School trust fund commission has a “blast” at Minntac
On August 23, Minnesota’s Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission toured Minntac to learn about the impact of Minnesota Ore Operations on Minnesota’s permanent school fund. Operations on school trust lands at Minntac and Keetac have provided approximately $370 million to Minnesota public schools over the last 15 years, which accounts for approximately 90 percent of all contributions to Minnesota’s permanent school fund.
Money from the fund is distributed to Minnesota’s 553 public school districts based on student population. For example, the St. Paul Public School District (largest in the state) received $1.1 million in 2015, while the Virginia Public School District received $51,000. Click here to see how much each school district in Minnesota receives from the fund.
“What a wonderful opportunity it was to welcome the Legislative School Fund Commission to Minntac to help members better understand the importance of our company’s mining operations and its impact on public education in Minnesota,” said U. S. Steel’s Chris Masciantonio, co-chair of the Iron Ore Alliance.
“The Iron Range is where the steelmaking process begins, and we’re quite proud of that,” said Mike Woods, United Steelworkers staff representative. “We’re happy to showcase the hard work and innovation that happens at Minntac and Keetac each day to produce iron ore that the world depends on.”
During their tour of Minntac, members experienced a blast. Click below to watch a video of it.