MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A county board in northeastern Minnesota has dropped a proposed resolution against copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area after Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk warned that they’d risk losing state money.
The Star Tribune reports (https://strib.mn/22zpj9r ) that Cook County commissioners quickly backed off this week after local business leaders said Bakk and others told them that critical funds from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board could dry up if the board took a stance against mining.
The nonbinding resolution expressed support for Gov. Mark Dayton’s recent decision to deny Twin Metals access to state lands it wants for its proposed mine near Ely, in a watershed that flows into the Boundary Waters.
Mining has long been banned within the federally protected wilderness area, but not outside it.
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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com
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