Minnesota Power history

In 1980, the company changed its name to Minnesota Power and began the decade with legal proceedings, fighting a 30 percent severance tax on Montana coal and a 62 percent rate increase by Burlington Northern Railroad, its sole rail shipper.

And in 1982, Minnesota Power added to its hydroelectric fleet with the purchase of Prairie River Hydro from Itasca Paper Co.

1985: Investment portfolio boosts market returns well above industry average.

Forbes also reported that by the end of 1989 the utility had sold its telephone investment for three times the purchase price, expanded its water and wastewater ventures, and purchased a coal mining venture to serve its North Dakota power generation interests.

By mid-1994, new corporate management at National's subsidiary had recommitted to fully integrated steel operations and was prepared to end the deadlock and resume operations, following various concessions and the approval of union steelworkers.

In early 1995, Minnesota Power earned the scorn of some market analysts when the utility announced its intention to purchase North America's third largest auto auction company.

Responding to the situation, the utility sped up the time table for acquiring the last shares of the company from the founder and remaining executives and gained 100 percent ownership in August 1996.

1998: Revenues top $1 billion for first time.

Early in 1999, Minnesota Power moved to gain a toehold in the Chicago market as it signed an agreement to purchase electricity from a power plant to be constructed 30 miles southwest of the city.

The company continued to look toward a future that was less dependent on the taconite industry with a goal of accelerating the contributions of non-electric businesses to over 60 percent of total revenue by the year 2000.

The Taconite Ridge Wind Energy Center, built in 2007, was the first commercial wind energy center in northeastern Minnesota.