Minnesota Politics And 8th District Bicycle Riding, Anderson and Cravaack Lead The Way.

It turned out to be a very nice day today, Aug. 4, 2012. Our family took the trip over to Hibbing to participate in the Great River Energy Mesabi Trail bicycle tour from Hibbing to Virginia. This is not particularly consequential but along the way I did an informal survey of the number of political  and other signs along the route. Many thanks to the volunteers of the Mesabi Trail ride by the way. A very nice job done by everyone and it is very much appreciated!

The number one sign in the 8th district race on this route was Jeff Anderson. Following was Congressman Chip Cravaack. Third was Rick Nolan with a sign on the east end of the range and a few scattered around the Hibbing - Chisholm area. What should really worry Tarryl Clark supporters was that I didn't see a single (not one) sign of hers the whole stretch from Babbitt-Embarrass to Hibbing. At least the TV stations are making some money from her campaign.

It also seems that folks over there support mining as well. I did see a fair number of the "We Support Mining" signs.

The last thing that was interesting besides the beautiful views on the bike ride was the amount of construction happening. Along the trail was what looked to be a Magnetation operation with recycling and reclaiming of old tailings piles for the iron within to say nothing of the jobs generated.

By Mountain Iron, you can see Minntac in operation and the wind generators in operation along the side. These generators use iron and the precious metals involved in upcoming mining projects on the range.
Menard's has recently opened in Virginia supported by the mining dollars the industry provides. There was a lot of traffic in Virginia today.

Another  large building is going up near Virginia. I believe this is the new P&H (Joy Global) facility which assists the mining industry throughout our area and is a worldwide company.

You  can see the signs of change and prosperity all around us if you look close enough. Let's keep the ball rolling in the right direction this election season and elect pro mining candidates. Congressman Cravaack and candidate Jeff Anderson come to mind as the best options for jobs. I'd hate to have to watch this die on the vine with incorrect policy in the future.

We Support Mining! Signs Are Available For Minnesota

If you would like to show your support for responsible mining in Minnesota and the communities, schools, people and the jobs that mining supports you can act now!

Signs are available from the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota. You can contact them here to request a sign.

http://www.taconite.org/contactus.php

Related link: Become a supporter on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/wesupportmining


Why is this important to Minnesota? 


In Minnesota, the iron mining industry contributes to the local communities, region and state through jobs, production taxes, education programs and scholarships.
Minnesota’s Iron Mining Industry Statistics*

Direct employment	4,215 individuals
Average wage and benefit package	$100,000/year
Total hours worked:	8.9 million hours
The region's mines provide the highest paying technical jobs in the region.
Industry vendor employment	13,000 individuals
Iron mining is the main economic engine of the region - making other businesses and jobs possible
Financial impact	$3.1 billion/year
Minnesota's mining industry is ranked number one in gross product output - adding more than $3.1 billion annually to the regional economy. Domestic iron ore production is important to the security of our country.

Taxes
Production tax	$73.1 million payable 2012
Royalty payments	$34.3 million payable 2012
$49 million was paid in 2012 to state education programs by Minnesota's mining industry
K – 12 education	$36.6 million/year**
University of Minnesota trust funds	$12.4 million/year**
*Source: Iron Mining Association of Minnesota, 2012 **Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Department of Revenue, 2012
Looking forward
$94.1 million in production taxes estimated for 2013 - a $20 million increase. Production taxes are paid in lieu of property taxes. The increase is due to a three year average dropping 2009, which was marked by low production due to recession.
Estimated taxes from 2012 production, payable 2013:	$94,100,000
Distribution to Range schools:	$15,843,000
LGU's, counties, IRRRB and others:	$78,257,000

Cliffs Natural Resources donated $25,000 toward flood relief.

Cliffs Natural Resources like always is being a great community partner.

Article from the Mesabi Daily News.

Region slowly recovering from flooding - Mesabi Daily News: News: weather, disaster_accident, duluth minnesota, cliffs natural resources inc., st. louis county: Hard-hit Northeastern Minnesota continues making progress recovering from the megaflooding from 10 inches of rain June 19-20 in the Duluth are…