COHASSET

2 charged after Minnesota residents scammed out of $50,000

Tom Olsen — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 19:17:46 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS — Scams targeting elderly residents of Minnesota's Iron Range resulted in at least three victims turning over nearly $50,000, according to charges filed in Itasca County.

Authorities say the perpetrators used the well-known “grandparent scam” in which a caller posing as a relative, usually a grandchild, claims to be in jail and in need of money for bail. The victims are then coerced into acting quickly, turning over cash to supposedly ensure their immediate release.

Ra’Shawn Marquios Carter, 31, of Canton, Ohio, was first arrested and charged with felony theft by swindle. A second man, Sebastian Munoz-Huertas, 24, of Freeport, Illinois, was apprehended one day later and charged with aiding and abetting the same offense.

According to the criminal complaints:

One victim told police she received a call Feb. 3 from a man claiming to be her grandson. She said it didn’t sound like him, but he claimed to have a bad cold. He said he was jailed after a car crash and needed $17,000 to get out.

The woman and her husband then received several additional calls from an alleged bail bondsman and followed directions to get cash and place it in an envelope. A man later identified as Carter then came to their home and picked it up.

It was only after turning over the money that the couple called their grandson, learning he had been at work the entire time, and realizing they had been scammed.

Grand Rapids police arrived at the couple's home and learned they were receiving more calls, requesting an additional $16,000 to be exchanged at a gas station. Officers went to the scene and arrested Carter, who matched the description given by the couple and seen on home security footage.

A search of his SUV turned up the envelope handed over by the couple, as well as two others containing large amounts of cash.

Officers then went to the home of another woman whose name was written on one of the envelopes. She provided a similar account, saying she had received a call from her purported grandson, who lives out of state, stating that he was arrested after an accident.

She then received a call from his supposed lawyer, “Richard Egan,” instructing her to withdraw $15,000. She did so and gave it to the “bail bondsman,” who also matched Carter’s description.

Meanwhile, another report was made the same day in Hibbing. The victim there told police she had also received a call from a man identifying himself as Richard Egan, a lawyer representing her grandson.

The victim went to her bank and placed $17,200 in an envelope before handing it off to the alleged courier who arrived at her home. Police said descriptions of the man, as well as a photo of his SUV taken by a suspicious neighbor, again pointed to Carter.

Despite Carter’s arrest, the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office took another report the following day in Cohasset after family members stopped another near-victim from turning over $16,800.

The victim provided a similar account of her grandson being arrested after a car accident. She said she was contacted by the alleged lawyer, Egan, and told that a cash payment would get him out of jail immediately, while a check would delay his release by 48 hours. She was also told her grandson was under a “gag order” and could not talk.

The woman told investigators she withdrew the funds, informing the bank teller it was for a vacation because she did not want to disclose what had happened with her grandson.

The woman’s daughter, however, found out about the transaction and, through a series of calls, another person was asked to go to her house to stop her from turning over the money.

The man told police he arrived and found a man, later identified as Munoz-Huertas, in an SUV. He took a photo, which he then provided to investigators, and the suspect left without receiving the envelope.

Police found the SUV in Grand Rapids a short time later and arrested Munoz-Huertas.

In a statement, with the assistance of an interpreter, he said he was a native of Colombia and has lived in the U.S. for about 2 1/2 years. He said he traveled to Itasca County from Illinois because an acquaintance in Florida asked him to go to the Cohasset address and pick up a package.

Munoz-Huertas said he inquired if the package contained drugs, but was told it was cash and that he’d receive $500. He claimed he did not know he was involved in a swindle, indicating he wanted to cooperate in the investigation and repeatedly asking if he would be deported.

Carter posted a $40,000 bond with conditions after his arraignment in State District Court last week. Munoz-Huertas remains in custody and is subject to a federal hold, according to jail records.

Both were slated to make court appearances again Wednesday.

Court documents indicate other area residents reported similar scam attempts last week, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported victims “have been taken for large sums of money in the Britt, Ely, and Hibbing areas.”

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office warns that con artists targeting grandparents often direct victims not to share information with anyone else out of embarrassment and create a sense of urgency, which can allow the scammers to avoid detection.

Anyone receiving a similar call is urged to take steps to verify the person’s identity and resist pressure to turn over money quickly and secretly. Residents should hang up or ignore scam calls and immediately report incidents to 911, the sheriff’s office said.

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Huber Engineered Woods pulls out of Cohasset project after court decision

Jimmy Lovrien — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 23:08:32 GMT

COHASSET — The company behind a proposed $400 million wood factory in Cohasset has pulled out of the project, just days after a state appeals court reintroduced the prospect that the proposal could undergo a rigorous and lengthy environmental impact statement.

Huber Engineered Woods, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, will take the project to another state, the company said in a news release Thursday.

“Due to delays that jeopardize our ability to meet product demand deadlines, we will pursue development of our sixth mill in another state," Huber President Brian Carlson said in the release.

Huber planned to build an oriented strand board, or OSB, plant on 400 acres next to Minnesota Power's Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset. State and local officials heralded the project as potentially bringing in 158 much-needed jobs to the region, supporting the logging industry and helping offset the effects of Boswell going coal-free by 2035, and quickly promised millions in grants and loans for the plant.

In a news release, Cohasset Mayor Andy MacDonell said it was a "devastating day."

“We are frustrated, disappointed, and angry, but we won’t waver in our work to reshape our community. Today’s announcement makes one thing crystal clear: Cohasset cannot overcome the retirement of the Boswell plant alone. It is now more critical than ever that the governor, the Legislature and all our regional partners bring every resource they can to the table to support our community through this transition,” MacDonell said.

The city said "roadblocks" from the permitting process and environmental groups' legal challenges were to blame.

"Today really feels like a funeral in my office," Tamara Lowney, the president of the Itasca Economic Development Corp., told the News Tribune. "Saying goodbye to the biggest opportunity that our region and our northern part of the state has seen in decades."

The project is designed to help replace lost jobs and tax base as Boswell winds down or converts non-coal sources. Lowney said Boswell currently accounts for 55% of Cohasset's tax base, 29% of Itasca County's tax base and 16% of the Cohasset �� District's tax base.

Lowney said the project faced a number of hurdles, including “political headwinds” and legal challenges. She expressed frustration with the state and federal environmental and permitting processes, which she described as unpredictable with unclear timelines.

"We're going to watch them go to another state and move along at a pace that we couldn't even imagine," Lowney said.

The company and its supporters sought to avoid an environmental impact statement from the start.

A facility of Huber’s size, 800,000 square feet, would typically trigger an environmental impact statement, but the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that specifically exempts the project from such a study.

Last year, the city of Cohasset accepted a less-stringent environmental assessment worksheet for the project, deeming an environmental impact statement — a rigorous review of the project's environmental effects and an examination of alternatives that could take about a year to complete — was unnecessary.

But on Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said there wasn't enough evidence to prove an environmental impact statement was unnecessary for the project. While the court did not explicitly order an environmental impact statement, it did send the issue back to the city for reconsideration and to issue a revised decision on whether such a review was needed.

Specifically, the court's decision cited the lack of evidence in two wetland-related issues: whether eliminating wetlands would trigger a mandatory environmental impact statement and whether planned wetland filling would have "significant environmental effects."

However, the court said the city's determination that the "project does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects based on air emissions and timber harvesting" was supported by "substantial evidence in the record."

The court largely sided with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, which challenged the city's decision to forgo the environmental impact statement.

The band's reservation is just 1 mile from the project's proposed location, but the band has said it was not consulted before the project's announcement in 2021.

In a news release Thursday afternoon, the Leech Lake Band said it was also disappointed that Huber had pulled out, and it wants both economic opportunities and protection of natural resources and the environment.

"In this particular case, we were deeply concerned about the potential impact of the proposed plant on the environment, the attempted shortcuts in the environmental review process and the absence of meaningful tribal consultation at the start of project. We took the necessary legal action to ensure that the Tribe's rights and interests were protected," the band said.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, which helped the band with its legal challenge, declined to comment.

In a statement that started with "This BS has got to end," State Sen. Justin Eichorn blamed the band for Huber's decision.

"The Leech Lake Band could have come to the table to figure out a solution, but they chose to try to kill the entire project through protracted legal action," Eichorn said. "As a result, Minnesota loses out on hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs; $450 million in direct investment; billions of dollars in long-term economic impact; and a phenomenal partner that has won international awards for sustainability. Good work, everyone."

Eichorn also blamed Gov. Tim Walz, who he said "didn't lift a finger."

However, under the Walz administration, millions of dollars in incentives had been raised for the company.

"(Walz) has encouraged all involved to follow the necessary processes and meet timelines," a Walz spokesperson said in an email to the News Tribune. "He is deeply disappointed that Huber has chosen not to bring these critical jobs to Minnesota."

In a joint statement, commissioners of three Minnesota state agencies — the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Department of Employment and Economic Development — all said they were disappointed in Huber's decision to leave Minnesota.

“Huber Engineered Wood’s decision to forgo the proposed facility in Cohasset is a huge disappointment,” said Katrina Kessler, commissioner of the MPCA. “The MPCA worked closely with Huber and prioritized their project by committing significant staff resources to develop and implement the most efficient and thorough permitting timeline, including partnering with local leaders to try to resolve outstanding questions from the federal government.”

This story was updated several times with additional quotes and information from officials and a line attributed to Lowney was clarified. The final version was published at 5:08 p.m. Feb. 9. The initial version was posted at 12:28 p.m. Feb. 9.

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Cohasset accepts revised environmental review for proposed wood plant

Jimmy Lovrien — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 04:12:40 GMT

DULUTH — The Cohasset City Council accepted the revised environmental review for a proposed wood factory but took no in-person public comments during a brief meeting Tuesday evening.

The updated environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, for the Huber Engineered Woods’ $400 million oriented strand board, or OSB, plant came after an environmental group, an Indigenous band, a competitor and two Bemidji-area business groups spoke out on the adequacy of the original EAW late last year.

With the EAW deemed “adequate” by the city of Cohasset, state agencies must now consider permits for the plant.

During the approximately 17-minute meeting, held in the City Hall’s community center to accommodate dozens of supporters and opponents, Cohasset mayor Greg Hagy said he and the council would receive only the written comments submitted over a 30-day public-comment period in January and February.

“We know that there may be folks here tonight interested in speaking for or against the EAW project, but we will not be accepting public comments tonight. … We decided in the beginning to only consider comments submitted to the city in writing,” Hagy said.

As the council took roll call, opponents of the plant interrupted, demanding they have time to speak.

“Why didn’t you let the people come here to speak?” said Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led environmental organization. “It was a public hearing.”

In a news release Monday, Honor the Earth said they had previously been told by the city that public comments would be allowed, only for the city to then change its mind “in direct contravention of the purpose of Minnesota’s Open Meetings Law,” the group said.

The agenda on Cohasset’s website still lists Monday’s meeting as an “open public hearing.”

Earlier in the afternoon, company officials and supporters of the project held a “Huber Huddle” at Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids.

Brian Hanson, president and CEO of APEX, a Duluth economic development agency, said the project will help the community weather the phase-out of Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center coal-fired units.

The project would bring 158 jobs to the region and the 800,000-square-foot facility is planned for 400 acres next to Boswell, which represents a significant amount of the area’s employment and tax base.

“There is a burning platform here and Huber Engineered Wood represents a really great opportunity to help replace that platform,” Hanson said in a telephone interview.

A project of Huber’s size would normally trigger a more stringent environmental impact statement, but the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that specifically exempts the project from such a study.

In written comments, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe said the project should get the full environmental impact statement, which is more stringent than an EAW.

The band, with its reservation just one mile away, also said it was left out of necessary tribal consultation in the lead-up to the plant's announcement in June 2021.

The project has the backing of a number of trade groups representing loggers, timber producers and truckers.

“The production capacity of the Huber mill will restore a part of the lost mill capacity Minnesota has suffered in the last 13 years and ensure Minnesota can utilize the over 10 million acres of over rotation (mature) aspen and the large volume of growing aspen (most recently harvested in the 1980s) coming to rotation in the next 5-10 years,” Mike Forsman, executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota, wrote in comments. “The additional volume is sustainable and necessary for maintaining healthy forests, wildfire reduction, wildlife habitat and the environment.”

But a competitor in the industry is opposed.

West Fraser, which has an OSB plant in Solway, near Bemidji, reiterated its concerns there wouldn’t be enough timber, namely aspen, in the state to support another mill.

In the updated EAW, Mike Kilgore, chair of the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, said aspen’s “annual sustainable harvest” was 2.36 million cords per year and only 1.43 million cords were harvested in 2018. Huber would use about 300,000 cords of aspen per year, leaving plenty for Huber, Kilgore said.

But in written comments on the EAW, West Fraser included letters from professional forester Robert Wright, of Ohio, and forest biometrician Stephen Fairweather, of Washington, who both listed numerous issues with the EAW.

Roberts pointed out that while Kilgore relied on a 2019 report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the report itself relies heavily on environmental impact statements from 1994 and 2006, which were “too dated to reliably analyze the potential impacts” of the project, he said.

The company also again questioned why the City of Cohasset was the EAW’s responsible governing unit, or RGU, instead of the DNR or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which would have more expertise.

“The City disagrees,” the city wrote in a response to the comments. “The City was properly assigned to the RGU by rule. To clarify, the EQB regulations provide that if a proposed project fall into more than one mandatory EAW category, then the RGU is the entity with greatest responsibility for supervising or approving the Proposed Project.”

The project must still obtain permits from state regulators, but it has eyed opening as soon as 2024.

Legal challenges from Honor the Earth and others are expected, however.

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Revised Cohasset wood plant environmental review: It'll be a 'carbon sink'

Jimmy Lovrien — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 15:36:36 GMT

DULUTH — There will be enough aspen in the state for the new wood factory proposed for Cohasset, and the factory would offset all of its carbon emissions through the burning of waste wood and storing of carbon in its products.

That's according to an updated environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, completed last week for Huber Engineered Woods’ $400 million oriented strand board, or OSB, plant.

The updated EAW comes after an environmental group, an Indigenous band, a competitor and two Bemidji-area business groups spoke out on the adequacy of the original EAW last year.

Faced with those concerns in November, the Cohasset City Council, which is overseeing the EAW, sought to update the EAW and postponed a decision on whether to accept it until March. If the city accepts the revisions then, it would trigger a new 30-day public comment period.

The 800,000-square-foot facility is planned for 400 acres next to Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center and would bring 158 jobs to the region. A project of that size would normally trigger a more stringent environmental impact statement, but the Minnesota Legislature also passed a law that specifically exempts the project from such a study.

Key points in the updated EAW include:

A net reduction of carbon

The new analysis of greenhouse gases suggests the plant, by drying wood through the burning of waste wood and storing carbon in the wood products, could actually calculate out to a net reduction of 117,471 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually.

That is vastly different than the figure in the original EAW, which only said the plant was expected to release 446,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually. Such a figure would make it the state's 12th-largest emitter, according to the 2020 data tracked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The updated EAW said on-site emissions and off-site electricity production would mean 517,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually. But it can get that number so far below zero because the EPA and Minnesota Environmental Quality board also consider the burning of biomass as carbon neutral.

The EAW now subtracts how much carbon dioxide would be released by burning fines and bark for the plants furnace and dryer system — nearly 323,000 tons per year.

And the revised EAW subtracts an additional 233,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year because of the ability for the plant's wood products to store carbon over their expected 60-year life.

"First, they can avoid the (greenhouse gas) emissions inherent in cement and steel production," the EAW said. "Additionally, these wood products store the CO2 taken up by the trees that are harvested and used as engineered timber."

In comments submitted on the original EAW, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy had criticized it for not doing such an analysis or even using "climate" in the original report.

The updated EAW said denial of the plant would not help the state reach its carbon reduction goals.

"Importantly, even if there were no adjustments made for biogenic emissions or product sequestration and the Project was considered a net emitter of (greenhouse gases), rejection of the project would not improve net carbon emissions," the EAW said. "As a private company, (Huber Engineered Woods) has other out-of-state location options for the facility if the Cohasset facility does not get approved, and would pursue them."

Enough wood for another mill

After the first EAW was released, it drew sharp criticism from West Fraser, which operates an OSB plant in Solway, near Bemidji.

Company officials feared there wouldn't be enough aspen in the state to support another OSB plant, and urged a deeper examination of the state's wood resources as the original EAW only said aspen was "plentiful in the region."

The company also said an agency with "expertise" like the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency should conduct the EAW, not Cohasset, which as already expressed "enthusiasm" for the project.

The updated EAW had professor Mike Kilgore, chair of the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, review the state's forests.

He pointed to the most recent inventory of the state's aspen from 2018, which said 1.43 million cords per year of aspen are harvested, while the "annual sustainable harvest" is 2.36 million cords per year.

Huber will consume about 400,000 cords of wood per year, 75% of which would be aspen. Kilgore said that would only account for 30% of the available aspen for a sustainable harvest.

"It is my opinion that timber resources will be made available to (Huber Engineered Woods) (and other users) in a sustainable, environmentally protective manner, and that the incremental consumption of fiber precipitated by the HEW project will not have the potential for significant environmental effects on Minnesota’s forest resources," he concluded.

Concerns by Leech Lake Band briefly addressed

Despite concerns raised by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, whose reservation sits just 1 mile to the west of the project site and the project site sits within the territory ceded in the 1855 treaty, the original EAW was light on explaining possible effects to its reservation or its exercise of treaty rights.

The revised EAW largely pointed to the sustainability of Minnesota's forests and and said that if the law was followed when harvesting wood from county and state lands then the project "should not result in significant impacts to reserved tribal rights."

"Impacts to treaty rights, if any, will typically be closely tied to the particular characteristics and resources found in specific tracts of forest," the EAW said. "Without knowing the specific tracts and sequence of timber harvesting that will supply the facility, there are several reasons to believe that the exercise of treaty rights is unlikely to be adversely affected."

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Proposed Cohasset wood plant would be Minnesota's 12th-largest emitter

Jimmy Lovrien — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 13:00:00 GMT

DULUTH -- A board plant proposed for Cohasset but exempt from a full environmental review is prompting concerns.

Huber Engineered Woods, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced in June it plans to open a $400 million, 800,000-square-foot oriented strand board, or OSB, plant on 400 acres next to Minnesota Power's Boswell Energy Center.

The project, heralded as potentially bringing in 158 much-needed jobs to the region, supporting the logging industry and helping offset effects of Minnesota Power's Boswell plant going coal-free by 2035, quickly had support from state and local officials who promised millions in grants and loans for plant.

But a project of that size would normally automatically trigger an environmental impact statement, or EIS, a rigorous review of the project's environmental effects and examination of alternatives that could take about one year to complete. So the Minnesota Legislature also passed a law that specifically exempt the project from an EIS and instead have it undergo a less stringent environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, which was completed in September.

The law that exempt the project from an environmental impact statement was first reported by MinnPost in June.

Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Commissioner Mark Phillips told MinnPost that Minnesota was competing with other states for the plant and an EIS would take a year, which was too long for the company. Meanwhile, an EAW takes closer to six months.

Huber officials could not be reached for this story.

More quietly than the support for the project, the less-stringent EAW has several environmental and business groups, an Indigenous band and another OSB manufacturer worried. Their concerns were outlined in written comments obtained for this story through a public records request from the city of Cohasset.

The 120-page EAW said the project would emit 446,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, which includes carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, mainly through its wood burners (which can also be fired with natural gas) used to dry the wood.

Compared to 2020 data tracked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the plant would be the 12th-largest emitter of CO2 in the state.

Gary Meader / Duluth News Tribune free

Only seven power plants, two refineries and two taconite plants in the state would emit more carbon dioxide equivalents per year than the new plant.

"But the EAW does not even mention the words 'climate change,' let alone consider the effects such a huge new infusion of (greenhouse gas) emissions would have in our state," the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy wrote in comments on the EAW. "The use of OSB may have some positive climate effects, due to the sequestration of carbon within the product and its use in place of other, more carbon-intensive construction materials. But the EAW makes no attempt to quantify or discuss those effects."

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe raised concerns that the EAW failed to address potential impacts on its reservation, which is only 1 mile to the west of the project site. Additionally, the project falls within the territory ceded in the 1855 Treaty.

"The Tribe has significant concerns about the lack of information provided in the EAW, and questions regarding how the Project will affect the Reservation and Ceded Territory environment, including the Tribe’s ability to exercise treaty rights and maintain traditional cultural, spiritual, and religious practices," the band wrote.

Concerns on the EAW spurred debate at the Cohasset City Council meeting Nov. 9, which was then extended to Nov. 16.

The city of Cohasset, the responsible government unit conducting the EAW, described the special City Council meeting Nov. 16 as a "public hearing" on the agenda.

Some had arrived ready to comment on the EAW, expecting it to be a continuation of last week's hearing.

But a livestream of the meeting showed Cohasset Mayor Greg Hagy wrapping up the meeting within 3 minutes.

After the pledge of allegiance, Hagy extended the EAW consideration until Tuesday, when he said the council will vote on it. He also noted all indoor "Light the Night" events were canceled due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

"That's all I have tonight," Hagy told those in attendance. "Not taking any questions."

Reached by phone after the meeting, Hagy said the meeting was held to extend the EAW deadline to next week.

"We had some serious questions come at the first meeting," Hagy said. "We wanted a chance for the company and for us to reevaluate, to make sure that we covered all the bases."

At next week's meeting, the council will vote on whether it should adopt the EAW as is, extend it or order the more rigorous EIS.

Asked if the company had told him it would only come to Minnesota if it was an EAW and not an EIS — what MinnPost reported the company had told the IRRR — Hagy said he had not heard that.

Hagy said he supports the project and was "a little surprised there's pushback."

Asked if he could still fairly consider the EAW when he already supports the project and said it will benefit Cohasset, Hagy said: "That's exactly what we're doing — we'll make sure we cover all the bases."

But not everyone agrees.

In public comments, an attorney for the West Fraser OSB plant in Solway, near Bemidji, said an agency with "expertise" like the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency should conducting the EAW, not Cohasset, which as already expressed "enthusiasm" for the project.

The company wrote that it "appreciates the City’s perspective that a proposal that could be a 'once in a 40-year project' that is like 'another Metrodome' is important and understands why the City may wish to embrace the proposal. But understandable enthusiasm does not eliminate the need for careful scrutiny or robust application of applicable laws and regulations, including environmental review."

In an interview for this story on Tuesday evening, West Fraser officials said they're also concerned there wouldn't be enough aspen in the state to support another OSB plant, something the EAW only says is "plentiful in the region." It has been reported extensively that the Cohasset plant would rely heavily on aspen, somewhere in the range of 400,000-500,000 cords each year.

"We haven't seen enough information that helps us feel comfortable that there's enough wood to satisfy another very large OSB mill," said Cam Lewis, general manager of West Fraser's Solway OSB plant. "So we're worried that would hurt us, at a minimum, or might do worse."

Greater Bemidji, an economic development group, and the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce submitted letters encouraging a study on the state's available wood before the Huber project moves forward.

Hagy dismissed the West Fraser's concerns as "self-interests" because they would be a competitor to Huber.

Jack Wallingford, West Fraser's regional manager, said the company has "no problem competing," but said the subsidies to Huber lead to an unlevel playing field.

Huber will receive a $15 million from the IRRR, forgivable if the facility employs 100 people over its first six years. It's also set to receive $20 million from the Department of Employment and Economic Development, which also approved $2 million to Cohasset so it can extend water and sewer lines to the site. Another state law also would pay Huber $7.50 for every 1,000 square feet of OSB produced, which could total up to $28.5 million over 10 years beginning in 2025.

"Fundamentally, the state of Minnesota and IRRRB have committed significant public money to this project … and frankly, we have to compete against that, and we start in the hole," Wallingford said. "So the fact is that we're out fighting for the survival of our manufacturing location. If we didn't, we're not doing our job."

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$440 million engineered-wood factory planned for Iron Range

Jimmy Lovrien — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 04:48:00 GMT

A $440 million, 800,000-square-foot engineered wood factory is planned for Cohasset.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Huber Engineered Woods said it will open an oriented strand board, or OSB, plant on 400 acres beside U.S. Highway 2 and state Highway 6, next to Minnesota Power's Boswell Energy Center. The plant is expected to employ 158 employees and would be used to make the company's line of Zip System sheathing, Advantech subflooring and other engineered wood products.

The project plans were revealed publicly Monday during a meeting of the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation's advisory board, which unanimously voted to support a $15 million forgivable loan for the project. The loan is forgivable if the facility employs 100 people over its first six years.

The project will also receive $20 million loan from the Department of Employment and Economic Development and $27.5 million from "partner investor(s)." It's putting up the remaining $376 million in private financing.

During the IRRR meeting held over video conference, Brian Carlson, president of Huber Engineered Woods, said Cohasset became the frontrunner for its sixth mill after looking at sites across the western United States and Canada.

"(We) ultimately decided that northern Minnesota — given the fiber basket that exists there, the long history of the OSB industry and the quality of the workforce — was an ideal fit for us," Carlson said, adding that it would boost the company's capacity by 30%.

Groundbreaking on the mill could come as soon as this fall but is mostly likely slated for the spring, Carlson said.

Scott Dane, executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota, said the new plant is coming at the right time. Last year, his group convened an emergency meeting after Verso's Duluth paper mill announced it would close and the Sappi paper mill in Cloquet and Blandin mill in Grand Rapids slowed production and temporarily idled, respectively.

"A year later, because of the private and public efforts of all the people on this call, we're announcing the biggest development of the forest products industry in 40 years," Dane said.

Verso took mainly spruce and balsam from area loggers, and its closure meant demand for those species plummeted.

Asked by Rep. Rob Ecklund, DFL-International Falls, if Huber would take those softwood species, Carlson said it would rely mainly on aspen, a hardwood.

"(Softwood is) problematic in OSB manufacturing," Carlson said. "Although we will be looking to incorporate small amounts in to the process."

Carlson said the company expects to use 800,000 to 1 million tons of new timber each year, taken from a 70- to 100-mile radius from the plant.

Though converting tonnage of timber to cords can depend on moisture content, Sen. Tom Bakk, I-Cook, estimated the plant would take about 400,000-500,000 cords each year.

The plant will also mark the return of the manufactured wood industry to the area. While the area has paper plants, Northeastern Minnesota was also once home to a number of now-shuttered wood product plants, including Georgia-Pacific's hardboard plant in Duluth and Potlach's waferboard plants in Grand Rapids, Cook and Bemidji.

Matt Sjobberg, IRRR's executive director of development, said the area near Boswell would also help the area absorb the impact of Minnesota Power retiring one of its two remaining coal-fired units at Boswell in 2030 and then going "coal-free" by 2035.

Announcement of the plant was celebrated by officials from Itasca County, the city of Cohasset and Gov. Tim Walz's office as an economic diversification win for the region.

"This is a very big deal for northern Minnesota," Bakk said.

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Northeast Minnesota man charged with vehicular homicide for drunken ATV crash

Forum News Service — Wed, 15 May 2019 23:24:48 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — A Cohasset man admitted to having approximately 15 alcoholic drinks in the hours before he crashed his ATV into a power pole, killing a friend, according to court documents.

Authorities said 21-year-old Joseph Jeffrey Riley registered a blood-alcohol concentration nearly twice the legal limit after the incident that killed Dylan Robert Christy and injured Alexander Michael Rajala, both 21 and of Grand Rapids.

Riley allegedly told deputies he swerved to avoid a deer when the crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday on County Road 459 south of Cohasset. He acknowledged that he spent the night drinking at a number of bars around Grand Rapids, according to a criminal complaint.

The Itasca County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the crash at 2:17 a.m. A deputy and ambulance crew attended to Christy, who was airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, where he was pronounced dead.

Riley was uninjured. Rajala, who suffered a leg strain and some bruises and scrapes, was treated at Grand Itasca Hospital.

Riley was arraigned Tuesday, May 14, in State District Court in Grand Rapids on a felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide and a gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation.

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Cohasset man dies in vehicle accident in drainage ditch near Hector

Kelly Boldan — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 02:44:49 GMT

HECTOR, Minn. - A Cohasset man was found dead Thursday morning, Dec. 14, inside an upside-down vehicle frozen in the ice at the bottom of a county drainage ditch by a farm field near Hector.

The deceased man was identified as Richard C. Bain, Jr., 48, of Cohasset.

The Renville County Sheriff's Office received a report at 10:32 a.m. Thursday about a vehicle lying on its roof at the bottom of Judicial Ditch 15, which is located about a quarter mile east of Hector. The area where the vehicle had entered the ditch was along a farm field north of U.S. Highway 212 and about quarter-mile from any nearby road.

Upon arriving at the scene, responding personnel discovered the vehicle was frozen into the ice in the ditch, suggesting that the vehicle had entered the ditch water a significant amount of time prior to the emergency call.

After removing the vehicle from the ditch, emergency personnel discovered the body of an adult male inside, later identified as Bain.

The preliminary investigation revealed that, for unknown reasons, Bain had driven approximately a quarter-mile across a tilled farm field before entering the drainage ditch. It is unknown exactly when the crash occurred.

The Renville County Sheriff's Office and the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office is continuing the investigation.

The Renville County Sheriff's Office and the Hector Ambulance Service responded to the accident scene.

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Cohasset man killed in Cass County crash

Pioneer Staff Report — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 04:49:00 GMT

CASS COUNTY -- A Cohasset, Minn., man died Wednesday after a crash involving a semitrailer in Cass County, according to a Minnesota State Patrol report.

David Lee Schildt, 61, was driving a Jeep east on Highway 200 near Locke Trail Northeast at about 8:25 p.m. when he hit the semi’s trailer. The semi had been traveling west on the highway and was backing into a private drive on the road’s south side.

The crash killed Schildt; the MSP report does not say he was taken to a hospital. David Claire Elyea, 33, of Remer, Minn., was driving the semi and was not hurt. Both Elyea and Schildt were wearing seatbelts and alcohol was not involved in the accident, according to the patrol.

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MPCA to host public meeting in Bemidji

Pioneer Staff Report — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 14:33:28 GMT

BEMIDJI -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has scheduled two public informational meetings to provide updates and answer questions regarding ongoing water quality projects in the Mississippi River-Headwaters watershed.

The meetings are 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at Bemidji City Hall, 317 4th St. NW, Bemidji; and 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Cohasset Community Center, 305 1st Ave. NW, Cohasset.

The Mississippi River-Headwaters Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies project began in October 2012. The MPCA and area partners have since collected extensive water quality monitoring data on lakes, rivers and streams throughout the watershed. Assessments of the data have led to two lakes being addressed through individual water quality studies to determine causes, and find solutions to excess nutrient pollution, mainly phosphorus. Those lakes are Lake Irving in Bemidji, and Little Turtle Lake, about 10miles north of Bemidji. The lake studies are known as Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDLs.

The WRAPS project will also establish protection strategies to maintain the long-term health of surface waters throughout the watershed that do meet state water quality standards.

MPCA staff, and area partners, will present information about this WRAPS project, answer questions and offer opportunity for citizen involvement.

For questions about this project or the public meetings, contact MPCA Watershed Project Manager Phil Votruba at (218) 316-3901.

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