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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Rukavina did lots for LTV workers

Posted 10/31/14

This letter is in response to Angie Sleen’s letter to the editor on Oct. 17.

Item #1- Where she states that Tom Rukavina did nothing for LTV during the closing of the plant. I was one of the …

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Rukavina did lots for LTV workers

Posted

This letter is in response to Angie Sleen’s letter to the editor on Oct. 17.

Item #1- Where she states that Tom Rukavina did nothing for LTV during the closing of the plant. I was one of the employees who lost my job there due to federal bankruptcy and closing of the LTV mining plant. State officials have no control or authority on a federal bankruptcy. What he did was get unemployment benefits extended for an extra two years for LTV workers over any other unemployed Minnesotans and also got us Workforce Development funds to put us back to school and get some retraining. During this time Tom also supported Paul Wellstone with his bill that gave miners affected by bankrupt mines help with reductions in their insurance premiums, the health care tax credit. Tommy also worked to pass a law called the Mine Plant Closing Bill which calls for bankruptcy-closed mines and plants to remain operational so that other mines could reopen them.

Here are a few other items that you said to “label and make known.”

Tommy worked on and helped pass a bio-energy bill that made Excel Energy in Minneapolis buy green energy from our trees so that local loggers make money as they are burning wood instead of coal to the tune of $10 million a year.

Tommy worked on and helped pass the Applied Learning Initiative in which 7,500 local high school students across the Range have been able to take college courses while still in high school.

Tommy worked on securing $4 million in funding to link Gilbert, Eveleth, Virginia, and Mt. Iron, so that if any town’s water supply went down, they can get their water from a neighboring town.

Tommy also voted for and helped pass two minimum wage increases without using the tip credit, that helps all servers and bartenders in Minnesota.

In Gilbert, Tommy worked diligently to obtain money from different ATV, OHV, and off-highway truck funds, as well as IRRRB and different state funds, to open the first OHV park in Minnesota, which benefits businesses in town.

If Angie cannot find anything online, as she states, about how Tom Rukavina has served our area, I think it’s time for her to update her internet service.

My vote is for Tommy who has always been there for us.

Bo Sandstrom

Embarrass, Minn.