DELTA AND THE RANGE

Yes, deal is sweet — for communities

I don't know if I should be thrilled or upset at the Nov. 18 business column that Neal St. Anthony wrote on Delta Air Lines and the Iron Range ("Delta gets another sweetheart deal").

I'm thrilled that the article pointed out the great workforce on the Iron Range, and that the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) has financial assistance available to encourage companies like Delta to locate facilities and expand.

Delta and Northwest Airlines before it have been great companies to have on the Iron Range. They've provided good-paying jobs and benefits for more than 400 people, which will soon grow to more than 500. It's been estimated that the annual payroll with benefits will be more than $25 million in a region that has high unemployment.

I guess I'm upset because I felt the business writer took a cheap shot at the Iron Range and Delta Air Lines, making it tougher to recruit businesses. The families of the Iron Range, who don't want to fight traffic to get to work in the Twin Cities, are thrilled to be able to live, work and raise their families here.

Delta has never threatened to leave the Iron Range if it didn't get help to expand and create a world-class facility in Chisholm. The final financing package, which I had suggested to the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and to Delta, was good for all parties, particularly Iron Range employees and communities. We want the U-Hauls to start heading north and not just south.

Iron Range legislators and former Gov. Rudy Perpich had the vision in 1977 to get the Legislature to increase the local taxes that our taconite companies pay to be set aside to diversify the economy. These are local dollars, not state dollars, but they are still public dollars. Over the decades, some of these economic initiatives have failed, but Delta Air Lines (among many others) has been a home run.

The headline to St. Anthony's column said that Delta got another sweetheart deal. It's actually the employees of Delta in Chisholm who are getting the great deal. Other good companies looking for a great workforce should contact the IRRRB, Iron Range legislators, or me. We'll try to help. Whether it's manufacturing, high tech or medical devices, the Iron Range is open for business.

DOUG JOHNSON

The writer, a former DFL Minnesota legislator, lives in Tower.