Iron Range board tables Fond du Lac water treatment funding over band's 'anti-mining' stances

The Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation's advisory board tabled a grant Wednesday for a new water source, tower and treatment plant on the Fond du Lac Reservation after board members said the band is "anti-mining."

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa had asked for a $250,000 grant to help fund the $1.3 million project replacing an existing noncompliant system and serve 140 homes near Mahnomen and Brookston.

But state Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, a member of the IRRR's board, objected to the IRRR funding the project because it is a state agency funded by taxes on taconite produced in the region and the Fond du Lac Band has taken what he called "anti-mining" stances.

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/6530734-Iron-Range-board-tables-Fond-du-Lac-water-treatment-funding-over-band%E2%80%99s-anti-mining-stances