Mesabi Daily News
Jerry Burnes

A controversial resolution will go before the full St. Louis County Board next week after a committee of the whole passed it with a 4-3 vote Tuesday.

The resolution, if passed by the full board on Feb. 14, will put the county on the record against a federal government proposal to withdraw hundreds of thousands of acres from future mining leases. A previous resolution failed on Jan. 24.

Read More: http://www.virginiamn.com/news/local/federal-land-block-opposed-with—committee-vote/article_2bf7d556-eda8-11e6-a6ab-0f1587c109e5.html

Mesabi Daily News
Editorial Board

Paying the bills. Putting food on the table. Supporting a family and local community.

A year ago, Iron Range lawmakers were in the thick of negotiations over a jobless benefits extension for laid-off miners to give them relief from the harsh 2015 downturn. Those miners trekked back and forth to St. Paul to make their voices heard. It was fairly consensus leading up to the March 2016 extension that miners needed help from the government to support themselves, their families and their communities during economic hardship.

Read More: http://www.virginiamn.com/opinion/editorials/what-the-fight-against-a-land-withdrawal-stands-for/article_c01a7814-eb51-11e6-b110-4b4437b28dfc.html

Associated Press
Staff

U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan has asked the federal government to reverse an Obama administration decision to block minerals exploration and mining in more than 234,000 acres of the Superior National Forest near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Read More: https://www.apnews.com/e8d92d903e874c30b3f3e610721a9516/Nolan-outreach-to-Trump-administration-on-mining-draws-fire

Duluth News Tribune
Hal Quinn

Our dependence on imported minerals is a potential economic Achilles heel of our own making. The problem is not that the United States lacks good geologic resources. Quite the opposite. We possess an estimated $6.2 trillion in minerals reserves. But while our resource base is enormous, so, too, is the bureaucracy and regulatory regime tasked with managing it.

Read More: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/4204115-mining-advocates-view-cumbersome-mine-permitting-leaves-us-foreign-dependent

Duluth News Tribune
John Myers

From one Republican to another, Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt on Monday sent President Donald Trump a letter asking him to, among other actions, reverse the Obama administration decision revoking mineral leases for the proposed Twin Metals copper mine near Ely.

Read More: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4204454-daudt-asks-trump-reverse-copper-mining-decision