I'm glad to be here with the first settlers Association of headbang. I consider myself that I qualify being. I was born in a row at 1918 and our family moved here in 1924. And I remember very well the cold water flat the $5 a month flap that we used to have in North Hibbing, which is underneath the dump today and we still are residents here of hitting as many of you know, we bought a home from the Glen location Mining Company Ron and $25 many many years ago paid another $125 that have it moved my mother when I was a 1929 Ford used to go out and get the old telephone poles Dragon behind the us down the street and that was our foundation. We put a grocery store in the front.And we lived in the back and since then we've remodeled the home and my mother comes up here each summer as some of you are well now therefore I consider myself and I was have an iron Ranger even though I left physically. My heart is was stated earlier is always been here and heavy. You folks as I do take back my ears and your memories. I'm sure I was Vivid as I am. I was reading the other day in the Hibbing Tribune about big Powers. What a great leader. He was when I lost it was when he passed away during early age. I'm sure all so many of you remember when Hibbing was considered and called throughout the United States the richest Village in the world, and I'm sure all so many of you will remember most of y'all remember that during the late 1950s and early 1960s. We were referred to as one of the poorest villages in the world. Now that's quite a change and it can happen as it did in about a half a century cycle during the 1900s. I also remember when my father up today used to work in the mines a hundred degrees Fahrenheit in the summer as cold as 40° below zero in the winter. 13 hours a day $4.20 a day 78 hours a week with six days a week as you remember $25.20 backbreaking worth which killed many of our parents less than $0.60 an hour. I also sure that many remember when I was living was sold in the controversy that surrounded that also the 1929 depression which didn't end here until damn near as one of the second world war started and I hope many remember throughout the United States or without the R&R from the Iron Range. We had a hard time when he goes to Wars. I also wondered whether or not you remember that boy wonder Harold stassen. Who has a result of his being elected took away many of our tax revenues up here and left with us the Iron Range resources and Rehabilitation Commission. Good organization, but it was a bone in comparison to what they took away from us. And that was one of the reasons why our area went from the richest Village in the world to a private depression as our iron are depleted itself. I trust you'll remember those private depression days. We had in the late fifties and early sixties. I remember I came from having on a Sunday Layton July 8th 1960. I drove from Duluth to Hibbing pictures of Buhl Mountain Iron, Virginia, eveleth-gilbert biwabik Aurora on back to Duluth and I was rejected when I got back. Because I saw storefronts closed all around this Iron Range. I met and discussed the situation with people who are out of work. Are you at the greatest precious asset was leaving because there was no future here and I went home and I decided that I was going to do whatever I could. to help this area because my bring up was here. My family brought me here. This is where I got started and this is where my heart is. Now those are some of the memories that I sure that you remember. The only reason I bring it up is because memory is already experiences. And therefore we you folks and members of the first settlers Association Our Generation must use those memories in those experiences in order to guide future Generations, the younger Generations here, so that history does not repeat itself. Today, we have a boom here on the Iron Range. The money part of the United States in reading a newspaper or magazine. And recognize that fact I was in Europe last week and I read the European issue of the New York newspaper in it called a so-called goldrusher on the Iron Range or not to not too far from the truth. I've always considered taconite like gold. The only difference is Attack on Titan is black and it's sold by the ton gold is yellow and it's sold by the ounce. May I ask you let's go back a little bit. December 31st 1960 New Year's Eve when as a result of my visit up here on that Sunday and making up my mind that I was going to do it my own way what I could as a catalyst to bring people together. We called a meeting in my trunk in law offices of the steel industry Representatives Crestview come of USD alive. Rajappa A Pickens matter since deceased. Mr. Hastings of the mining industry. Fred Chino State Legislature Gerald any representing labor other business people including some of my associates of chunking and we closet it ourselves are on New Year's Eve for about 5 hours until we came to a consensus of how we were going to go out and sell the gospel of Attack on Titan Amendment to the rest of the Iron Range to Duluth. I am to the state of Minnesota. And for that reason that Mike jungling office is right or Toria lies as the birthplace of the taconite amendment. I remember coming up here evenings and visiting with various groups, including the steelworkers union advocating legislation in favor of the industry. And they looked at me as a heretic because I was a son of a minor and coming up here asking for legislation that favor the mining industry later on the steelworkers union became our greatest Ally. Thank God for that because I really helped but we had a tough time. We made speeches throughout the state the legislators twin cities in the southern part of the state wanted no part of any such legislation. We even have legislators here on the Iron Range in Duluth. There were against it. I don't know if you remember but back in 1961, the state legislature was spending a lot of time trying to name the state bird. And it became balloon as you recall and I got very disgusted because of that because it was our feeling that they should have listened to us and come up here and saw the depressed condition that we had here in northeastern Minnesota Iron Range when the rest of the nation was in a bun. So I bought myself a stuffed balloon and I bought half hour TV time live in the Twin Cities and I bought full-page newspaper ads and I talked to that stuff alone. And I said you were lucky it was with the state legislature was spending its time naming up as their state bird rather than coming up here on the Iron Range and doing what it could to help our economy. I remember is Senator Street, I believe it was good. Saturday wrote me a letter is from Chisholm need says that the app looks like that because I wanted to get the attention of the state legislature. I wanted to publicly shame them which we did. And then you know what happened to the help of all minnesotans, especially here on the Iron Range in Duluth, Northeastern, Minnesota, the legislature passed the legislation for the referendum in 1963 and then by an overwhelming vote, we have the taconite amendment passed in November of 1964. And as a result you now have this boom. You've got over 2 billion dollar investment by the tiger Light Industry in the thousands upon thousands of jobs year round basses. You've got the Satellite Industries with the jobs that they provide. however There are many here in northeastern Minnesota and especially on the Iron Range. Will fill the jobs alone are enough from Attack on Titan 2 Street in Miami judgement. They're the ones that can't see any further than the tip of their nose because you and this is why I wanted to dress this type of the speech to you people today the first settlers in Hibbing you remember very, well the situation that we have that was then when you taking a replaceable resource, like the rich high on all that we had here and you exhausted you're going for boom-to-bust and I say that the same thing will happen in the years to come as are talking. I brought that Irreplaceable resource is exhausted that we better plan ahead. Let's remember that from 1940 to 1968 a 28 year. The Tagamet production tax which is in lieu of real estate tax up here and which is not covered by the parking light amendment was 5% certain. Through our efforts and spearheaded by Congressman John blatnik in Fred Chena. It was finally raised to 11 and a half cents a ton in 1969. However, we have Nemo. That was the organization that we started back in 1960. Which I privately financed its Nemo Northeastern Minnesota Organization for economic education. We felt that 11 and 1/2 cents are insufficient. We realize it was absolutely inadequate to take care of impending problems that come when an industry booms, you have a community you have a pony that has to provide more protection police fire sanitation more streets in the cost of government go up your recent Announcement by the st. Louis County of an increase of sun and a half percent on property taxes a positive what happens when an industry grows, you need more income for the communities in County. It's for that reason that we have Nemo arthritis the Stanford Research Institute of Menlo Park, California to make a private study on a worldwide basis. I privately financed that the assignment was that we wanted them to come back to us and to tell us what could the industry afford to pay an additional production taxes over about the 11 and 1/2 sunset time and yet remain competitive with taconite from any other part of the world including our from any other part of the world the answer we commissioned a study in 1969 on May 1970. We got the answer and it was at the taconite industry could afford to pay a dollar to a dollar and a quarter at 10 additional and yet remain competitive mountain bear in mind. That it may 1971. Study came out. The price of finished deal was $150 a tonne today. The price of finished steel is approximately $260 or $110 a ton more. Also, please bear in mind that the mining industry the steel industry in the taiga night industry with all due respect to him because I looked him as partners had never been able to come out with a study the refuted the Stanford research study. How many people ask why does Geno get involved in these controversies? Why doesn't she know just take care of selling Chop Suey before in pizza now? I don't tell you why they ask what's in it for Gina. I'll tell you what's in it for Gino. I was born here this spirit that I got the may be fortunate enough to be successful in the Endeavors. I want on started here. My father at that. It was in the mines hear. My mother may clean around the grocery store here. This is my home and I'm always be an iron Ranger and I want to do what I can to benefit others and I want so that's what's in it for Gino. As a result of our 1970-71 campaign with the Stanford research study. Iron Range legislators did not have the support they needed and as a result the total legislature made what I consider a bad deal, we had advocated a dollar at an increasing the production tax. We had advocated that part of it go to Redevelopment fund instead of the legislature made a bad deal by going with a graduated tax so that it would have ended up that 50in 1982 60 million tons of pellets will be processed by next year that results in 30 million dollars a year. That's my 1980 and if the tire industry had to pay real estate taxes today on its capital investment here. It would be some seventy-five million dollars a year or 45 million dollars a year difference. And that's why we went to the end of the street and 71 and said it's a bad deal and we went to the legislature and said it's a bad deal and therefore that's why I 1974. We have knee Morgan came back and that's why I wrote that book, but the book said that I called wake up for a hundred years too late with a subtitle that if you don't enjoy rape power and we distributed over 100,000 copies of that booklet throughout the state and we made our speeches and we made presentations to the legislature. We even had our own firm of attorneys to presented bill as a suggestion to the state legislature. And that bill was based on a half of 1% sliding scale concept on the price of finished steel, which we felt was the only fair way and we still feel is the only fair way the taxi industry put it on the basis of the price of steel going up. The tax goes up the price of steel goes down the tux goes down some people advocated 1% Some people advocated as high as 5% because of it being an Irreplaceable natural resource, but we submitted the bill at the basis of half of 1% No provider than in addition to production tax funds already designated for tax relief to taconite communities that $0.15 a tonne be allocated to Northeastern Minnesota counties for additional used in the reduction of Homestead and non-homestead real estate taxes that build on through you wouldn't have your son and a half percent increase in property taxes today. We have potato temp sensor turn for Northeastern Minnesota sports Duluth Two Harbors Silver Bay as support for maintenance and Improvement of the parts to meet the growing needs of the tiger Light Industry. We Advocate go for environmental Rehabilitation money to be spent for the protection of the health health of our citizens and generations to come. We also advocated that one-third of the balance of the new tax revenues be allocated to enter a Redevelopment Authority Avenue West you can be committed to a trust fund a controlled Reserve with the principal held for 25 years as future capital for loans and grants and financial aid to help their first Supply industry in the years to come as I taconite reserves ran down. I want to bring you the fact of the feed Northeastern Minnesota parts were included for $0.10 at the time. We ran into tremendous resistance. We ran into a buzzsaw with some of the Iron Range legislators. So I finally told them forget the northeastern Minnesota parts. That's not what's important. But don't give up the trust fund and the Redevelopment Authority don't give up planning for the future to provide for the future Generations. Don't give up on a half of 1% sliding scale on the price of finish till I ask these legislators to think I have that there's going to be at least three billion * 3 billion * attack a night kailyn's on our land here during the next 25 years. There's going to be six and three quarter billion tons of strip material in addition or close to 10 billion times between the tailings and the script material if you think are. Today are bad wait and see what the hell happened 25 years from now. We won't be here but our children and our children's children will be here and I asked my says that's at the rate of 6 million times a year. What will it happen? When if it's a hundred million times a year appellate which I predict within 10 years. And I told him that we had therefore to plan ahead but we had to have the funds to plan ahead. What happened again because of the lack of the support the lack of the encouragement the lack of the enthusiasm of the people of Northeastern Minnesota backing are state legislators. We got another bad deal. Yes, the state legislature admitted that had made a bad deal in 1971 and the increase the taconite production tax from the $0.36 that it wasn't 75 1975 on the graduated scale to 75 cents or an increase of $0.39 a ton and I'll tell you how it was divided later. Now that's seventy-five cents is $0.70 a ton more than the pi since it was back in 1968 and you multiply that times 60 million times and that's over 40 million dollars a new model by that against 25 years and that's over 1 billion dollars for the next 25 years and that's why I call it the billion-dollar crapshoot because it's meaningless. In my judgment, it's another bad deal and in my judgment. It's truly a waste a waste of the industry's money and there are partners and therefore it's a waste of the taxpayers money because nothing constructed has been planned other than property tax relief, which is needed from those funds and I say the before along the industry again will be asked to pay additional taxes. But this time it must be with a plan program for the Iron Range. Or else the state of Minnesota general fund the state of Minnesota general fund will start taking it away. I asked you before I do remember that boy wonder Gerald Harold stassen. And he was responsible for taking away from us our revenues and that same takeover mentality is already surface The 1975. You want proof? Here's proof positive. I put up the $0.39 a tonne increase over 50% or $0.20 a ton when under the guise of school district, but it went into the general fund of the state that 300 million dollars over the next 25 years. That's what I'm telling you. It's going to happen if we don't work together. Are you remember I said that this broom up here is like a gold Russian it is. Steel industry has doubled its profits over 1973. 1973 was no less than a billion dollars after tax 1974 was approximately 2 billion dollars after tax and we're very happy cuz I'm sure you want we want the steel industry in the packing and Industry. Have a good return on this investment. But that's also bear in mind that the steel industry hours pass on it's added expenses whether it's in taxes, whether it's an energy weatherton cost of Labor. Otherwise, you wouldn't have $110 increase in the price of finish steel between 1970 and 75 from $150 a tonne to $260 a ton. That's why I say that even if there was additional production tax real estate, but that would mean what's 60 million dollars pre-tax 30 million dollars after tax compare that with two billion dollars after tax. That's why I said we just meaningless insofar as industry profits, but it's more meaningful to the industry to know what their taxes going to be that it's going to be on a sliding scale whether it's a half for 1% or 1% That's what's important that it should be on a percentage basis. And I have enjoyed visiting with your day today, but I'd like to leave you just with a final message additional work must be done. I'm personally I'll be visiting with the members of the steelworkers Union on the local in the National level and also members of the industry and I've already started and I'll also be visiting with members of the State Legislature. Hopefully one of these days there will be a bill once again presented to the state legislature providing for a sliding-scale percentage tax and all I ask all I ask is that the people of the Iron Range? I am the people of Duluth the northeastern, Minnesota. Consider the fact that I legislators here on the Iron Range in the rest of the northeastern Minnesota need your support need your encouragement and need your enthusiasm for their programs. And I also say that there's got to be continual joint cooperation between the Iron Range in Duluth rather than the bickering and the parochialism that we seen in the past which only serves the rest of the state with their takeover mentality that we've seen surface. We want to be fair with the industry and we must be fair with the industry. But we also want the Indiscreet to be fair with us and we have our generation of got to plan ahead and we've got the experience and provide guidance. Well, I have children and our children's children does future Generations by knowing what happened in the past. And I'm not here to try to convince the Iron Range people that dilute should share in any taconite taxes. All I am saying is let's all work together. Let's all work together for the benefit of all including the industry. Let's draw on our experience by planning ahead for the generations to come again. My thanks to you and I really enjoyed being with you.