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seat on the High Court for
the spring election of 2027.

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Last week, we reported on
exploratory mining

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happening again in northern
Wisconsin. The company,

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Greenlight Metals is
looking for gold and copper

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and other minerals in
Taylor County. After the

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repeal in 2017 of
Wisconsin's old mining law,

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Wisconsin's prove it. First
law, otherwise known as the

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mining moratorium, was
passed in 1997 and required

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mining companies to
demonstrate where anyone

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had safely operated a
metallic sulfide mine for

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at least ten years, and
also where a mine had been

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safely closed for ten years.
The mining company and

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environmental groups
disagree on whether that

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standard could be proven if
it was still in place today.

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In 2017, Republicans in the
legislature, led by then

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state Senator Tom Tiffany,
eliminated those provisions

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as part of our continuing
series examining the

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biggest issues in the race
for governor "Here& Now".

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Senior political reporter
Zac Schultz asked the

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candidates about mining.
>> Roughly Greenlight

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Metals the Wisconsin
chapter of the Sierra Club.

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And the friends of the
yellow River are well aware.

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Control of the legislature
and governor's office could

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flip this fall, meaning the
regulations governing

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mining in Wisconsin could
be up for debate. We asked

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the leading candidates for
governor what they thought

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about mining in Wisconsin,
and if they would seek to

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change the current
regulations.

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>> You know, I think that
we've seen decades of us

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ignoring people's rights
when it comes to some of

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that land, whether it's our
tribal nations in the state

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and also ignoring the
economic, I'm sorry, the

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environmental impact on
some of our areas. Natural

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resources in Wisconsin are
the basis of our economy.

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We have to protect them,
while at the same time we

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have to use them
responsibly. We have to

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make sure that our mining
laws are in tune with

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current mindset around how
we protect people's rights

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in in the land and
protecting the environment

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with making sure that we
keep using the resources in

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a responsible way.
>> There has to be

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community buy in and
community input for people

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who have made their homes
in a, in an area, you know,

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20, 30 years passed down
generation to generation. I

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think that folks should
have some input on what

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happens in their backyard.
And all I'm saying is have

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the conversation. That's
the important part. When we

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have those those times
where we're mining may come

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up and in a part of the
state. Yeah, well, talk to

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the community. Like let's
talk it out because the

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only thing that happens is
more resentment. If that

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conversation doesn't happen.
>> I am staunchly opposed

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to the type of mining as
well as drilling. When it

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comes to line five. I have
been vocal about my

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opposition there. I think
the dangers that this is

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presenting to communities
who have already seen

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services be cut, their
schools, you know, closing.

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I think that having this
type of, you know, this

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type of harmful. These
types of harmful groups

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coming in to impact local
environments and the

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quality of life. It's, it's
really unfortunate. And I

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think it's very important
that we look at how to hold

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these corporations
accountable.

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>> What I think we need to
do is to make sure we have

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a really good environmental
assessment for permitting

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for those mines, and to
make sure that we are

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talking with the local
communities. If tribal

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nations are involved, we
are having those open

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conversations with them and
making sure that we're not

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having the environmental
impact that would be

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negative for Wisconsin.
>> I think one of the most

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important things that we
have in Wisconsin, a

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differentiator that we have
in Wisconsin versus other

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places around the country,
is the natural beauty, the

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ability that we have to go
out and enjoy Wisconsin.

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And that's not a partizan
issue. That's not an

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ideological issue. That's a
a vision that we share for

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the state. And so as we
think about anything that

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would do any potential harm
to the state of Wisconsin,

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I think we need to be very
cautious about that. I

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think there are issues
around economic development

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that I think we need to try
to find that right balance.

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And if it's time to revisit
that issue or it's time to

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have that conversation, I'd
be all for it.

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>> I thought we did a good
job of writing the last

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mining bill for two reasons.
One is we made sure that we

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had the toughest mining law
in the United States so

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that we are going to
protect the environment. We

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also provided for local
control. I think it's

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really important for locals
to be able to have input in

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regards to these projects.
But this is something I

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mean, we've got a long,
great history. I mean, we

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have a miner on our flag,
right? And we have a long,

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proud history of mining
here in in Wisconsin.

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>> Well, it's about working
with the local

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municipalities, working
stakeholders that are on

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the ground and making sure
that the work group that we

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can put together are giving
us the best information

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possible to make the best
decisions. That's going to

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have a huge impact that can
have a huge impact on the

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environment, as well as a
new industry here in the

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state of Wisconsin. And so
you have to take that on a

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case by case basis and
really working with all the

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stakeholders to make sure
that we're making the best

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decision possible.
>> I think the current law

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has worked well for us. I
want to see mining

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companies prove first
before they open up a

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hillside and pollute our
water, that they're going

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to be able to extract
things in a safe way that

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is consistent with our
natural resources

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management and our
management and our