Polymet Mining Corp (PLM)

[trickledownfacists]

Elections



Iron Range jobless rate more than 60 percent higher

September 7, 2014
Updated Sep 7, 2014 at 1:51 PM CDT
DULUTH, Minn. (NNCNOW.com) --- As they prepare for their reelection campaigns, dozens of Minnesota lawmakers are painting an economic success story, pointing to the state's unemployment rate being one of the lowest in the country.
But when you look at several Northeastern Minnesota towns there is a common theme: an alarming number of people are out of work.

According to statistics gathered by Northland News Center and the Mesabi Daily News, Grand Rapid's has seen an average unemployment rate of nearly ten percent between January and July.
Virginia and Hibbing also endure unemployment rates higher than the national average. And with surrounding communities added to the equation, the average Iron Range unemployment rate stands at eight percent.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) says he championed a work force training bill and has fought steel dumping practices by foreign countries to protect and spur new economic growth.
"All the steel that is used in WRDA projects, in all these water projects, whether it be dams, whether it would be sewage, whether it be water projects, it is all used with American steel," Sen. Franken said.
Mike McFadden says he would work to diversify the Iron Range community while fighting for lower energy costs if elected.
"With lower energy costs we become a manufacturing super power again in the United States and Minnesota," McFadden said. "We will be able to in–source jobs as opposed to out–sourcing jobs because we are able to compete globally."
Both McFadden and Franken say they support copper nickel mining projects like Polymet, pointing to the projects potential of being an economic bastion for hundreds of new jobs.
But while Sen. Franken supports the permitting process Polymet is undergoing, McFadden says he would work to expatiate that process if he is elected to the U.S. Senate.
Nick Minock
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