State Rep. Greg Markkanen today addressed Copperwood Mine protestors claiming to represent his community, which includes Wakefield Township – the proposed site for the Copperwood Mine, the Porcupine Mountains, and a broad stretch of Lake Superior Coastline.

Markkanen fought for $50 million in next year’s budget to allow Wakefield Township to invest in roads, power, telecommunication, and other key infrastructure that will benefit the region. The infrastructure improvements clear the way for the proposed Copperwood Mine project, which would bring hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, jobs, and long-term development to the rural, underserved western U.P.

“I’m tired of seeing rich folks from Ann Arbor and carpetbaggers from Kansas taking up all the oxygen in the room when anyone brings up the Copperwood Mine,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock. “They don’t care about our U.P. community. They don’t even really understand this project or its true impact. The people who will benefit most from the Copperwood Mine project don’t have time to stage days-long protests in Lansing. They’re back home in the U.P., working three jobs just trying to get by. They’re swerving potholes because there isn’t enough of a tax base to fix the roads. They’re trying to get their kids from school before they go serve tables at a local restaurant.

“The Copperwood Mine project will secure true, stable careers in my community. The investment from this project will mean our schools, roads, and families will have more economic freedom to live better lives. It will be long-term prosperity for the Western U.P. That’s what these protestors won’t tell you, if they even know themselves. They’re not just protesting a mine. They’re protesting a better life for the people in my community. If they’re successful, these protesters will keep single moms in jobs they hate, our schools on the brink of financial collapse, and continue a dangerous trajectory of economic instability.”

The Copperwood Mine project permitting has already been entirely approved by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

“The western U.P. is my home. If there was truly a risk to the Porcupine Mountains or Lake Superior, I’d be the first to stand up in opposition,” Markkanen said. “The truth that protestors won’t tell you is that this project is safe; experts in state government, local officials, and mining experts all agree. The only people raising the alarm are folks who have been tricked into believing they know the U.P. better than those of us who live there.”

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