Republican legislative leaders at the state party convention are touting passage of a bill designed to make it easier to open an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin and promising to cut taxes.
While building a new iron-ore mine is a gargantuan task, it also requires several intermediate steps that can each be daunting by itself. That means construction of a controversial mine in northern Wisconsin probably won't start for several years.
Although Gov. Scott Walker has signed a mining bill aimed at encouraging construction of an iron mine in northern Wisconsin, there's still uncertainty about the future of mining in the state. And looking to neighboring states for perspective doesn't clear things up very much.
Ever since Gogebic Taconite announced its interest in digging a miles-long open-pit iron mine in Ashland and Iron counties, the two sides have been bracing for verbal and legal combat.
Gov. Scott Walker signed Republicans' polarizing mining bill into law Monday, completing a months-long, all-out campaign to jump-start a giant iron mine in far northwestern Wisconsin.
The overhaul of the state's mining regulations seems a foregone conclusion as legislation heads to the Assembly where the Republicans hold a 60-39 majority.
Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly approved a polarizing mining bill Thursday and sent the measure to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature, completing a long push to help a Florida company open a giant iron mine on the shore of Lake Superior over environmentalists' objections.
An investor who's trying to develop an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin also owns a coal mine in Illinois that's accused of doing too little to resolve long-standing water pollution problems.