Northern Wisconsin Senate Battle Centers On Penokee Hills Mine

Deutsch, Bewley Disagree Over Whether Mine Would Be Properly Regulated

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Janet Bewley, left, and Dane Deutsch. Photos courtesy of Wisconsin State Legislature/Dane Deutsch.

Iron mining, jobs and the environment are at the heart of the battle for a northern Wisconsin state Senate district held for nearly 30 years by retiring Democrat Bob Jauch.

The 25th State Senate District includes all or part of 13 counties in the northern third of the state. The large area is at the heart of many battles between environmentalists and businesses, the most controversial of which is the proposed $1.5 billion iron mine proposed for the Penokee Hills. The mine promises more than 600 jobs for a depressed local economy, but critics worry it will harm the Lake Superior watershed.

Dane Deutsch of Rice Lake, the Republican running for the 25th District seat, said state and federal agencies — including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources — will make sure mining is done responsibly.

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“Our natural resources are necessary for prosperity,” said Deutsch. “We have a rich heritage of different resources being used in the past, whether it’s mining or forestry and timber harvesting. And obviously we have some organizations in the state, the DNR being one of them, that actually are there to make sure that our citizens’ environment is not harmed.”

Democratic candidate and current state Rep. Janet Bewley of Ashland says the iron mining law passed by Republicans in 2013 limits how much the DNR can accomplish.

“The DNR has been weakened in its ability to protect the environment, and just saying that the DNR is going to do it because they want to is completely inadequate,” she said. “We have to keep the DNR strong. We have to return the power in order to protect our natural resources.”

The 25th State Senate district has historically favored Democrats, but in 2010 Dane Deutsch was only narrowly defeated by around 1,600 votes.