Dayton calls DM&E federal loan application "outrageous"

At least one Minnesota legislator is standing up for his constituents on the DM&E expansion, which has been opposed by the Minnesota cities of Rochester, Mankato and Winona, as well as others in South Dakota. Sen. Mark Dayton has termed the sweetheart loan provision snuck into the recent Transportation Bill by now senator and former DM&E lobbyist John Thune of South Dakota as "outrageous".

The Mankato Free Press writes:

"This is beyond a white elephant, it's a white dinosaur," Dayton said of the DM&E's plan to haul up to 100 million tons of coal a year to utilities in Midwestern and Great Lakes states.

He described the railroad as a "fly-by-night operation with good political connections" -- a reference to Sen. John Thune, a former DM&E lobbyist, who quietly altered federal law to expand and tailor the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] loan program to fit the DM&E's needs.

Thune also added a 90-day deadline for the FRA to make a ruling on the $2.5 billion loan, which is more than 10 times larger than any loan the FRA has ever dealt with.

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LP