Mining Built Minnesota’s Past – It Can Help Build Our Future, Too

This article originally appeared on Duluth News Tribune on February 23, 2026.

Washington has put a “Do Not Enter” sign on northern Minnesota, and it’s time to take it down. For generations, the Iron Range has been the backbone of Minnesota, building our communities and forging the steel that built America. Yet today, a federal ban threatens to lock away the very resources that could secure our future prosperity. A misguided 20-year moratorium on mining in the Superior National Forest is not just holding back our region; it is actively undermining our nation's security and economic future. 

This ban, enacted during the Biden administration, drives a false choice between mining and a healthy human environment. Fortunately, Minnesotans know better, and are fighting to restore common sense. One proposal to end the ban is the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, introduced by Congressman Pete Stauber. The CRA passed in the U.S. House in January and is now under consideration in the Senate. The goal of the CRA is simple: stop treating an entire region like a no-go zone and restore the traditional rule of law.

Let’s be clear about what the CRA does, and what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t “approve a mine.” It doesn’t waive environmental laws, and it doesn’t silence anyone’s concerns. It does restore the basic American expectation that proposals should be judged on evidence, through a real permitting process, with a real decision at a predictable end date. 

Read the full op-ed on Duluth News Tribune.