On June 22, Senator Grant Hauschild (District 3) and Senator Zaynab Mohamed (District 63) visited Northshore Mining. Both Senator Hauschild and Senator Mohamed worked to push for an extension of unemployment benefits for Northshore Mining employees.
Senator Hauschild says he worked to gain the extension of unemployment benefits because he wanted to give a “lifeline” to community members. 450 employees were reliant on Northshore Mining, and Senator Hauschild knew some were looking to move out of the Silver Bay area with the mine shutdown. By gaining the unemployment benefits extension, Senator Hauschild hoped to encourage residents to remain in the Silver Bay community.
Minnesota’s unemployment fund was depleted during COVID-19, and concern was raised about whether or not it was appropriate to grant an allotment towards the unemployment benefit extension for mine workers. The fund is being restored, however, and the amount used for the benefits was less than 1% of the total fund.
Senator Hauschild entered a fresh legislative session looking to make allies and educate fellow legislators on the issue of unemployment benefits. Despite some feedback that he would never get the extension approved, many legislators from both parties agreed to work with him on gaining the extension.
While Senator Hauschild is from Hermantown, his district includes Babbitt and Silver Bay, both communities dependent on the mine. He sees it as his responsibility to make sure the needs of his entire district are met.
For Senator Mohamed, her recent visit to Silver Bay was her first time coming to the North Shore. She enjoyed seeing the area and found her tour of Northshore Mining very educational, learning about both the environmental issues faced by mining, and the essentialness of mining for many areas of life. Senator Hauschild stated he learned that Northshore Mining is the only plant to process the taconite from start to finish.
Seeing things first hand made Senator Mohamed think of the work she did to help gain the unemployment benefit extensions, and gave her the insight to see that she helped sustain jobs for many members of the Silver Bay community and surrounding area.
Senator Hauschild says that, “Cleveland-Cliffs is doing mining right,” citing the recent news that state officials awarded mineral leases near Nashwauk to Cleveland-Cliffs. Taconite mined on those leases will keep Hibbing Taconite open for at least twenty years, predictions say.
Both Senator Hauschild and Senator Mohamed see a need for more housing in the Silver Bay area. Senator Hauschild likes what he sees with Little Mariners Child Care Center, and would like to see more housing, childcare, and broadband to attract families to the area.
Senator Hauschild would like to see the entire state of Minnesota work as an integrated whole, saying that the Northland has a lot to offer. Senator Mohamed says her trip to the North Shore was “eye-opening” to learn how people live in this beautiful area. She intends to return to see the fall colors.
Thank you, Senator Hauschild and Senator Mohamed for taking time to visit Silver Bay and for working hard to promote job stability in the region.
