Hauschild discusses copper-nickel mining position ahead of November rematch
This November, DFL Sen. Grant Hauschild will face a familiar opponent in Republican nominee Andrea Zupancich, the mayor of Babbitt. In 2022, Hauschild defeated Zupancich by fewer than 1,000 votes, receiving 50.8% of the vote to Zupancich’s 49.1%.
During a 2022 debate with Zupancich, Hauschild said he supported allowing proposed copper-nickel mining projects to go through the environmental review process, a position he says he’s maintained.
“My position has always been the same since before I was elected, when I was elected in 2022, and now,” Hauschild told WTIP. “And that’s that I believe that we must have an objective process for evaluating the environmental review and permitting process of any mine. The truth is, I don’t think anyone can support a mine of any kind before it has gone through that process.”
As other DFL lawmakers have introduced or co-sponsored legislation that would restrict copper-nickel mining in the Rainy River watershed, Hauschild has continued to advocate for allowing proposed projects to go through environmental review and permitting.
In 2025, Hauschild co-sponsored a bill that would have declared Minnesota a “mining-friendly state.” He worked on the legislation with Republican Sens. Robert D. Farnsworth and Keri Heintzman.
Hauschild cites his experience in the Obama administration as informing his position, having served as an economic development specialist for the Department of Agriculture from 2011 until 2014.
“I know how important it is that we have the Forest Service involved in evaluating these things, just the same as I think we need the Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, all of these different entities involved in determining and providing comments and feedback based on their expertise to determine again whether or not mining can be done,” Hauschild said.
Despite working with Republicans on the 2025 legislation, Hauschild has drawn distinctions between his position and those of Republican lawmakers. During this year’s legislative session, Hauschild authored a resolution opposing the Borderlands Conservation Act. On mining, Hauschild also distinguished his position from those of state Rep. Roger Skraba and U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber.
“I want to really make it clear that there is a firm distinction between where I am at and where the Republicans are at,” Hauschild said. “I do not believe in degrading our environmental law. What I believe in is maintaining the strongest environmental standards and permitting processes, so that we can let the experts go through that process to determine whether or not mining can be done.”
Although Hauschild has publicly discussed his position on copper-nickel mining since his 2022 campaign, legislation directly addressing mining restrictions has not reached a floor vote during his time in office. His bipartisan “mining-friendly state” bill also did not receive a floor vote in 2025.
One related vote came earlier this year, when Heintzman introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill that removed funding for an outdoor education program operated by Friends of the Boundary Waters. Hauschild was recorded as not present for the amendment vote. He said he was “in discussions on another amendment that would have preserved funding for getting kids into the BWCA by shifting money to another outdoor youth organization.”
Hauschild later voted for the appropriations bill after the Friends of the Boundary Waters funding had been removed.
Hauschild also expressed concern about what he described as an erosion of environmental review at the federal level.
“I worry that under this administration, again, we have seen a historically unprecedented move to undermine our environmental regulations, and that is a very scary prospect,” Hauschild said.
Hauschild argued that election outcomes have allowed the Trump administration to make changes to federal environmental policy. His Senate district overlaps with areas that have supported Republicans in recent federal elections. U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has won election to Congress four times, and President Donald Trump has carried several counties within Hauschild’s district during his three presidential campaigns.
“I was able to win this race by the slimmest of margins by building a coalition around reasonableness, around scientific review, around really upholding the standards that I believe are critical. And if we, as folks who believe in that strong environmental review process, lose elections and allow this sort of degradation we’ve seen of environmental rules and regulations to continue. I think it truly will undermine our ability to believe in our government’s protections for industry and projects like these,” Hauschild said.
WTIP spoke to Sen. Grant Hauschild regarding a statement he released after Gov. Walz’s executive order earlier this Tuesday. The audio of that conversation is below.
Josh Hinke August 22, 2026
