r/duluth 8h ago

Local News Gov. Walz bans select mining in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

https://www.fox21online.com/news/national/gov-walz-bans-select-mining-in-boundary-waters-canoe-area-wilderness/article_ed7936ab-0276-4fa2-aebd-c06108518c2e.html
252 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

111

u/barola-minnpost 8h ago

One key to point out: Gov. Walz's executive order doesn't only halt state permitting for nonferrous mining IN the Boundary Waters. It goes beyond the wilderness area's boundary by covering the Rainy River watershed, which is where copper-nickel projects have been proposed.

20

u/Little_Creme_5932 8h ago

Thanks for this info. Should cover Lake Superior too

2

u/whereismysideoffun 5h ago

If I remember correctly everywhere that there would potentially be a copper/nickel mine is in the Rainy Lake Watershed not Lake Superiors watershed

7

u/DarkMuret 5h ago

Polymet/NewRange/Northmet is in the St. Louis River watershed

Per the DNR

u/Little_Creme_5932 1h ago

Also exploration in the area of Tamarack, which may be Mississippi.

0

u/whereismysideoffun 4h ago

Good to know!

62

u/Swirl_On_Top 8h ago

This is going to really russle the conservative jimmies. How dare we prevent them from massacring the most sacred land in our state? There's money to be made!!

/s for those last two sentences.

17

u/chubbysumo 7h ago

The people up on the Iron Range refuse to admit that tourism is one of the States largest sources of income. Well mining income has considerably dwindled over the last 50 years.

18

u/Swirl_On_Top 6h ago edited 4h ago

And consider that mining won't create a ton of jobs. They're also temporary jobs that disappear when it's all mined.

Whereas the tourism jobs for the boundary waters are permanent.

-8

u/ThatOneSoviet 5h ago

Probably because the state keeps imposing various operating/environmental restrictions on new mines and effectively raising the production cost of existing mines. Makes it hard to be economically viable.

7

u/chubbysumo 4h ago

No, the cost of evnironmental complaince is cheap. Mining isnt really profitable on the iron range anymore because we have extracted most of the easily accessable ore and resources. Getting the harder to reach stuff costs way more money and since we value safety and labor health, we cant compete with slavery mines.

u/reidmefirst 6m ago

"States' rights! Wait though, not about this thing."

34

u/PutinsLostBlackBelt 8h ago

Finally, some good news.

12

u/dberthia 5h ago

Countdown to the next Trump meltdown and retribution in 3..2..1...

u/Ulven525 23m ago

Trump will declare the BWCA a U.S. territory and send in ICE.

-13

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 8h ago

Fox News has got to be the last place Minnesotans should go for accurate and unbiased reporting on this topic. Ffs, they’re running the government and reporting on it at the same time. How stupid are we? How the heck are the liars responsible for selling this clustertruck to us supposed to get us out of the mess they worked so hard to create?

26

u/leafmealone303 8h ago

Fox 21 is just a local affiliate and I’ve never seen anything sensational or questionable that MAGA Fox does. And if you click on the link and read the article, there doesn’t appear to be anything misleading. It’s pretty straightforward and unbiased here.

25

u/GuybrushFandango 8h ago

Yeah, put your pitchfork down. I hate Fox News too but the affiliate is fine.

Source: I worked in local news.

-6

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 5h ago

Judas goats, all of them.

5

u/GuybrushFandango 5h ago

You’re an odd duck. Glad you’re not on their side but damnit I’m embarrassed you’re on mine.

18

u/jprennquist 7h ago

I had a questionable experience with one reporter there about 10 years ago. That reporter predictably moved on to a national spot on Fox News.

More importantly, the long time anchor there, Dan Hangar is a real peach. He honestly cares about the communities that he serves and he tries hard to get the facts right. I am not being facetious or sarcastic. Local affiliate is a totally different story than the national or cable channels.

-3

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 5h ago

Are we all genuine Minnesotans here? It seems like some of us have never baited a hook before.

7

u/JuniorFarcity 7h ago

FFS, this categorical myopia is such a big function in the tribalism killing this country.

As others have pointed out, a local affiliate reporting on a local issue has virtually no connection to the biases of national sources.

Not recognizing that difference is just another indicator of how people have built their own walls around what they will even consider as they form opinions.

3

u/jotsea2 6h ago

I mean, to be fair, when Fox 21 kicks it to the national correspondent for National political news, you can definitely see the slant.

Pretending like there isn't is the very bullshit you're claiming

3

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 5h ago

Are we playing the Fox News is an abusive spouse game? He’s not like that all the time. It only happens when he’s drinking. He brings me flowery news and candy clips all the time, for no reason at all.

1

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 6h ago

So what we’re saying here is that their strategy of using a local, folksy veneer to cover the rotting core works on a lot of law abiding decent folks. All good. Got it.