Trump promised a steel mill in this rural Iowa region. But is it all a midterm election ploy?
Residents would welcome the development, but the president’s past false promises cast doubt on the proposal On a Monday afternoon in late September, Donald Trump gathered Iowa Republicans in the Oval Office to make a big announcement: the firm Mesabi Metallics would invest $15bn to make the midwestern state the site of the largest steel mill in the country. One month later, and just days before…
President Donald Trump announced in September that the firm Mesabi Metallics would invest $15bn to create the largest steel mill in the United States in the rural Iowa town of Wever, a move that could create 6,000 jobs during construction and 1,750 when completed. However, no progress has been made despite the announcement occurring just ahead of the midterm elections.
Skepticism surrounds the project due to Trump's history of making false promises, such as the Foxconn electronics manufacturing factory in Wisconsin that never materialized. Mesabi, a Minnesota-based firm, maintains that the project is in active development and anticipates making more announcements soon. However, Iowa's Republican-controlled legislature quickly approved $1.4bn in tax breaks to make the mill happen.
Republican candidates for statewide office and the governorship see the plant as a boon for the region, but local trade unions remain skeptical, recalling past failed projects like Foxconn.
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