Mining near the Boundary Waters will be in the political spotlight this month as a pair of political forums take place in Ely. The first will take place starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2 on the college campus in Ely.

The event features state Sen. Grant Hauschild and Republican challenger Andrea Zupancich, a realtor in the Ely area and the current mayor of nearby Babbitt.

Also participating in the forum will be incumbent State Rep. Roger Skraba and DFL challenger Aaron Kania, a former U.S. Forest Service district ranger in Ely. The issue of copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is certain to surface during the forum.

A separate event featuring candidates running for the Ely City Council will take place next week at the same venue. That event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made national news last month when he signed an executive order aimed at what he described as a version of “saving the Boundary Waters,” indeed naming a day of recognition after it.

Walz signed the order largely to make a statement that he stands for protecting the watershed of the Boundary Waters. He’s not running for reelection this year, so there’s no risk for him politically in signing the order. If anything, signing the order shows the governor is listening to the many hundreds of thousands of people who encouraged him to protect the Boundary Waters region beyond the current measures already in place to protect the wilderness.

However, because Walz signed an executive order and not a law, any such matters that are not extended by the next governor simply expire 90 days after her leaves office. That puts early April 2027 as the expiration date for this order.

Ahead of Wednesday’s debate, Joe from the Paddle & Portage Podcast spoke with Kania, who served as the district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service in Ely for six years before retiring from the federal agency last winter. As the BWCA continues to be a political flashpoint in local, state, and national elections, they spoke near Lake Superior in Grand Marais about where and why the Boundary Waters fits into the 2026 election cycle. Joe also talked with Rep. Roger Skraba in September in Ely on these same topics.

Both videos are shared below. 

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