Assembly reps plan to tour mine site

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A dozen members of the state Assembly plan to tour a potential mine site in far northwestern Wisconsin.

Republicans are pushing a bill to streamline state mining regulations in hopes of persuading Gogebic Taconite to dig a huge open-pit iron mine along the border between Ashland and Iron counties.

Rep. Mary Czaja, a freshman Republican from Irma, is organizing a tour of the site for Friday morning. The site is outside Czaja's district, but aide Emily Loe says Czaja toured the site several weeks ago, found the visit productive and thought other legislators would benefit from seeing the area.

Loe says six Republicans and six Democrats have agreed to the visit. She says the visit is informal and the legislators will pay their own way.