At its first meeting of 2016, the St. Louis County Board reappointed its longest serving Commissioner, Steve Raukar, to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority Board for a third term. First appointed in 1998, Raukar currently serves as Port Authority president.
“The Port Authority is a strategic link in domestic and global trade, fostering economic growth for all of northeastern Minnesota,” said Raukar. “We are currently involved in a nearly $18 million dock redevelopment project that represents a crucial investment in regional job creation, expansion of import/export capacity and intermodal freight transport plus overall global competitiveness for our state.”
Raukar has represented the Seventh District on the St. Louis County Board since first being elected in 1988. The Hibbing native was recently elected chair for a fifth and final time during what will be his last year on that board. He also serves as chair on several other committees/boards, including: St. Louis County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority, and the Northeast Waste Advisory Committee. In 2008, he was elected chair of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance (NLX).
Other Port Authority officers and board members include: Ray Klosowski, vice president; Rick Revoir, treasurer; Chris Dahlberg, assistant treasurer; Norm Voorhees, secretary; plus Tony Sertich and Yvonne Prettner Solon. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority board is comprised of seven members – two appointed by the governor, two by the St. Louis County Board and three by the Duluth City Council. Each appointment is for six years.