Penokee Hills Mine Opponents Will Hold One-On-One Meetings With Locals

Opponents of the proposed Penokee Hills open pit iron ore mine are going to be holding one-on-one meetings with the public in the mine area on Friday.

Last year, Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) held meet and greets at coffee houses and restaurants to talk up the proposed $1.5 billion iron ore mine in Ashland and Iron Counties. Penokee Hills education project director Frank Koehn said that mine opponents are not taking a page out of the GTAC playbook by holding these one-on-ones.

“(We’ll) present not so much a discussion about the mine, but more about the importance of preserving the water and protecting the water,” he said.

Koehn said they hope to meet with people on all sides of the mining debate.

“We’re not looking to create problems, but if they come in and be respectful and have questions they would like answered, we’ll answer them the best we can and open up the dialogue with them,” he said. “I don’t anticipate people showing up and being angry and ranting and raving at us.”

He said that the meetings aren’t a public relations gimmick, but rather are part of an effort to reach regular people.

“Getting information to the supper table and the coffee shops and the living rooms are where the ultimate decision is going to be made on the mine,” said Koehn.

Koehn, Bad River Chairman Mike Wiggins, and Pete Rasmussen – one of the people suing the Department of Natural Resources about its handling of GTAC’s rock sampling – will be at the one-on-ones in Hurley at 9 a.m. in Rachelli Park, Mercer at noon in the local library, and Mellen at 3 p.m. at the Penokee Deli.