VIRGINIA â St. Louis County Board members again split when passing a resolution that puts them on record supporting the current environmental review process for copper-nickel mining, specifically opposing more regulations during a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.
The resolution generally states that the county board wonât support legislation that creates a moratorium on copper-nickel mining in Minnesota. Rulemaking, permitting and environmental review for proposed projects are handled at the state and federal level, prompting the all-too-familiar debate among commissioners whether Tuesdayâs vote was symbolic or whether the county was reinforcing past votes supporting the industry.
Two bills â one in the Minnesota Senate and one in the U.S. House â aim to either delay or outright block copper-nickel mining in the state. A âProve it Firstâ was introduced by State Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, earlier this month, that would require scientific p
This would effectively shut these projects down, Board Chair Mike Jugovich, of Chisholm, said.
“The proof is the permit,” Commissioner Paul McDonald, of Ely, said. “There’s nobody that wants to do unsafe mining.”
Paul McDonald
Ashley Grimm, representing western Duluth, called the resolution “a real disservice” for the way it occupied time over other matters without any service to constituents.
“I’m for most mining projects, but this type of mining has never been done safely in the United States,” she said. “If it was safe, it wouldn’t be on this agenda.”
A handful of citizen callers opposed the resolution, citing the potential for environmental harm and an economy they say would improve with a ban. They made a point that opposition to a ban was, in turn, opposition to a “prove-it-first” process.
St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Musolf, of Hermantown, was on track early Tuesday to become the new board chair and represent a leveling force between colleagues from the Iron Range and Duluth. But in a turn of events, he withdrew from expectations and instead supported re-electing Chisholm-based Chair Mike Jugovich as the leader of the seven-member board.
The win made history. The chair from the Iron Range is now only the second in 100 years to serve as chair for two consecutive years, according to a county spokesperson. Commissioner W.A. Swanstrom served as chair in 1921 and 1922. I am honored to again serve the people of St. Louis County and my fellow commissioners as the Board Chair in 2021, Jugovich said in a statement. While it s out of the ordinary, nothing has been ordinary during this pandemic, so I am pleased to have this opportunity to again serve as we move forward to hopefully brighter and healthier days in the year to come.
Duluth a cesspool, commissioner says as St. Louis County Board begins rocky start to 2021
In a break from tradition, rural commissioners consolidate authority atop the board, leaving Duluth commissioners out of top leadership posts. 4:31 pm, Jan. 5, 2021 ×
St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Nelson. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
The city of Duluth was referred to by Commissioner Keith Nelson as a “cesspool on a day rural commissioners both ruled the St. Louis County Board and illustrated north-south division at its annual meeting Tuesday.
The rural majority made Chisholm’s Mike Jugovich the unlikely board chair for a second-straight year, and prevented Duluth’s three commissioners from leadership posts atop the board.
Commissioners Mike Jugovich and Patrick Boyle will also be sworn this week following their reelections.
Jugovich will be sworn in at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the United Steelworkers union hall at 115 W. Lake St. in Chisholm.
Boyle will be sworn in by fellow Duluth Commissioner Frank Jewell in a low-key manner sometime prior to Tuesday’s board meeting in Duluth.
Grimm said she has big shoes to fill by following Olson, who served a single four-year term on the board, but asserted herself as a strong and compassionate voice.
In her final meeting last month, she urged commissioners to dedicate themselves to hearing from people not represented on the board, listing people of color, indigenous people, queer people, immigrants and refugees.