Laid off Minnesota steelworker to attend State of Union
Source: Twin Cities
By John Myers
HIBBING, Minn. -- Steelworker Dan Hill gave an emotional speech on the Iron Range last week when White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was in Virginia to hear the plight of Minnesota taconite iron ore industry.
Hill talked about needing fast action from Washington to save the U.S. steel industry and Minnesota mining industry that feeds it -- and he made such an impression with state and federal officials that he's headed to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address next month in Washington.
Hill, of Hibbing, will be the guest of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The Minnesota Democrat said Hill's imploring McDonough to prevent his generation from being the last generation of miners on the Iron Range, was important in the ongoing battle to protect against illegally dumped foreign steel that is undercutting the market for U.S.-made steel.
Hill, a millwright, is one of 400 steelworkers who have been laid off from United Taconite since August because there is no demand for the plant's taconite pellets. Hill said he wants the industry salvaged not just for him, but for his 7-year-old son, Riley, who told his dad recently that he wants to be a miner when he grows up.
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Read more: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_29322792/laid-off-minnesota-steelworker-attend-state-union
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