The duality of the mining economy crisis on the Range

Recent updates at Business North call to question the existential crisis facing the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. Do we embrace our mining history with full force, to the extent that our future planning remains focused on mining. Or do we find a way to continue mining as is possible and necessary, but expand our economic planning into other areas.

This Beth Bily story for Business North indicates that mining’s share of the area’s economy could triple by 2013 if several local mining projects move forward. This is stunning considering the massive dropoff in mining jobs since 1982.

And this story describes how Northshore Mining, one of several Cleveland Cliffs mines in the region, is extending its planned economic-induced shutdown through July.

These two stories taken together effectively sum up my anxiety about relying on mining as a long term solution to the Range’s economic problems. I’m not anti-mining. I’m pro-getting our crap together. A little forethought, perhaps?

Comments

  1. Aaron, we don’t have any choice but to embrace mining. These minerals aren’t going anywhere unless we dig them out. The wealth under the surface here is amazing. It will be tapped. Other jobs are harder. The more we try to induce companies to come set up shop here, the more apparent it becomes that being so far off the edge of the map is a curse. While we may love our outdoors and living outside the mainstream, we have to recognize the limitations that puts on our area for economic development. The one area where our economic development interests could really put some investment to change that picture is in information technology infrastructure, but they just never quite seem to grab hold of that. There are weak attempts, but we need the kind of commitment that delivers high speed internet to every resident of the region. We need to stop trying to “bribe” companies to bring jobs here – the essence of the current strategies of tax breaks and incentive payments – because when the bribes run out, so do the jobs. We need to develop an infrastructure that makes the area inviting to those companies. But more importantly, we need to plan for live in a boom and bust economy, because no matter how you cut it, that’s exactly the true nature of this region. If we accept and embrace that, and if we PLAN for that, we’ll be ok.

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