DULUTH – Democrats averted a nasty public fight Sunday over a controversial Iron Range copper-nickel mining proposal that has vividly split powerful party factions.
Activists at the state DFL convention decided against debating a proposal to make support of mining part of the state party platform. The move took on enormous implications as environmentalists and labor supporters are bitterly divided over PolyMet Mining Corp.’s proposal to extract copper and nickel from the long-closed LTV mine in Hoyt Lakes.
“The mining issue has the potential to rip up the last remaining hard-core Democrats,” said Joel Holstad, a DFL activist from Forest Lake. “I have no idea which way this is going to go, but I think this issue has the potential to be incredibly impactful on the future of the party.”
Some elected Democrats, who control the governor’s office and the House and Senate, were dreading a bruising public fight that would have overshadowed DFLers’ overwhelming endorsements of Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Sen. Al Franken, who are heading into tough re-election fights.