EVELETH — The advisory board of the Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation will move to appoint a new chair after the resignation of Sen. Justin Eichorn.
Eichorn resigned from the Minnesota Senate on Thursday, March 20, hours before his first scheduled court appearance for a federal felony charge of soliciting a person under 18 for paid sex. He had been appointed chair of the board on Feb. 25, with Rep. Roger Skraba, R-Ely, elected vice chair. Eichorn had already been removed from the list of board members on the IRRR's website as of midday Thursday.
The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Advisory Board consists of the state senators and representatives elected from districts in which one-third or more of the residents reside within the agency's service area. One additional state senator is appointed by the Majority Leader of the senate.
The IRRR is a state economic development agency that reinvests local taconite production taxes back into northeastern Minnesota businesses and communities in an effort to strengthen and diversify the economy. All expenditures and projects made by the commissioner are first submitted to IRRR Advisory Board. The service area encompasses 13,000 square miles in northeastern Minnesota, including 53 cities, 134 townships, portions of four tribal nations and 15 school districts.
In addition to Skraba, the board includes: Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis; Rep. Ben Davis, R-Mission Township; Sen. Robert Farnsworth, R-Hibbing; Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown; Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township; and Rep. Cal Warwas, R-Clinton Township.
According to a news release, Skraba initiated the call for a special meeting to reorganize the board and select a new chair. Additional information about the meeting will be provided at a later time, according to the IRRR.
-
Lorie Shaull/Special to KAXETwo women, ages 20 and 22, reported the man had not returned to shore. One of the women was transported by ambulance for injuries related to cold exposure. -
Contributed/Bloomington Police DepartmentThe former state senator was charged in March 2025 after a prostitution sting operation in Bloomington, where an undercover police officer posed as a 17-year-old online. -
Ekaterina Bolovtsova via PexelsMichael Hart pleaded guilty to burglary and assault, the charges he was originally in custody for when he escaped from a corrections facility. -
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will host an informational open house in McIntosh on May 13, 2026, for its planned project on Highway 2 from Fosston to Erskine in 2029. -
Megan Buffington/KAXEWith hundreds laid off and bleak economics, Iron Range leaders are warning elected officials to carefully plan their budgets over the next few years. -
Plus: The producers of "Ghost Lake" are filming in a new location after the Bois Forte Band revoked its approval; and one year after Cleveland-Cliffs laid off 600 miners, Iron Range leaders are sounding the alarm on an economic downturn. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEMax Hites had been with Lueken's Village Foods since the store's beginning. Employees and customers joined in celebrating Hites' 60-year career at an open house on May 1, 2026. -
Contributed/Karina Kafka / Report for MinnesotaThe bill’s proposed portal, accessible via the Internet, would provide contractors and subcontractors a place to submit payroll reports, which would be stored in a database for public or state use. -
Contributed/Minnesota Interagency Fire CenterAs "green-up" slowly makes its way north, Minnesota's firefighters remain alert to conditions where wildfires can easily spread due to available fuels and dry weather. -
Contributed/Michele Jokinen / Minnesota House of RepresentativesThe Permanent School Fund uses revenue from the sale of timber, minerals and land on 2.5 million acres of School Trust Lands to fund public school districts and charter schools around Minnesota.
