I’m back from a family trip to the Brainerd Lakes area. Let’s see, what have I missed. Hmmm. Oh, look, more nonferrous mining news that can be interpreted differently based your worldview. Well, I can’t pass on that. This week, PolyMet released a letter from the EPA indicating that significant progress has been made on…

People want to know where nonferrous mining projects stand in northern Minnesota. It’s awfully hard to say, most days, as the local debate tends to float in a nebulous cloud of philosophical disagreement. While the ongoing permit process is important, I’ve long maintained that issue will resolve itself only to the degree these companies are…

This week, Minnesota Power announced it would convert its coal-fired Laskin Energy Plant near Hoyt Lakes to natural gas generation in coming years. The $15 million conversion will eventually join the closure of one of Laskin’s MP’s Taconite Harbor units, but company officials are hopeful there will be no layoffs. The plan allows Minnesota Power…