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Well, you did it again.
Like Lucy did so many times by pulling the rug out from under Charlie Brown, you’ve succeeded again - at least temporarily - in derailing another project that would have brought tens of millions of dollars in investment and development in our area.
We won’t apologize for thinking or concluding that your opposition of the expansion at Silver Rapids follows a very similar tune. One we’ve all heard before.
Your drumbeat against mining has succeeded in delaying if not derailing both PolyMet and Twin Metals.
Both are projects that would bring new and high-paying jobs to the region and pump some badly needed juice into the region’s economy. Both now, thanks to your efforts, are all but on life support.
Now it saddens us, but doesn’t surprise us, that you’ve turned your opposition to other measures that would benefit the region you claim to love.
It’s the same playbook and largely the same folks lining up to block Silver Rapids.
Clearly, you’re not just against mining, but just about anything that might benefit Ely’s economy.
A new era of mining, new tourism possibilities on White Iron Lake. Heck, even a new campground on the edge of town. That met your wrath, as well.
It begs us to ask - what if anything are you for?
Let’s look at the numbers, which aren’t pretty.
To what depths should the population decline in the Ely area? A better than 40 percent decline in half a century doesn’t seem sustainable to us.
To what levels must school enrollment fall in Ely? If you’re not concerned about kindergarten and first grade classes of less than 30 students, we certainly are.
How many businesses have to close? The list from just the last decade is sobering - and more may be forthcoming at the current pace.
To what level must badly needed services decrease?
Do we need to lose our ambulance, more businesses, our school’s independence?
Must we lose another 500-1,000 people in population before you say something must change?
The not-in-my-backyard attitude has already cost Ely far too much.
We’re all for tourism being part of the equation, but it’s obvious that lodging tax growth - if any - can be attributed to rising rates rather than more heads in beds.
Yet when a tourism-related project such as Silver Rapids comes along, it feels the wrath you generally reserve for the mining companies.
Sooner or later, and we fear it’s sooner, there won’t be any more developers, mining companies, entrepreneurs or investors willing to make the time and effort to invest in Ely.
Maybe that’s what you really want?
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Community Advocates for Responsible Development (CARD) - Silver Rapids group, represented by a Twin Cities attorney, says over 400 people signed a petition against the development.
https://static2.elyecho.com/data/wysiwig/20240730_Silver%20Rapids%20Petition_Signatures.pdf
