Northern Minn. wood siding plant takes another step forward, but still not a done deal

A company has taken another step toward building a potential wood siding plant on the Iron Range, but is also tempering expectations about the number of jobs the facility may create.

State lawmakers passed a package of incentives earlier this year to lure the Louisiana Pacific plant. An Iron Range state economic development agency then approved spending some $30 million to upgrade a site in Hoyt Lakes, Minn.

On Thursday, Minnesota DFL U.S. House Rep. Rick Nolan said the new facility would deliver more than 400 jobs to the region. Nolan, currently in a tight re-election race with GOP candidate Stewart Mills, also touted the larger economic impact that the new plant could have in northern Minnesota by creating jobs in other fields like logging and trucking.

On Friday, however, a spokesperson for the Nashville, Tenn.-based corporation said it was premature to say the company will absolutely build a plant in northern Minnesota.

The company also announced it's buying a former mill site about an hour northwest of Hoyt Lakes in Cook, Minn., making it likely the company would place any operation there, not Hoyt Lakes.

"I will say that northern Minnesota and Cook certainly play into the equation for expanding our siding capacity at LP," said Louisana Pacific's Mark Morrison, adding that a plant the size of what could be built in Cook typically employs about 150 people, not the 400 Nolan said Thursday.

However a new siding plant is also expected to create spin-off jobs for loggers and truckers to deliver the wood the plant will need to produce siding. "That could overshadow the number of plant jobs," said Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Commissioner Mark Phillips.

A final decision is expected by February, Phillips said. He added he was disappointed the company decided against building a plant in Hoyt Lakes.

"But we're also happy on the other hand that Louisiana Pacific is still pretty hot on northeastern Minnesota, and we think our workforce is a pretty big circle," he said. "So we still think there's lots of job opportunities for people on the Iron Range from this plant."

The news, though, was devastating to Hoyt Lakes, which has struggled from a loss in mining jobs.

"From a community perspective it's another kick in the stomach for us," said Hoyt Lakes Mayor Mark Skelton. "We just are getting used to that, it seems like every time we turn around something like this happens."