Over the weekend, Peter Passi of the Duluth News Tribune continued his coverage of Rep. Tom Anzelc’s bill to end an unusual privacy provision on the books at the IRRRB.* The rule was adopted without debate four years ago and shields much of this unique state agency’s loan agreement data from the public, something that… Read More →

MPR has an informative update on the provision to shed more light on development deals under the purvey of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. A law that effectively hides key financial details about companies that receive agency funds was tucked in a conference bill a couple years ago to protect Excelsior Energy and… Read More →

A bill by Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township) requiring more transparency for potential development projects by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board has cleared a committee hurdle in the State House, advancing in an Omnibus civil law bill. The bill has no Senate counterpart, where Iron Range senators have been cool to the idea…. Read More →

The news roundup from yesterday’s IRRRB meeting includes some valuable observations. The Duluth News Tribune‘s Peter Passi reports separately on the cuts to the mining production tax rebate program, with money diverted to public works projects. Passi also reported on Rep. Tom Anzelc’s motion for IRRRB support of legislation he’s drafting to repeal a 2008… Read More →

I’ve gleaned two bits of news from today’s Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board meeting. First, the iron mining production tax refund (money paid back to mines after taxes for capital projects) was cut in half amid the record mining profits of the last year. The money kept will be dedicated to public works projects… Read More →

This is a quick update to the post earlier about the Duluth News Tribune investigation into Excelsior Energy on the Iron Range. Citizens Against the Mesaba Project (CAMP) released a response that includes this tidbit: The $1.46 million reported as spent on state lobbying does not include the $220,000 spent prior to 2005, or the… Read More →

Peter Passi continues his Duluth News Tribune investigation into Excelsior Energy, the start-up company that has spent 10 years and $41 million in public dollars without producing local jobs or any electricity. Today’s topic? The $1.8 million Excelsior and its officials have spent on lobbying and political contributions to state and federal officials of both… Read More →

The implications of Peter Passi’s Duluth News Tribune groundbreaking investigation into the squandering of $41 million in public money by Excelsior Energy on the Iron Range continue to unfold. The story now appears to be the biggest fiscal disaster in Iron Range economic development history, but there’s more yet to explore. Karl Bremer at Ripple… Read More →

History’s stage is both wide and deep. No entity with tendrils reaching as far into Iron Range political networks as Excelsior Energy can be expected to exit this stage quietly. The only question is whether the play itself is a comedy or a tragedy. I haven’t decided. This week saw two important developments regarding Excelsior… Read More →