. Polymet Mining Company is working on detailed studies about possible environmental impacts. They've got a long way to go, to convince some people the mine is a good idea. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
October 8, 2007 - A new report on the economy of northeastern Minnesota calls into question the value of mining jobs. The region is poised to add more than a thousand high-paying jobs in several new mining projects. But the report's author says the region should think hard about whether those jobs will fulfill the promises their backers are making. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.