Mine Recalls Boost Other Businesses

Cliffs Natural Resources seems to be making gradual steps in getting their area mines back to normal.

And those steps may also keep some businesses near the mines afloat.

Cliffs said Friday they’re boosting production at the Tilden Mine and recalling about 100 of the mine workers who’d been laid off earlier this year.

That’s good news for businesses like the Cascade Inn, near the Empire Mine in Palmer.

When the mines struggle, they struggle as well.

Cascade Inn Manager Kurt Swanson says when the layoffs happened, he noticed his business dropped by about 30%.

Swanson says he, and other business owners near the mines that he knows, were thrilled to hear about the recalls.

But those aren’t the only people he’s thinking about.

He says he’s also happy for the miners’ families, especially since many of them are younger families with infants or toddlers.

Cliffs still has about 100 more laid-off Marquette County mine workers who haven’t been brought back to work yet.