Around MN: slow permitting good for Polymet, wildfire burns 24,000 acres, Occupy MN begins

Posted at 7:50 AM on October 7, 2011 by Michael Olson
Filed under: Around MN

Permitting delays could become boon to Polymet
Much of the world's easy-access copper already mined, prices are likely going to rise higher, even though economic concerns currently weigh on it. The permitting delays could end up working to Polymet's benefit (Motley Fool).

Also on MN Today

Dry conditions, brisk winds fuel northwestern Minnesota wildfire
A perfect storm of conditions resulted in a wildfire that has burned more than 24,000 acres in northwestern Minnesota (Grand Forks Herald).

'Occupy MN' protestors work with authorities

Organizers say they are expecting 500-1,000 protesters on Friday (KSTP).

Prominent Republicans join effort against marriage amendment
Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage in Minnesota say several prominent Republicans and GOP organizations have joined their cause (MPR News).

State renters credit for low and middle incomes cut by 13 percent
"It's unfortunate for people to lose this," said Rand Gettler, the CEO of Saint Anne of Winona, which provides a number of rental options for seniors. "It could reduce any expendable income they have."

The Legislature reduced the credit this year as part of efforts to balance a $5 billion budget deficit (Winona Daily News).

Two-months-old farm standoff continues southeast of Lakota
The standoff continues between Nelson County Sheriff Kelly Janke's department and a rural Lakota, N.D., family that has holed up in their farmstead the past two months, refusing to respond to felony warrants stemming from a dispute this summer over a neighbor's cattle (Grand Forks Herald).

Lagging in polls, Bachmann focuses campaign on abortion
Rep. Michele Bachmann, who hasn't cast a vote in Congress since August, found time to file the "Heartbeat Informed Consent Act," which would require women undergoing an abortion to listen to the fetus' heartbeat on a monitor (Minnesota Independent).

Bachmann's last-ditch pitch to the religious right
Faced with a slide into near-irrelevance in the Republican presidential race, Michele Bachmann is playing her last card: a hard pitch for the votes of Christian conservatives (The Atlantic).

State likely to face another deficit
Economic growth in Minnesota is slowing to the point that Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature will likely have to overcome another budget deficit, state economist Tom Stinson told lawmakers on Thursday (MPR News).

Duluth man has beef against McDonalds (Duluth News Tribune).

The 'toothpick factory' returns to its roots in Cloquet
In the early days of Cloquet, the wood products mill in the east end of Cloquet was variously known as "the match mill" or "the toothpick factory," and it appears that the local plant is on track to return to its roots (Pine Journal).

New York Times columnist 'Desperately Seeking Dalrymple' for president in 2012
Don't call Gov. Jack Dalrymple if you're looking for a presidential candidate.Dalrymple ruled out a run for the White House on Thursday after some tongue-in-cheek urging from the nation's leading newspaper (Grand Forks Herald).