Minnesota Power Centennial
Statement from James L. Oberstar, M.C.
February 9, 2006

Dear Friends,

I am proud to call Minnesota Power my electric company – for a lot of very good reasons:

Because you are my electricity provider and have served the Oberstar household faithfully for over 69 years;

Because Minnesota Power is an innovator, a leader in power production, in transportation, in community and area economic development, and in personnel management.

MP was the first power company in the nation to negotiate Section 22 unit train rates for coal delivery from the Powder River Basin, done under the astute leadership of Chief Counsel Jack Magrath and Syl Laskin, then an MP vice president. I spent many hours with Jack and Syl, the Interstate Commerce Commission staff, and the Great Northern Railroad on this pioneering initiative.

MP took a risky stand in favor of the Taconite Amendment in the early ‘60s, amidst a bitterly divisive public debate, and led the campaign statewide, while many other companies and public figures held back, avoiding controversy. Minnesota Power stood for the greater good of the Arrowhead country.

Art Barschdorf, of then MP&L, saw the need for a bold, regional approach to wastewater treatment and mobilized community leaders from Cloquet to Duluth to build WLSSD, the first regional wastewater treatment in Minnesota, which set a national trend for state-of-the-art advanced wastewater treatment.

Syl Laskin, as president, charted a new course for MP: as an incentive investment partner with Northeastern Minnesota communities in regional economic development, creating or retaining thousands of jobs in the Northland.

Sandy Sandbulte committed MP to guarantee the bonds needed to build the Iron Range Reservation Center of Northwest Airlines at a critical time in the negotiations and set the stage for a multi-million dollar payroll for the Iron Range.

MP is recognized nationally for its environmental stewardship, delivering low cost energy with SO2 emission rates that are half the national average. MP has made ambitious investments in renewable wind energy and, through its SolarSense program, helps customers generate solar energy for home and business.

Those are just a few of the historical highlights of this power company with a social conscience. I should add that you have the most informative billing document of any electric company I have seen – I feel good about paying my electric bill.

Thank you, Minnesota Power, and cheers for another century.