The bill to provide $4.9 million for mesothelioma research in Minnesota has been enacted.  Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the document yesterday, finalizing the long process of approval.  The research, which is expected to take five years, aims to explain why dozens of miners from the Iron Range have been struck with mesothelioma.  The funds are coming from the state's Department of Commerce and will be divided among state universities over time.  Read the full article here.

On Thursday, state legislators sent a bill to Governor Tim Pawlenty that would fund University research for mesothelioma affecting Iron Range miners. In total, fifty-eight Iron Range miners have died from mesothelioma.

Pending Pawlenty's signature, the University will have $4.9 million to study the disease. Pawlenty has previosuly voiced support for the bill. If the bill is passed, the University plans to analyze death records, perform environmental reviews and conduct screenings of current and former miners. The research is scheduled to take five years.

If Pawlenty doesn't sign the bill, the University would have to get funds from grants.

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On Monday, the Minnesota Senate unanimously approved a bill to allot $4.9 million for mesothelioma research related to Iron Range mining.  Now, it will advance to the Governor's office for final endorsement.

The bill had acquired national attention not only because of the significant monetary value, but also because of the Governor's initial opposition to the proposal.  Even though he believed the research should be conducted, Gov. Tim Pawlenty originally opposed the funding's source.  Last Thursday, however, Pawlenty met with Democrats to reach a compromise: the $4.9 million will be taken in four stages from a Department of Commerce-administered fund that is now running a healthy surplus, instead of from a worker's compensation fund.  Pawlenty feared that extracting from the compensation fund would mean premium increases for all businesses that feed into it.

The bill is now expected to pass smoothly.  The research, which will be led by state university campuses, is predicted to last five years.

The bill to fund mesothelioma research in Minnesota's Iron Range has passed the House of Representatives, but the governor has already threatened a veto.  Governor Tim Pawlenty does not endorse the source of the study's funding, but the bill passed by an 88-45 vote.

The research will be a collaborative effort between the state's University campuses at Duluth and Twin City.  The study will help determine the details of the relationship between taconite mining in the Iron Range and the instance of mesothelioma in miners.  John Finnegan, dean of the School of Public Health, said the research will be divided into four different studies, three of which look at the causes of death in the miners and the health of current and former miners.

"This is probably the best shot in 25 years to get the research done the right way," Finnegan said.  Read the full article here.

A new development in the Iron Range case of Minnesota has citizens concerned.  The governor of Minnesota has publicly stated that he does not support the bill which allots $4.9 million for asbestos research.  Governor Tim Pawlenty says he does not agree with the bill's source of funding.  He believes the money should come from Iron Range resources rather than the state's Worker's Compensation Fund.  Range representatives said they will proceed with their version of the bill.  The bill will be voted on in the House soon, and it is still moving through the Senate.