Foundation Wants Ill-Fated Huber Project Reviewed

The Blandin Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and aims to help rural communities in the region, has called on Gov. Tim Walz to commission an “after-action review” of the ill-fated, proposed Huber OSB mill project in Cohasset, according to local media.

“Rural Minnesota is home to the manufacturing, mining, lumber and agricultural industries which have played a vital role in the state’s economy,” Tuleah Palmer, the foundation’s president and CEO, wrote in a June 28 letter to Walz obtained by local news outlet Duluth News Tribune. “As the host of these industries and a steward of millions of acres of Minnesota’s natural resources, sovereign Native nations and rural communities have a critical role to play in planning for the state’s energy transition.”

“It is from this vantage point that I respectfully request your administration commission an independent after-action review of the Huber project in Cohasset, Minnesota, to inform and prepare the state for its continued energy transition,” Palmer wrote. “Those participating in the review must represent a broad cross section of the impacted interests to ensure a fair and comprehensive analysis. The objective of the review team should be to support sustainable energy models and resilient workforce structures.”

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