The funding discussed on March 11 has now passed the Minnesota House of Representatives Committee.  The bill allots $4.9 million to study the relationship between taconite mining and mesothelioma.  Last spring, the Minnesota Health Department found that 58 miners on the Iron Range had died of the disease.  The funding will allow researchers to study the components of taconite dust to determine what level, if any, constitutes dangerous exposure.  Read the article here.