The crisis that has befallen the taconite industry on the Iron Range is the economic equivalent of a flood or a tornado. It's a force beyond Minnesota's control that is wreaking widespread havoc in a particular locale.

It's akin to a natural disaster in another sense, too: Iron Rangers are counting on their state government to provide relief. That's in keeping with an unwritten compact Minnesotans have had with state government through nearly 158 years of statehood. Through its unemployment insurance program and more, the state has lived up to that expectation in the past.

It ought to do so again — this week. A 26-week extension of unemployment benefits for those affected by the downturn in the U.S. steel market has been promised by state politicians for several months and was among several subjects of weeks of fruitless negotiations about a possible special session. With the Legislature again in session this week, further delay would constitute a breach of trust.

The 26-week extension that Iron Rangers are seeking for their region has ample precedent. It does not affect the state's general fund, and the need for it has become urgent. State Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing, said some of her constituents ran out of unemployment benefits in November. She and other Iron Range leaders are trying to avert an exodus of highly skilled workers, which would be a lasting setback for the region.

The Senate is poised to act Thursday on an unadorned benefits extension, which would tap the state's surplus-rich unemployment trust fund for an estimated $30 million. The House would be, too, if the House's GOP majority had not attached to the extension a $272 million unemployment insurance tax cut for business. That linkage was unacceptable to the DFL minority, whose votes were needed to suspend House rules and hasten consideration of the bill.

House Republicans say the business tax break is justified, given the $1.6 billion surplus in the trust fund. They may be right, though the state AFL-CIO is among those arguing against a drawdown as large as the GOP bill contemplates. The union warns against making the fund insufficient to handle unemployment claims in the next economic downturn.

That resistance makes the unemployment tax relief a poor addition to an emergency bill to aid economically afflicted Minnesotans. No legislator whose district is stricken with a tornado or a flood would want a relief bill for his or her constituents laden with a controversial business tax break. And every legislator should remember that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime.

The unemployment tax break should be considered in the new session's coming weeks. An Iron Range relief bill should reach Gov. Mark Dayton's desk before this week ends.