2006 will be a year of celebration as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of Minnesota Power. Thanks to some research done by our Information Technology Solutions department staff, I can tell you that our Company’s formal “commencement of corporation date” was January 29, 1906.

Since then, the power we’ve provided has transformed northern and central Minnesota as much as did the taconite and paper/pulp industries. And through the strength of all ALLETE businesses – Minnesota Power, Superior Water, Light & Power, BNI Coal and ALLETE Properties – we will continue forging a future rich with achievement, innovation, excellent customer service and constant adaptation to change.

Our Centennial deserves to have a theme and special logo of its own, and it does: Electrifying a Century. We’ll promote this theme throughout the year – on television, radio and in newspapers that deliver our Centennial messages to customers and to the public, and on special banners and signs displayed at our generating plants and other facilities.

As the year progresses, this section of our Centennial Web site will feature articles about, and interviews with, the people who have created Minnesota Power’s history: our retired and active employees. Since 1906, they have worked tirelessly to provide reliable electricity to homes, commercial businesses and large industrial customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They’ve developed innovative ideas to help Minnesota Power keep customer costs as low as possible, and they’ve collaborated with co-workers to improve efficiency at the Company’s generating plants and business offices.

But that’s not all. They serve on nonprofit boards and committees, hold elected offices, help in their children’s schools, raise money for charities, volunteer as firefighters, mentor and coach youth, and share their talents and expertise in many other ways. Our employees and retirees strive to be ambassadors for Minnesota Power, because they know how important it is for our Company to be a good corporate citizen.

I’d like to thank and commend them now for the rich history they’ve created – and in advance for the history they have yet to make.

Don Shippar
ALLETE Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer