Page 30 - Rob Ecklund News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

This article first appeared in the Union Advocate. A new president gaveled the 75th convention of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council to order at Madden’s on Gull Lake today, as delegates unanimously affirmed their Executive Board in electing Laborers Local 563 Business Manager Joe Fowler to lead the statewide organization.  President Emeritus Harry Melander, who retired in June after 12 years leading the council, administered the oath of office to Fowler and other executive officers as one of the convention’s first orders of business.  “I will give it my a...

Traffic, noise, dust and public safety concerns cited Posted Marshall Helmberger EAGLES NEST TWP— Residents here are upset over a plan to open an ATV route as early as this month across a series of gravel roads in the township, but it’s not clear what county or township officials can do to head off the plan. The route would connect a portion of the Taconite Trail between Tower and Ely that is currently off limits to ATVs because it lies within the boundaries of Bear Head State Park. Current state park policy and rules generally prohibit ATV use, although snowmobiles, which primarily ope...

The Minnesota tax bill passed earlier this month by the Legislature looks to provide a number of breaks for local businesses and people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also clearing the way for a large-scale wood products project in Cohasset. It didn’t cut the muster for the entire Iron Range Delegation, however. The bill would produce $49.1 billion in revenue in the 2022-23 biennium that started July 1 and provide $4.2 billion in refunds, aids and credits, including $761 million in new tax cuts and credits, and no tax increases previously proposed by Democrats. Among those incl...

Bakk, Ecklund bring benefits to North Country Posted David Colburn REGIONAL— As the 2021 special legislative session wrapped up this past week, it was clear that area lawmakers saw plenty to like in the final bills that emerged. “I have a favorite day of the session,” said Sen. Tom Bakk, I-Cook, “the day after we finished when I drive home, because I rarely turn on my radio. “I just spend that time thinking about things. I was thinking about everything that happened during the session, and I actually pulled over and sent (Sen. David) Tomassoni a text and said ‘David, I’m thin...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday signed the Omnibus Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance bill. The bill includes language aimed at keeping the mammoth project viable. Under the language, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency commissioners must wait at least two years after the termination of state mineral leases at the site before beginning action to terminate environmental permits associated with the project. “It's very important in the event that Mesabi Metallics does not go forward with the current project that the...